1858 Letter by Black Man Buying Woman Pre-Civil War Alabama History Americana

Incredible and historically significant 1858 handwritten letter from. Barz (Bars) Jones, a Black man in Alabama, addressed to a local figure negotiating for two women-"your woman Flora" and another named Cathern. He requests to keep one of them in his employ or service "next year, " asking what terms the sender will accept for her. Location: Likely Lowndes County, Alabama. Content: References the desire to acquire the services (or possibly ownership) of two women, written in fluent, formal English.

Provenance: Includes printed census record of Bars Jones, born c. 1841, living in 1920 on the Pella Plantation in White Hall, Alabama. Condition: Folded, some tape residue, but fully legible.

Light wear consistent with age. Rarity: One of the very few known firsthand documents authored by an African American in the antebellum South involving the negotiation of labor or enslaved persons. Deeply important for understanding complexities of race, freedom, and economic participation before the Civil War. Yours with respect, Barz Jones.

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