715

PLANTATION OWNER'S ACCOUNT BOOK

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:75.00 USD Estimated At:150.00 - 200.00 USD
PLANTATION OWNER'S ACCOUNT BOOK
<b>715. PLANTATION OWNER'S ACCOUNT BOOK </b> A leatherbound account book., 23pp. filled in , 8vo., kept by plantation owner and slave holder Jesse Kennedy, listing various advances of cash and property given to his seven sons and one daughter from the 1830s to the eve of the Civil War. On the opening page of the book, Kennedy explains that the record of these gifts were being kept so that each of his children would receive their fair share of his estate in the event of his death. It appears that Kennedy's children also had plantations, and in the 23 pages of written transactions there are 22 references to Kennedy either purchasing or giving slaves to his children. At times the neatly written entries are extremely detailed, and in several entries in the book , Kennedy expounds upon his objective of giving fair treatment to all of his children. In an entry dated June 1846, Kennedy gives his daughter Mary a slave named Margaret Jane for $250, a calf for $20, and an additional $200: <i>"...for time given in her minority to marry. The object of this charge as well as a similar one made against Franklin & George is to produce equality as near as I can. Justice is my object. I hope my children will ever be actuated by the same divine principle...</i>". That selling human beings could be linked to equality and to fulfilling supposed Divine principles of Justice reflects much of the mindset of the time. Very good condition.<b> $150-200</b>