Manuscripts Relating to Slavery

: Charles Sumner's The anti-slavery enterprise, 1855; Charles Sumner (1811-1874) was a United States senator from Massachusetts and a campaigner against slavery. This is a draft, ca. 1855, of a version of the speech delivered in New York on May 9, 1855, and published that year under the title "The anti-slavery enterprise." Internal evidence indicates that it was to be delivered to a Boston audience, probably on May 15, 1855.

: James F. Brown Papers, 1827-1866; James F. Brown (1793-1868) was the ex-slave gardener of the Verplanck family at Mount Gulian, Fishkill, New York. Brown was a runaway slave from Maryland, and the Verplancks purchased his time after he was found by his master. The collection consists of 8 diaries, 1829-1866, during which time Brown was gardener for the Verplanck family; 1 receipt book, 1832-1857, recording some personal and household expenses, although most entries are unspecified; and 1 memorandum book, 1827-1843. Entries in the diaries are brief, with little elaboration, and pertain to such matters as the weather, local deaths, his gardening activities, the passage of boats on the Hudson, etc. The diaries are not entirely chronological, as in several instances the entries for a year have been copied into a later volume.

: John Clarkson Manuscripts, August 6, 1791-August 4, 1792; John Clarkson (1764-1828) was an English abolitionist, agent for the Sierra Leone Company, and lieutenant in the British Royal Navy. The collection consists of Clarkson's manuscripts, written in journal form, of his involvement with the settlement of free African-American loyalists from Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone, Africa. The loyalists had been evacuated from New York when the British pulled out at the end of the Revolutionary War and initially settled in Nova Scotia. Vol. 1, entitled "Clarkson's Mission to America," covers Aug. 6, 1791-Mar. 18, 1792 as Clarkson arranged for the transportation of the settlers; it provides a detailed account of his activities in Nova Scotia, persons he met there, and the problems fitting out the ships (478 p.). Vol. 2, entitled "Clarksons Mission to Africa," covers Mar. 19, 1792-Aug. 4, 1792. Clarkson's account of the founding and first months of Free Town, Sierra Leone gives numerous details of the difficulties met, relations with the native population, attitudes of the Nova Scotia settlers, and supplies (422 p.).

: Joseph Goodwin Diary, 1820-1827; Joseph Goodwin was a plantation manager in Cuba originally from Hudson, N.Y. This diary was presumably kept by Goodwin, although it may have been kept by his brother. After leaving home in Hudson, N.Y., Goodwin worked for Gen. George De Wolf, first in Bristol, Rhode Island for a few months and then on De Wolfs plantations near Matanzas, Cuba as a manager or overseer. The plantations grew mainly coffee although other crops are mentioned. The crops were worked by slaves. The diary entries are mainly routine and record weather, plantation activities, people met, and local news. Mentioned often are George and William De Wolf. While in Cuba, Goodwin stayed first at the home of John Line and later at the plantations Buena Esperanza and Arca de Noe. Some pages of the diary are missing.

: Journal of a voyage among the West India Islands,1839 Nov. 11-1840 Apr. 20.; Mahlon Day (1790-1854) was a Quaker, publisher of children's books, printer, and bookseller in New York City. This is a contemporary copy of a diary kept by Day while on a tour of the West Indies (Nov. 1839-Apr. 1840) in the company of Joseph John Gurney, the English Quaker philanthropist, minister, and writer. In most of the places they visited, they did considerable sightseeing, held religious services for all faiths, and were entertained by many residents. They were particularly interested in education, religion, and the condition of the Black population, especially on the free islands as compared to those that still permitted slavery. Day also includes many rhymes composed by Gurney to commemorate particular occasions. Persons whom they visited include: Sir W.M.B.G. Colebrooke and Nathaniel Gilbert of Antigua, and John and Maria Candler of Jamaica.

: Jupiter Hammon poem on Anne Hutchinson, 1770.; Untitled poem attributed to Jupiter Hammon, a slave, who belonged to the Lloyd family, proprietors of the Manor of Queens Village in what is now the Village of Lloyd Harbor, N.Y. It was composed as a tribute to Anne Hutchinson, who advocated for civil liberty and religious freedom in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The poem is part of the Townsend family papers, and was written down by Phebe Townsend, youngest of Robert Townsend's three sisters. The Townsends interacted with the Lloyd family. Inscribed at the foot of page [3]: 'Compos[e]d by Jupiter Hammon, A Negro Belonging to Mr. Joseph Lloyd of Q[u]eens Villiage [sic] on Long Island. August the 10th 1770. Phebe Townsend.'

: Petition of Citizens of New York to Abraham Lincoln, undated [circa 1862].; Undated petition, probably circa 1862, to United States President Abraham Lincoln from citizens of New York requesting that the governor of New York be authorized to raise a number of regiments composed wholly or partly of African American troops, including the signatures and addresses of petitioners. In scroll form, appproximately 25 feet long. Printed document signed., Mss Collection - BV Petitions, New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, 212-873-3400.

: Plan of an African ship’s lower deck, with Negroes, in the proportion of not quite one to a ton, [1789?]

: Records of the Association for the Benefit of Colored Orphans, 1836-1972 (bulk 1850-1936); The Association for the Benefit of Colored Orphans was founded in 1836 and was originally located on Fifth Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets in Manhattan. The Colored Orphan Asylum was among the earliest organizations in the country to provide housing, training, and employment specifically for African-American orphans. During the Draft Riots of July 14, 1863, the Colored Orphan Asylum was attacked by a mob. At that time, it housed some 600 to 800 homeless children in a large four story building surrounded by grounds and gardens. The crowd plundered the Asylum, then set fire to the first floor. The building burned to the ground. The records of the Colored Orphan Asylum document the activities of the institution from 1836 to 1972, with the bulk of the records falling between 1850 and 1936.

: Slavery Collection, 1709-1864; The Slavery Collection contains correspondence and legal and financial documents related to the North American slave trade, slave ownership, abolition, and political issues pertinent to slavery. The Slavery Collection is called an "artificial" collection because a third party placed unrelated items together according to subject matter. Researchers who have used this collection in the past, or those following citations in published sources, should be aware that it was rearranged in 1999 in order to facilitate intellectual and physical access. Certain material that formerly was not arranged, or was arranged chronologically, is now arranged by format. For example, depositions are now grouped together, rather than being interfiled with accounts, receipts or deeds of manumission.

: Town Book for Castletown For the Entry of Black Children, 1799-1827; Birth records and deeds of manumission for African American children in the town of Castleton, Staten Island, N.Y. between 1799 and 1827., Castleton is a former town in New York State. It was located in the northeastern part of Staten Island, prior to the incorporation of Staten Island into New York City in 1898., New-York Historical Society

: Trade Book of the Sloop Rhode Island, Dec. 1748-July 1749; Account book, 1748 Dec.-1749 Jul., kept aboard the sloop Rhode Island while on a voyage to Africa to procure slaves for her owners, Philip Livingston and sons, New York City. Peter James was shipmaster. Included are accounts for the purchase of slaves, gold, and other goods; for sales of rum and other provisions to the crew, various expenses, the purchase of provisions, an inventory of goods delivered to Captain David Lindsey, a record of the deaths of 37 slaves, etc. The trading was carried out on various locations between Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast.

: William Fox's A call to the people of Great Britain, to refrain from the use of West India sugar and rum, 1791

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