Estate Document of Edmund Townsend
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Scope and Contents
This manuscript legal document, dated July 30, 1853, from Madison County, Alabama, records financial transactions involving enslaved individuals who contributed crops to their enslaver, Edmund C. Townsend. Justice of the Peace G. B. Strother documented estate information and financial accounts on behalf of the deceased Townsend, including $35.30 allocated to "sundry of his negroes" for their previous year’s crops and $23.00 specifically due to an enslaved person named Woodson for cotton, totaling $58.30. A note on the verso indicates that John E. Townsend, one of the estate’s executors, released these funds to be distributed among the enslaved individuals. The docketing on the document reads: "No. 35. Edmd. Townsend in acct. with his boys," further emphasizing the financial relationship between Townsend’s estate and the enslaved laborers.
Dates
- Creation: 1853 July 30
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Due to the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access to certain materials may require additional advance notice.
Conditions Governing Use
Researchers are responsible for using the materials in conformance with United States copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any copyright claimants in collection materials. Copyright for official University records is held by The University of Alabama. The library claims only physical ownership of many manuscript collections. Anyone wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of literary property rights or copyrights. Please contact Special Collections (archives@ua.edu) with questions regarding specific manuscript collections.
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Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals without the consent of those individuals may have legal implications, for which the University of Alabama assumes no responsibility.
Biographical / Historical
Edmund C. Townsend’s Last Will and Testament, recorded in Ancestry's Alabama, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 database, specifies that funds were set aside for the benefit of two enslaved individuals, Armstead and Woodson. Additionally, Townsend instructed his executors to petition the Alabama State Legislature to grant these men their freedom and allow them to remain in the state. This document provides rare insight into the practice of paid labor for enslaved individuals in antebellum Alabama, shedding light on the complex economic and legal dynamics of slavery.
Extent
.00033 Linear Feet (Multiple collections in flat document box.)
Language of Materials
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The University of Alabama acquired the Estate Document of Edmund Townsend from McBride Rare Books in 2024.
Physical Description
[2]pp., docketed at bottom of second page. Old folds, moderate toning and edge wear. Very good.
Processing Information
Processed by Courtney Tutt, November 2024.
- Title
- Guide to Estate Document of Edmund Townsend
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid created by Courtney Tutt, November 2024.
- Date
- November 2024
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository