This is a volunteer project to review historical deed books to find references to slavery in the United States prior to the end of the Civil War in 1865. The handwritten deeds provide evidence that enslaved people were bought, sold, given, and otherwise conveyed as personal property. The work initially focused on Randolph County, North Carolina, using information from the Randolph County Register of Deeds in Asheboro.
On July 14, 2024, while manually reviewing images, I discovered a new slave deed, bringing the total for Randolph County to 615. Dated exactly 175 years ago, on July 14, 1849, the deed indicates that a "Negro boy" named Reubin was publicly auctioned from the estate of Peter Craven, "where Sarah Craven was the last and highest bidder at the price of Ten Dollars on a credit of nine months".
What emotions did Reubin experience when he was publicly auctioned after the death of his owner? How did he feel about the highest bidder being Sarah Craven, presumably related to the late Peter Craven? Did Reubin survive to witness the end of slavery 16 years later? I don't know the answers to these questions, but I was grateful to rediscover a glimpse into his life, 175 years later.
The text generated by computer from the image was garbled, so I discovered this deed by reviewing images manually.
"Slave deeds" are property deeds - bills of sale, deeds of trust, divisions of property - registered with county courts and registers of deeds that contain information about enslaved individuals. Sometimes these individuals are listed only by number, but more often they are listed by name and age, providing invaluable historical information for historians and genealogists.
See the list of 617 slave deeds. They were found interspersed among the thousands of handwritten pages of land and property transfer deeds in Randolph County from 1779 to 1865.
Many deeds record the sale of more than one enslaved person. We have compiled a list of all persons mentioned.
Not all sales of enslaved persons were recorded in deeds. Therefore this work necessarily gives an incomplete picture of the true extent and impact of slavery in Randolph County.
Five of the deeds that mention slavery appear to be associated with the emancipation of enslaved persons: b12p196 b12p225 b13p183 b16p208 b18p190. Three of these specifically mention the Society of Friends (Quakers).
In celebration of Juneteenth in 2023, the NAACP of Asheboro/Randolph County created a banner listing the names of all individuals discovered in these slave deeds. This temporary memorial was displayed in front of the Historic Courthouse in Asheboro.
The banner was again displayed for a week in front of the Randolph County Courthouse for Juneteenth 2024.
Randolph County was created from Guilford County in 1779. Slavery existed in the United States from its beginning until the Civil War of 1861-1865 led to abolition.
In 1860 enslaved people made up about 10% of the population of Randolph County. Although this is believed to be lower than in surrounding counties, likely due to the influence of Quakers, slavery was integral to Randolph County's economy until emancipation.
Here you can also view the Randolph County Slave Census for 1850, 1860 (Western divison), and 1860 (Eastern division). Unfortunately, the names of the enslaved persons are not listed, only slave owner names, and the age, sex, and "color" of the enslaved persons.
This project was inspired by the above-mentioned People Not Property - Slave Deeds of North Carolina and those who contributed to it.
Thanks also for the encouragement and support of the Randolph County/Asheboro NAACP and its President, Clyde Foust; Chuck Egerton; Ty Brueilly; and Jane Braswell.
This research and website are by Wil Mahan of Randolph County. My work was inspired by, but separate from, similar efforts in other counties by the People Not Property slave deed project of UNCG University Libraries, North Carolina Division of Archives and Records, and North Carolina Registers of Deeds, among others.
Email with any comments or questions, or you can leave a comment below.
I've added this section so you can post comments. Thanks for your interest in slave deeds.