Letter signed K[enneth]. Mackenzie, St. Louis, to Gabriel S. Chouteau. “Being informed that the Negro woman and children bid off by me at the Court House on Monday last claim that they are free, and that a suit has been instituted for the purpose of obtaining their freedom, I have to inform you that I decline to pay for, or receive them, because at the time of sale I understood that there was no dispute regarding the title to them as slaves.”, 1843 May 3

Item — Box: 1, Folder: 4

Identifier: D01375

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The Slaves and Slavery Collection is an artificial, or subject-based, collection comprising a variety of documents that have been placed in this collection over the years due to their common subject matter. Approximately half of the documents in the collection are receipts for sales of slaves, some of which were recorded in various courts. The collection also includes deeds of emancipation; personal correspondence; and broadsides offering rewards for the capture of runaway slaves.