This document is from a collection of financial papers related to the plantation operations of several generations of the Rouzee Family in Essex County, Virginia. The papers date from the 1790s through 1860.
Description
A payment receipt and affidavit drafted by Thomas Wright Jr, justice of the peace, regarding an enslaved man named Moses. The document states that Robert M. Callip of Essex county apprehended Moses, property of Edward Rouzee of Essex County, two and one-half (2 1/2) miles away from the Rouzee plantation. The one page, single-sided document is handwritten in black ink. Below the text to the right is the ornate signature of Thomas Wright, Jr. Below the text to the left is the calculation of the money owed, five dollars ($5.00) for the apprehension plus twenty-five cents ($0.25) for the distance, totaling five dollars and twenty-five cents ($5.25). The paper has a small notch torn at the top left. The paper has been folded twice vertically and once horizontally. On the reverse is written "Magistrate Certificate respecting Moses a Runaway."
This document is from a collection of financial papers related to the plantation operations of several generations of the Rouzee Family in Essex County, Virginia. The papers date from the 1790s through 1860.
Description
A one page legal document drafted by hand in ink by Richard Rouzee, Justice of the Peace for Essex County, Virginia, granting payment to Silas Goulding of Essex County for apprehending the enslaved man "Braxton," believed to be the property of Edward Rouzee. Braxton was found on the plantation of Robert P. Waring. At the bottom left of the document is the calculation that $5.00 be paid to Goulding for apprehension and an additional $0.60 for the distance of six miles between the place of apprehension and the plantation of Edward Rouzee. At the bottom right is the elaborate signature of Richard Rouzee. The document is dated September 16, 1825.
This document is from a collection of financial papers related to the plantation operations of several generations of the Rouzee Family in Essex County, Virginia. The papers date from the 1790s through 1860.
Description
This document is an affidavit of capture of the enslaved men James and John, owned by Mrs. Harriot Rouzee of Essex County, Virginia. The men were apprehended by "S.Lang[illegible] Jones" in Caroline County, Virginia. At the bottom right is the signature of the justice of the peace for Caroline County, George J. Hord. The bottom left is the calculation of the fee to be paid to Jones, including the two (2) dollars for the apprehension and ten (10) cents for every mile of conveyance. The document consists of a single page, handwritten in black ink. The ink has bled and smudged heavily througout the document and there is a small loss to the page at the upper right corner.
To Visit Your Husband: Harriet Lawson’s Pass, 1832
Harriet Lawson carried this pass to visit her husband, Caleb, at work in a nearby town. As free blacks, the Lawsons could legally marry, but Maryland placed limits on their liberty. If they traveled without a pass, they could be fined $20 or sold into slavery.
The Back of Lawson’s Pass
If stopped, Lawson would face the humiliation of being physically inspected. This pass described her as: “Black, 29 yrs of age five feet high has a mole on the right side of her right eye no other perceptible mark.”
Source: Nancy Bercaw, Curator, Slavery and Freedom
Description
A free woman's pass for a free African American woman, Harriet Lawson, to visit her husband Caleb Lawson, signed in Frederick County, Maryland, on May 21, 1832. Davis Richardson is listed as the witness. The pass is on a single sheet of paper. There is handwriting in ink on both recto and verso, handwriting in pencil on verso only. The proper right side has discoloration and abrasions with loss of paper along the edge but no apparent loss of text. The ink writing from the verso side is visible faintly through to the recto side. Creases remain from the pass having been folded twice, once lengthwise and once widthwise.