Tag Archives: slave letters

25 March 1863: “… I have full permission to marry from Mr. Castin I don’t like to have to beg but when I know it is my own owner from whom I am asking these favors it prompts me to do so…”

Item Description:  Letter, dated 25 March 1863, written by a slave named “Jimmey” working for the DeRosset family in an office in Wilmington, N.C., stating that his owner has given him permission to marry. “Jimmey” is James W. Telfair, Jr. (born … Continue reading

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27 February 1863: “Dear Master and Mistress, I will send you a few lines to inform you I am not well but I still get along building stockades.”

Item description: Letter dated 27 February 1863 from a slave, Thomas, in Mount Shell, Tenn., to his master, J. M. Oaty, asking him to get a substitute for him in the building of a stockade. Item citation: From folder 17 … Continue reading

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3 October 1862: “My Dear mis I rite you a few Lines for to Let you Know how we ar i hav Bin Sick all this week But am gitting Better…”

Item description: These two letters, both dated 3 October 1862, were written by two enslaved individuals owned by the DeRosset Family of Wilmington, N.C., William Thurber (who later became a minister) and Bella DeRosset. Both write about sickness among other … Continue reading

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10 June 1862: “…i Did not know whare you ware my Dear mis i that the few Lines may find you well…”

Item description: Letter, 10 June 1862, from William Henry Thurber, a slave owned by the DeRosset family of Wilmington, N.C. Item citation: From the DeRosset Family Papers #214, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. … Continue reading

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19 October 1861: “I remain your faithful obedient an humble slave, Jerry Hooper”

Item description: Letter, 19 October 1861, from Jerry Hooper to John DeBerniere Hooper. Jerry Hooper was a slave who belonged to John DeBerniere Hooper (1811-1886), a professor at the University of North Carolina (1836-1848 and 1875-1885), and at a time … Continue reading

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