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John H. Scheide Collection on Slavery in North America
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Rare Book Collection [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Rare Book Collection. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
John Hinsdale Scheide (Princeton Class of 1896) was an American businessman and collector.
Consists of a group of around forty documents, primarily from the 18th and 19th centuries, that were assembled by collector John H. Scheide on the topic of slavery. Most materials were created by European colonists in regions of North America that were or later became part of the United States, but there is also one document pertaining to a plantation in Antigua. States represented include New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky, Louisiana, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Documents consist of financial and legal documents pertaining to enslaved and formerly enslaved people, and to a lesser extent, to free people of color. Bills of sale, estate appraisals and inventories, tax receipts, advertisements, legal complaints, an insurance policy, a ship manifest, and other materials document the enslavement of African American and Afro-descendent people. There are also several manumissions or deeds of emancipation, as well as legal documents certifying the free status of two Black men living in New York City in the early 19th century. Of note is a document pertaining to Lilpha, a free Black woman living in Connecticut who purchased her own daughter from her former enslaver as a means of extracting her family from slavery. Also present are manuscript copies of the Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's "An Act for the gradual Abolition of Slavery" (1780) and a 1788 amendment.
Materials were acquired by collector John H. Scheide from various sources. Many original documents are accompanied by description cards created by manuscript dealers. This collection was formerly referred to within the Scheide Library as "Slavery Documents" (Scheide 68.7).
This collection forms part of the Scheide Library, which was bequeathed by William H. Scheide to Princeton University in 2015.
A previous catalog record and inventory were updated and converted into a finding aid by Kelly Bolding in September 2020. At this time, descriptions were enhanced to improve the description of enslaved people. Item numbers correspond to a scheme specific to the Scheide Library; materials with no item numbers listed in this finding aid are those that did not have existing item numbers at the time of 2020 descriptive work.
Finding aid updated by Faith Charlton in 2023 to correct information regarding the collection creator.
No material was removed from the collection during 2020 processing.
Subject
- African Americans -- Social conditions. -- Sources -- 18th century
- African Americans -- Social conditions. -- Sources -- 19th century
- Free African Americans -- Connecticut
- Free African Americans -- New York (State) -- New York -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
- Slave bills of sale
- Slave records
- Slave trade -- United States -- History
- Slaveholders -- United States -- History
- Enslaved persons -- Emancipation -- United States
- Slavery -- United States -- History
Place
- Publisher
- Rare Book Collection
- Finding Aid Author
- Kelly Bolding
- Finding Aid Date
- 2020
- Access Restrictions
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Open for research.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
The document notes that Harry's mother was Nan, and Peter's mother was Jane. Harry was born on January 17, 1802, and Peter was born on July 30, 1802.
Physical Description1 item
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The document describes Fisher as 35 years old, born in Africa, and having lived in New York City for 30 years.
Physical Description1 item
The document notes that Vann was charged with "stealing and carrying away a slave named Jim." Signed by Alabama Governor H.W. Collier and Secretary of State W. Garrett.
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Grace was about eighteen years old at the time the document was written.
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Jenny, who is described in the document as a "Negro or Mulatto Child" was born on December 19, 1792, to Lilpha, who is described as a "free Negro woman of said Norwich." The arrangement described involves Strong "selling" Jenny to her mother in exchange for two month's of Lilpha's labor but under the condition that Jenny remain in "the service" of Strong "as his own Property" until she reaches the age of 25.
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A note on the document indicates that a "Negro boy" enslaved by Carrico was taken possession of by the process server.
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The document notes that James Wilson brought Suse Naw, who was nine years old at the time the document was written, from Virginia to Steubenville, Ohio.
Physical Description1 item
The document notes that Lucy was ten years and seven months old at the time of writing.
Physical Description1 item
Only one person is listed, Sam, who is described as a 60-year-old Black man. E. P. Dennis is noted as the ship's captain.
Physical Description1 item
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Certificate from the City and County of New York attesting that Joseph Fields, a twenty-seven-year-old man described as "mulatto," was "born free" in Belleville, New Jersey, and resides in the Fifth Ward of New York City. Also signed by T. R. Smith, Alderman.
Physical Description1 item
Posey's advertisement notes that Madison, a man who was enslaved by Posey and liberated himself, was about twenty-one or twenty-two years old and had a mother living in Prince George County, Maryland, and a sister living in Washington, D.C.
Physical Description1 item
Affidavit by Charles Walter, Justice of the Peace, that Richard Anderston made an oath that Dick Price, a "Negro man" who was then in confinement in the Washington, D.C., jail was a "runaway slave" enslaved by Eliza Anderson of Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
Physical Description1 item
John Gray is described as a "servant man" who was enslaved by Corke. Gray is also listed as a witness.
Physical Description1 item
Lewis is described as a "Mulatto" man about twenty-eight years old. The document is signed by several members of the Coonce family, including Felix, Phillip, Elizabeth (Williams), Polly (Votaw) and references the will of Elizabeth Coonce, their deceased mother.
Physical Description1 item
Nancy Armstrong (formerly Nancy Magruder) is described as a "colored woman aged about fifty-three, formerly owned and held by [Graff] as a slave" in both Frederick County, Maryland, and Ohio.
Physical Description1 item
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Refers to a sugarcane plantation called Royal Vassals Plantation and includes documentation of enslaved people. Appraisal by Bertie Entwisle, Henry B. Lightfoot, Elias Ferris, and Daniel Hill, with additional notes by Langford Lovell.
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Includes taxes on enslaved people.
Physical Description2 items
Includes taxes on enslaved people.
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Includes taxes on enslaved people.
Physical Description2 items
Includes taxes on enslaved people.
Physical Description2 items
Includes taxes on enslaved people.
Physical Description2 items
Agreement with William Copeland regarding the use of an enslaved child to pay a debt.
Physical Description1 item
Patsy and Anderson's ages are listed as 45 and 11 respectively in the document.
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Contains a list of fifty-seven people enslaved by Cuthbert, including their names.
Physical Description1 item