Document on distribution of six enslaved persons owned by Elizabeth Roberts

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A financial document (2018.43.8a) listing "Elizabeth Roberts Negroes," splitting them up by lot and divided between heirs by the executors of the estate of Elizabeth Roberts. The document consists of handwritten black ink on both sides of a single sheet of paper. The front of the large document notes the relationships people had with Elizabeth Roberts and their claims to her property, as well as the state and county officials involved. The back of the document names the enslaved persons with their ages, and notes how they or their equivalent monetary value should be distributed among the interested parties. The enslaved persons are listed as: Ben, 23 Harry, 40 Hannah, 45 Philis 11, Franny 8, Lucy 6 Harry, Hannah, and Philis went to James Spencer, brother of Elizabeth Roberts. Ben, Franny and Lucy went to William and Eleanor Spencer, nephew and niece of Elizabeth Roberts.

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