Description:

African American
Norwich, CT, October 12, 1786
Connecticut African American Gets Appraisal of His Clothing
MD
[AFRICAN AMERICAN.] [Benjamin Huntington Jr.], Manuscript Document, Appraisal of Clothing, October 12, 1786, Norwich, Connecticut. 1 p., 7.125" x 5.25". General toning; very good.

This appraisal, probably written by a town clerk , provides an appraisal of six articles of clothing owned by Archelus Negro, likely a free African American man in Norwich. Perhaps Negro needed the appraisal to satisfy a debt or a court judgment, and he trusted Huntington to give him a fair appraisal.

The name "Archelus" may have been a reference to Herod Archelaus (25 BC-ca. 18 AD), the son of Herod the Great and ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea for nine years. Slaveowners in colonial and antebellum America often named their slaves after Biblical characters or classical Greek or Roman figures. Many African Americans kept these names after gaining their freedom, while others changed their names as an act of independence.

Complete Transcript
Norwich 12th October 1786
The following Articles were presented to me the Subscriber by Archelus Negro for appraisal which I appraise according to my best Judgmt as follows
A coat £0.16.6
Drab breeches 0.1.6
Corderoy Vest 5.6
Black Breeches 3—
Black Ditto 7.6
Calico Vest 6—
£2.0.0

[File Note on verso:] Appraisal of Cloathing

Historical Background
As slavery waned in Connecticut under the provisions of a 1784 gradual emancipation act, the number of free blacks in the state grew. In 1790, 2,764 enslaved persons remained in Connecticut. The number declined to 951 in 1800, 97 in 1820, 25 in 1830, and 17 in 1840. In 1844, then Governor Roger Sherman Baldwin proposed legislation to end slavery, but the General Assembly did not pass it until it was reintroduced in 1848. That act freed the six remaining slaves in the state.

In 1800, there were approximately 5,330 free blacks in Connecticut. However, many were little better off as free people than they had been in slavery. They could testify in court and own property, but their socioeconomic status remained poor. Although theoretically, free blacks who owned sufficient property could vote, an 1818 state law specifically denied them the right to vote. Only after the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified in 1870 could African Americans vote in Connecticut.

Many African Americans in Connecticut lived in cities, where they formed separate communities in poor neighborhoods and held low-paying jobs. Few could afford the property necessary to prosper as farmers; most in rural areas worked as field hands.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 7.125" x 5.25"
  • Medium: MD

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