Lowndes County Circuit Court Record of Slaves, 1845-68

Creator

Circuit Court of Lowndes County, Mississippi.

Alternate Title

Negro Record Book. Slave Register.

Files

Description

Register of enslaved persons brought into the state by their owners not for sale or hire dating 1845-1846. Also includes lists of witnesses summoned to appear before a Grand Jury, 1865-1868.

Transcription

From the "Record of Slaves, 1845-68" for Lowndes County, Mississippi (also known as "The Negro Record Book" or "The Slave Register"). The portion of this volume documenting registered enslaved persons covers 1845-1846. The state of Mississippi enacted a law on May 13, 1837 requiring slave owners to register with the clerk of the Circuit Clerk of the county most convenient to the place where he first entered the state, and take an oath that he had not brought such slave or slaves into the state for the purpose of sale or hire. The clerk was then required to record that the oath had taken place and provide said person with a certificate containing an official seal. Traveling in or through the state without taking said oath would result in an arrest. If found guilty, the punishment was payment of a fine. Citation: Laws of Mississippi-Called Session: 9-368. The "Record of Slaves, 1845-68" book also includes eighteen lists of "Witnesses Summoned to attend and testify before the Grand Jury" for the April, August, October, and December Terms of Court from 1857-1868. In addition, there are four "Summons to appear before the Grand Jury" forms loose throughout the book dating 1865-1867.

Approximate Creation Date

1845-1868

Time Period

1840-1849; 1850-1859; 1860-1869

Subjects

Slaveholders.; Slavery -- Mississippi.; Slavery -- Mississippi -- History -- Sources.; Slaveholders.; Slaves -- Social Conditions.; Plantations -- Mississippi.; Legal documents.; Negotiable instruments.

Keywords

Slavery, Slaves, Circuit Court, Enslaved persons, Lowndes County, Mississippi, Colored, Freedmen

Geographic Location

Columbus--Mississippi; Lowndes County (Miss.).

Object Type

Text

Physical Format

Legal Instrument

Digital Format

TIFF

Physical ID

Lowndes County Circuit Court Record of Slaves, 1845-68

Digital ID

CLP_CircuitCourt_RecordofSlaves_1845-68

Source

Lowndes County Circuit Court Record of Slaves, 1845-68. Billups-Garth Archives, Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System (Mississippi).

Repository

Columus-Lowndes Public Library System, Mississippi

Publisher

Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System, Mississippi

Digital Publisher

Mississippi State University Libraries

Rights

Images, texts, transcriptions, and/or recordings reproduced in this document may be protected by copyright. Users who contemplate reproducing materials should determine ownership and, if restricted, seek permission before reproducing them. Whenever possible, the Local History Department (LHD) at the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System in Mississippi will provide information about copyright owners and restrictions. The LHD provides this information as a service to aid researchers in determining the appropriate use of an item, but that determination ultimately rests with the researcher.

Recommended Citation

Lowndes County Circuit Court Record of Slaves, 1845-68. Local Government Records, Billups-Garth Archives, Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System, Mississippi.

Contact Information

To learn more about this item, please call 662-329-5300