{"id":1874,"date":"2023-03-14T11:43:45","date_gmt":"2023-03-14T11:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/?p=1874"},"modified":"2023-04-03T11:22:26","modified_gmt":"2023-04-03T11:22:26","slug":"bills-of-sale-on-ancestry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/bills-of-sale-on-ancestry\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Enslaved Bills Of Sale On Ancestry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A bill of sale is a legal document that records the sale and transfer of ownership of property. In the era of slavery in the United States, enslaved people were considered property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A &#8220;slave bill of sale&#8221; was used to document the purchase of a slave from one owner to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It served as proof of ownership for the new owner and established the \u201clegitimacy\u201d of a slave&#8217;s status as property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This article will show you how to track down bills of sale on Ancestry.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_65 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/bills-of-sale-on-ancestry\/#What_Information_Is_On_A_Bill_Of_Sale\" title=\"What Information Is On A Bill Of Sale?\">What Information Is On A Bill Of Sale?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/bills-of-sale-on-ancestry\/#How_To_find_Slave_Bills_Of_Sale_On_Ancestry\" title=\"How To find Slave Bills Of Sale On Ancestry\">How To find Slave Bills Of Sale On Ancestry<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/bills-of-sale-on-ancestry\/#Tips_for_searching\" title=\"Tips for searching\">Tips for searching<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/bills-of-sale-on-ancestry\/#Step-by-step_guide\" title=\"Step-by-step guide\">Step-by-step guide<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/bills-of-sale-on-ancestry\/#Finding_items_of_interest\" title=\"Finding items of interest\">Finding items of interest<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/bills-of-sale-on-ancestry\/#Tips_for_searching_the_image_collection\" title=\"Tips for searching the image collection\">Tips for searching the image collection<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/bills-of-sale-on-ancestry\/#Alternative_Sources\" title=\"Alternative Sources\">Alternative Sources<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Information_Is_On_A_Bill_Of_Sale\"><\/span>What Information Is On A Bill Of Sale?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The documents typically include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>name and age of the slave<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the purchase price for the individual<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>any special conditions or terms of the sale<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Occasionally, family relationships were also documented. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the example I use below, there is mention of &#8220;an old man of 80 years, father of Betsy&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_To_find_Slave_Bills_Of_Sale_On_Ancestry\"><\/span>How To find Slave Bills Of Sale On Ancestry<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Ancestry has put together an overall category that includes many African American records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is known as the African American Collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many items in the collection are scans of entire books. When these concern plantations or wealthy slave owners, the books can reproduce bills of sale and inventories of enslaved people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tips_for_searching\"><\/span>Tips for searching<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if you know the exact names and birth dates of the people you\u2019re researching, I advise that you don\u2019t use these details in your searches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of the bills of sale only include first names. Aside from that, first names had many different spellings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The bills of sale tend to record the ages of the enslaved (not date of birth), but these may not be accurate. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My advice is that you start by only filtering by state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step-by-step_guide\"><\/span>Step-by-step guide<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(1) Open the search page for the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ancestry.com\/search\/categories\/aabooks\/\" target=\"_blank\">African American collection<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(2) Enter the target state e.g. \u201cSouth Carolina, USA\u201d in the \u201cLived In\u201d box near the top of the page.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"645\" height=\"412\" src=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/african-american-restrict-by-state-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1876\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/african-american-restrict-by-state-1.png 645w, https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/african-american-restrict-by-state-1-300x192.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>(3) Scroll down to the end and find the Keyword input box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(4) Enter \u201cbill of sale\u201d into the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(5) Click the search button at the bottom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll get a lot of results, but most are after 1900 and refer to normal property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We want to restrict a bit better to the slavery era i.e. before 1865.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The left pane has date filters where you can restrict the date range.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"408\" height=\"401\" src=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/african-american-filters-by-date.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1879\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/african-american-filters-by-date.png 408w, https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/african-american-filters-by-date-300x295.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 408px) 100vw, 408px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, you can\u2019t easily say \u2013 give me all records before 1865. I also find that if I restrict to individual decades, I can miss relevant documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My advice is to use a broad filter of the 1800s or 1700s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this example, I\u2019m looking at the results for the 1800s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Finding_items_of_interest\"><\/span>Finding items of interest<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You will need to scan through the results looking for potentially useful results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the example below, I can see by eye that the first results concern the sale of \u201cBrass\u201d, which isn\u2019t relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the second result clearly concerns slave bills of sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tips_for_searching_the_image_collection\"><\/span>Tips for searching the image collection<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are my tips for searching an image collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The difference between an image and a record collection is that records have been individually indexed and are easier to search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With an image collection, a set of papers or a book has been scanned and digitized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I click on the result, the image viewer opens on a single page within a book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This happens to be a table of contents giving the page numbers of two slave bills of sale.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"509\" height=\"265\" src=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/african-american-table-of-contents-in-viewer.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1877\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/african-american-table-of-contents-in-viewer.png 509w, https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/african-american-table-of-contents-in-viewer-300x156.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 509px) 100vw, 509px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>So, how do we jump to the page numbers? Well, it takes a bit of trial and error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The viewer lets you jump to an <strong>image number<\/strong> in the sequence of images. That doesn\u2019t correspond exactly to the page numbers but you can use it as a guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The targets I\u2019m interested in are on pages 351, 352, and 353 in the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, I enter 351 into the image box at the bottom and hit the \u201cGo\u201d button. Then I examine the top or bottom of the image to see the page number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this case, it\u2019s page 326 so we\u2019re a bit off. I know I need to put a higher number into the search box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eventually, I fell upon the correct pages. Here is the bill of sale of over sixty enslaved people.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"519\" height=\"434\" src=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/african-american-bill-of-sale.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1878\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/african-american-bill-of-sale.png 519w, https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/african-american-bill-of-sale-300x251.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 519px) 100vw, 519px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The slaves only have first names, but the full names of the seller and buyer are provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are more details in the previous pages that include which of the women were pregnant. One lady was \u201cnear time of delivery\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some are listed with trades such as carpenter or cooper. There are other somewhat offensive comments about some individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Alternative_Sources\"><\/span>Alternative Sources<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We have a separate tutorial on searching for <a href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/bills-of-sale-on-familysearch\/\">bills of sale on FamilySearch<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike Ancestry.com, FamilySearch is free. You just need an email to create an account. Personally, I find Ancestry easier to search. But it&#8217;s worth trying as many online sources as you can.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A bill of sale is a legal document that records the sale and transfer of ownership of property. In the era of slavery in the United States, enslaved people were considered property. A &#8220;slave bill of sale&#8221; was used to document the purchase of a slave from one owner to another. It served as proof &#8230; <a title=\"Finding Enslaved Bills Of Sale On Ancestry\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/bills-of-sale-on-ancestry\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Finding Enslaved Bills Of Sale On Ancestry\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1874"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2039,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874\/revisions\/2039"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}