Slave Deeds
Slave Deeds
Slave deeds, also known as slave sale documents or bills of sale for enslaved individuals, were legal contracts used during the era of American slavery to transfer ownership of enslaved people from one person or entity to another. These documents were an integral part of the slave trade and the institution of slavery itself. They recorded the sale, purchase, and transfer of enslaved individuals as if they were mere property, stripping them of their humanity and agency.
Slave deeds typically included details such as the names of the buyer and seller, the names and descriptions of the enslaved individuals being sold (often including age, gender, physical attributes), the terms of the sale, and the amount of money exchanged. These documents were legally binding, reinforcing the notion that enslaved people were considered chattel property that could be bought and sold like any other commodity.
Slave deeds were used for various purposes, including
Enslaved individuals were frequently bought and sold through public auctions, private sales, or direct trades between slaveholders. Slave deeds documented these transactions, helping to maintain records of ownership and property rights.
When slaveholders passed away, their enslaved individuals could be included in their estates and distributed among heirs according to wills and inheritance laws. Slave deeds were used to transfer ownership from the deceased to their heirs.
Enslaved people were often used as collateral for loans. Slaveholders could use their human property as security for borrowing money, and in case of default, the enslaved individuals could be seized and sold to repay the debt.
In some areas, enslaved individuals were assessed for property tax purposes. Slave deeds were used to determine the value of the enslaved people owned by a particular individual, which affected the tax liability.
In certain cases, slaveholders could insure their enslaved individuals against loss due to death, illness, or injury. Slave deeds might be used to establish the value of the enslaved person for insurance claims.
Deeds of Gift, Deeds of Sale, Mortgages, Born Free and Freed from Laurens & Newberry Counties, SC: 1785-1827
Louisiana, U.S., Records of Enslaved People, 1719-1820
U.S., Definitive List of Slaves and Property, 1827-1828
Washington D.C., Pension Correspondence and Case Files of Formerly Enslaved People, 1892-1922
No Land — Only Slaves
This series of books which contains abstracted documents from Deed Records found in County and Parish courthouses. The books include more than just a simple property transactions. Deed records can also contain descriptions of slaves, birth names and dates of slaves, legal actions brought against bad slaveholders, emancipations, and even documents providing freedom.