1755 - SLAVES - SLAVERY - ISAAC SMITH\'S WILL - COLONIAL MIDDLETOWN RHODE ISLAND
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1755 - SLAVES - SLAVERY - ISAAC SMITH\'S WILL - COLONIAL MIDDLETOWN RHODE ISLAND:
$89.88
This antique colonial document features the Last Will and Testament of Isaac Smith of Middletown, Rhode Island. Isaac Smith was a relatively wealthy farmer who owned slaves and lived just outside Newport, Rhode Island. The Will, which is dated 1755, provides that specific properties and specific sums of money are bequeathed to his relatives. It is not known how many slaves Smith owned but on the last page of the will Smith leaves his cousin Isaac Smith \"all the rest of my best negro\'s after my wife hath chosen two of them.\"
In 1755, the year this Will was written, Newport, Rhode Island was the major slave trading market in the American colonies. Slave ships sailed out of Newport harbor, slaves worked in the fields and there were slave craftsmen in the city of Newport. This rare document gives insight as to the manner by which some of the Rhode Island colonists passed their wealth, including their slaves as chattel, to their heirs. This document is an original copy from 1755 written on hand-laid paper. Each page of the three page document measures approximately 8 1/4 x 13 1/4 inches. There are a few small tears, and a few slightly larger tears that have been repaired with invisible archival tape. This rare 261 year-old document is in good condition! As with all my items I am starting this sale at $9.99 with !
1755 - SLAVES - SLAVERY - ISAAC SMITH\'S WILL - COLONIAL MIDDLETOWN RHODE ISLAND:
$89.88