[ENSLAVEMENT & ABOLITION]. Legal document detailing funds to be divided among the enslaved persons of the deceased enslaver, Edmund C. Townsend of Madison County, AL. 30 July 1853.

One page, 7 5/8 x 9 1/4 in. Creasing, ink bleeding/staining, wear to left edge. Signed by G.B. Strother, Edmund G. Townsend (relative of the deceased) and Harris Curry.

G. B. Strother, as Justice of the Peace, records estate information and some accounting on behalf of the deceased Edmund C. Townsend, including $35.30 "In Acct with sundry of his negroes for their crops of last year" and $23.00 "To amt due Boy Woodson for cotton &c." Later docketing on verso records that one of the executors of Townsend's estate, John E. Townsend, released the sum of $58.30 "for the purpose of Dividing out among the several negroes to whom it belongs..."

The Last Will and Testament of Edmund C. Townsend, recorded in Ancestry's Alabama, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 database, details that ten thousand dollars is to be used "for the benefit of Two Yellow Boy[s] Armstead and Woodson." He further requests that his executors petition the State Legislature to grant Armstead and Woodson their freedom and allow them to remain in the state.

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Ms. Horstman has spent over a decade specializing in historic photography and Americana at auction. During her tenure, she has overseen several notable single owner auctions, including property from the inventory of celebrated Americana and antique arms expert Norm Flayderman. During her time with the firm, she has maintained an active membership in the Daguerreian Society. Ms. Horstman holds an MA in Art History from the University of Cincinnati and a BA in Art History from The Ohio State University.

American Historical Ephemera and Photography

[ENSLAVEMENT & ABOLITION]. Legal document detailing funds to be divided among the enslaved persons of the deceased enslaver, Edmund C. Townsend of Madison County, AL. 30 July 1853.

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