1856 Mississippi Slave Sale of "…five negroes slaves" Including a Young "Mulatto" Boy

MDS, 2pp, measuring 8.5" x 13.75" (folded), dated July 8, 1856, Hancock County, Mississippi. An indenture created by William J. Poitevent who conducts a sale of five slaves as administrator of the William C. Mackie estate, which stipulated that "…five negroes slaves for life should be sold". The public sale was conducted at Poitevent's home in Gainesville (now a ghost town), of which one Thales A. Mitchell "became the highest last and best bidder and-- chaser of one of the slave mentioned in said decree a mulatto boy name Pinckney aged about fifteen years a slave for life, at the price and sum of one thousand one hundred and seventy six dollars…". Written on blue paper, the document exhibits flattened creasing, darkened toning at folds, and minor edge tearing; isolated staining on verso. Very good overall.

William J. Poitevent was a lawyer and prominent businessman in Hancock County who is listed on several source documents from the area as one of the only men during this period who owned and sold slaves. By the time Mississippi had joined the Confederate states in 1861, it had one of the largest populations of enslaved people, third only to Virginia and Georgia. Indeed, there were very few free people of color in Mississippi in the years leading up to the Civil War, the ratio being approximately one freedman for every 575 slaves.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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