Slave trade ledger of William James Smith, 1844-1854

This ledger meticulously details the prices paid and received for scores of human beings (as slaves; only first names are recorded), as well as the expenses incurred by Smith in undertaking this business venture, such as feeding, clothing, sheltering, and nursing the people he purchased and sold. The details of the book illustrate that Smith took several trips between 1844 and 1854 to buy and sell slaves: detailed records of purchases and sales of Negroes exist for all of the years between 1844 and 1854. The listing of expenses for the year of 1844 (the most complete account) indicate that that year Smith traveled from the Piedmont to Charleston, then to Richmond, Virginia and other towns and cities in central Virginia such as Charlottesville, Madison, Orange, Gordonsville, and Fredericksburg. The expense records indicate that Smith returned to the Piedmont via an overland route that passed through Lincolnton, North Carolina (between Charlotte and Hickory). That year he undertook business as far south as Hamburg, South Carolina (near Augusta, Georgia). Personal Papers MSS 190530-01https://digitalcommons.wofford.edu/localhist/1002/thumbnail.jp