Written by
Dwight, Margaret DeWitt, American, 1765 - 1824
Subject of
Flora, ca. 1777 - 1815
Benjamin, Asa, American, 1763 - 1833
Signed by
DeWitt, Abraham Van Horn, American, 1772 - 1820
Date
December 13, 1796
Medium
ink on laid paper
Dimensions
H x W (sheet): 14 × 13 in. (35.6 × 33 cm)
H x W x D (frame): 23 3/4 × 31 3/4 × 1 15/16 in. (60.3 × 80.6 × 4.9 cm)
Description
A framed bill of sale for Flora, an enslaved woman, dated "this 13th Day of December, 1796." The document is handwritten in brown ink on cream laid paper. The document transfers the ownership of "a certain Negro Wench named Flora" from Margaret Dwight in Milford, Connecticut to Asa Benjamin in Stratford, Connecticut for the amount of twenty five pounds sterling. The document is signed "Margaret Dwight" with her seal at bottom right. It is witnessed at bottom left by Dwight's brother, Abraham Van Horn DeWitt: [Present / Abm. V.H. DeWitt]. Written at the center of the very bottom of the document is [19 years old]. There are two vertical creases and two horizontal creases extending across the page. At bottom right is a spot of extraneous ink and along the left side center text written on the back of the sheet is visible where it has seeped through the paper to the front. The paper has a watermark at lower right, upside down, reading: [BAND 1795].
The full text of the document reads:
[Know All Men by these Present that I Margaret Dwight of Milford in the County of New Haven & State of Connecticut for the Consideration of Twenty Five Pounds L S money Received to my full satisfaction of Asa Benjamin of Stratford in Fairfield County in Sd State have Bargain'd & sold & do by these Present Bargain Sell & Deliver unto this Benjamin a certain Negro Wench named Flora to have and to hold Sd Negro Wench to him the Sd Benjamin his Heirs & Assigns forever & I do by these Present bind myself & my Heirs Executors or Administrators firmly by these present to warrant & defend the Sd Wench from all Claims or demands Whatsoever
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & Seal this 13th Day of December 1796].
Place made
Milford, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, North and Central America
Place used
Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, North and Central America
Classification
Slavery and Freedom Objects
Documents and Manuscripts
Type
bills of sale
Topic
Domestic slave trade
Finance
Slavery
U.S. History, 1783-1815
Women
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and National Portrait Gallery, Museum purchase through the American Women’s History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative
Object number
2021.48.2
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5bbffd8ff-4d8e-4533-9438-cdb528376f70

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

Share this page