William Allen Crow of Charles Town, Two Letters and Receipt Regarding Purchase of Slaves
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 4437
Two letters and a receipt regarding the purchase of slaves by William Allen Crow, resident of Charles Town, Jefferson County, (West) Virginia. Each of the items was written to Crow by a different correspondent.
The first letter was written 8 March 1836 by Robert Gallaher regarding a slave auction in Richmond, Virginia. When they had previously met in Charles Town, Crow had requested that Gallaher provide him information regarding the sale of slaves. A partial transcription of the letter follows "They was a sale today of nine which I thought brot very good prices. The first man that was set up was a ruff carpendter (29 years old) which brot 1,500. The second was a young fellow about the size of your Lewis which brot 1,015... They set up a girl 8 or 10 years old but not at all likely, brot 375... A little boy 4 or 5 brot 290, also a girl twelve years old brot 490."
The second letter is from John Boyer, the county jailor in Martinsburg, (West) Virginia, on 1 June 1836: "There has been this day committed to the jail of this place a negro woman named Julia, the property of Mr. Abraham Vanmeter of this county. He says she has shown a disposition to run away and has become quite unmanageable. He will sell her to any person who will give him the best price... She is a very valuable woman. She is about 30 years of age... and is a stout and healthy-looking woman."
The final document is a bill of sale dated 12 December 1839 from Adam Link, selling "a negro man Solomon about twenty two years old" to Crow for $612.50.
Crow was born circa 1794 and died in 1870. He married Mary McCartney in 1817. According to available genealogical information, the couple had two daughters who survived to adulthood and are not known to have had any grandchildren. Both Crow and his daughters resided in Charles Town the duration of their lives.
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.01 Linear Feet (3 items (1 folder))
English
Papers regarding the purchase of slaves by William Allen Crow, resident of Charles Town, Jefferson County, (West) Virginia.
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository