Bocock will furnish the land and stock, and he will advance his employees provisions each week; the freedmen will pay for their own expenses and receive one-third of the all the crops. A provision at the end of the contract (which is in a different...
In the contract Tait rents a piece of his land in Wilcox County, Alabama, to Hill for a year: "...Hill is permitted to clear land & build houses, without expense to said Tait excepting nails & flooring." In exchange, Tait will receive one-fourth of...
Lewis's father (also Cudjo) was the last surviving ex-slave from "Clotilda, " the last known ship to bring slaves to the United States; the ship landed in Mobile, Alabama, in 1860. The packet includes a statement of sentence, letters from other...
McCann, a former slave, describes the following aspects of slavery as he experienced them in Hale County, Alabama: dwellings and possessions; clothing and food; occupations and typical workdays; money earned by slaves for their own use; family...
In the first letter Dr. Cloud reprimands Whitfield because Tuscaloosa County has not provided enough schools for its African American children: "...you have reported 44 white schools, and only 2 colored, which is not in accordance with the school...
Archie organized and taught at a school in Lower Peach Tree. In the letter he discusses servants, livestock, family, and the school he recently started in the area.
In the letter Hurter describes voter registration in Mobile: "We have registered all who have come forward without any delay. There has been a strong disposition on the part of the whites not to register but they are gradually overcoming that...
In the letter Drisk explains that he has not been paid for his work because the county has not provided enough schools for African American children: "During four months of the past winter I taught in this city the children of freedmen having been...
In the letter the men explain that "the white people of this city & county feel that they have no fair showing" in the upcoming election. They ask Hatchell to consider removing William Hurter from his post as chief registrar in the city because of...
In the letter the men discuss the murder of a freedman, who had been appointed a registrar in the county. They have been unable to find the young man who shot him, and tension is building: "The excitement occasioned by the outrage of yesterday was...
In the letter Strudwick discusses family members and acquaintances; expresses remorse for encouraging some of his relatives to move to California; and complains about the improved status of African Americans (whom he refers to collectively as...
In the letter Russell, an agent with the Freedmen's Bureau, informs Hall of a complaint from four of his contracted workers: "The 'Freedmen,' Frank Pfeaster, Abner, Ann, & Cicily have called my attention to the contract made between you & them last...
In the letter Smith reports that white planters in Chambers County have tried to interfere with the registration of African American voters there: "I heard of no open violations but am satisfied that parties have thrown every obsticle [sic] in the...
Mary S. Pond taught freed slaves in Selma, Alabama, possibly as a teacher with the American Missionary Association. In this letter to her friend she comments on her loneliness; her low salary and difficult teaching situation; and her general...
In the letter Hawkins describes a case involving a slave woman who was purchased by a freedman, and then reclaimed and sold several times. He asks Dellet to represent Napoleon and Massina Starke, who want to recover the woman.
During the Civil War, Badger enlisted as a nurse in the 6th New Hampshire Infantry Regiment, and he later became an assistant surgeon in Company D of the 34th New Jersey Volunteer Regiment. After the war, the 34th New Jersey Regiment served with...
In the letter Seward explains that Congress is proposing a fifteenth amendment to the Constitution, which must be voted on by the state legislatures. He includes a certified copy of the resolution: "The right of citizens of the United States to...
The passages describe the lives and contributions of three freedmen of the Rapier family. John H. Rapier, Jr., was a physician at the Freedmen's Hospital in Washington, D.C. John H. Rapier, Sr., a barber in Florence, Alabama, served as a voter...
Tichenor describes the postwar situation for the freed slaves from a paternalistic viewpoint: "Four millions of human beings, under the influence of a misguided philanthropy, have been rendered destitute of homes, protection, and comfort, and have...