Manuscript Collections
Manuscript collections contain non-government historical records of private individuals and organizations that have shaped and influenced the history of Florida.
Typical contents include correspondence, diaries, journals, maps, photographs and the organizational papers of business, fraternal, professional, religious and social organizations.
Many of these records document the Black experience in Florida and provide case studies for understanding the history of enslavement and the lived experiences of Freedmen in Florida.
- Sallie G. Bradford, Walnut Hill Plantation, Record of Enslaved Births and Deaths, 1860-1876 (M85-10)
- The collection consists of a register recording the names and dates of birth of Black persons enslaved by Thomas A. Bradford. The register was started by Thomas' niece-in-law, Sallie, and was continued by an unknown source after her death in 1867. A few names are crossed out to indicate their deaths.
- Birth dates range from 1802 to 1876 and appear to be grouped by parent. Another section includes the birth dates of the 32 enslaved people.
- Also included in the journal is an account of winter clothes provided to several enslaved persons, primarily shirts, pants and dresses. Some of the names listed are duplicates from the birth record; however, others are unique.
- John D. Gray Deed of Trust, 1841 (M97-15)
- This collection contains an 1841 deed of trust between John D. Gray and his older brother, William, using John's St. Joseph properties and enslaved persons as collateral for a financial loan.
- Included in the deed are the names and ages of several persons enslaved by John Gray.
- Forbes purchase collection, 1817-1910 (M82-10)
- The collection contains correspondence and legal papers concerning the federal litigation over ownership of the lands contained in the Forbes Purchase, as well as receipts, indentures and other agreements made by interested parties.
- There are documents from the case of Andrew Garr vs. the Apalachicola Land Company and from suits filed by the Union Bank of Tallahassee.
- Most of the documents date from the mid-19th century when the litigation occurred, though some papers date to 1910.
- Union Bank lawsuit records within this collection include some materials relating to the transfer and treatment of enslaved Black and "mulatto" persons.
- Notable materials include: the will of William Oliphant of South Carolina, 1847, which bequeaths the enslavement of named individuals to various relatives; a lawsuit against Thomas Gaskins, deceased, for cruel and inhumane punishment of an enslaved person, Sam, filed November 1842 in Leon County; a November 1842 lawsuit filed in Leon County against William Burney, deceased, for the theft of the 11 named enslaved people originally enslaved by William Tradewell; an appraisal of named enslaved persons and perishable property of the estate of Col. Alfred M. Gatlin, dated March 25, 1841; and an assignment of power of the estate of Alfred M. Gatlin, deceased, to his wife, Sarah A. Gatlin, dated March 8, 1842 in Leon County, that describes an allotment of real property and 29 enslaved persons to Sarah with said enslaved persons identified by name and age.
- George Washington Scott Papers, 1850-1904 (M87-22)
- The collection documents the personal and professional life of George Washington Scott with a focus on the Civil War period.
- It contains personal and official military correspondence, Civil War reports and hand-drawn maps, a partial muster roll of the 5th Florida Cavalry, an account of the Battle of Natural Bridge by General William Miller and other related items.
- There are also newspaper clippings, genealogical information and a typescript copy of Scott’s diary from 1850 to 1851.
- The Civil War maps, hand-drawn by Scott, are also available as photographic prints.
- Also included in this collection are three receipts for the sale of enslaved Black persons in Tallahassee that note the names and ages of the enslaved persons along with the dates of sale.
- Leon County Residents Papers, 1800s (N2017-16)
- This collection includes records of various residents of Leon County in the late 19th century.
- Notable materials include a bill of sale for enslaved persons that notes their names, ages and the date of sale and a Schedule of Taxable Property for Samuel Willard Brown, Iamonia, Florida, dated 1863, that includes names and ages for enslaved persons.
- John T. Bryan papers, 1822, 1864-1865 (N2017-17)
- This collection includes records related to John T. Bryan's service in the Confederate Army, 1st Georgia Regiment.
- Also included is an 1822 bill of sale for three enslaved persons that lists the individuals by name.
- Bill of Sale for Enslaved Persons Joannah, Jeff and Sarah, 1842 (N2017-114)
- This collection contains a bill for the sale of three enslaved persons - Joannah, Jeff and Sarah - who were sold at public auction in Quincy, Florida, to a William Monroe after their previous enslaver, William Maner, lost a mortgage foreclosure case against the Union Bank of Florida.
- Commissioners C. H. Dupont and E. C. Cabell oversaw the auction and sale.
- Aaron Tison deed, 1834 (N2017-82)
- This collection includes a property deed from Aaron Tison to John C. Richard, signed March 8, 1834, in Columbia County, Florida.
- The property outlined in this deed includes six named enslaved persons as well as cattle, horses and a wagon.
- Blackshear, Pittman, White, Dickens and Drew families papers, ca. 1700s-1970s (N2005-9)
- This collection consists of correspondence, personal papers, business papers, photographs and other materials of the Blackshear, Pittman, White, Dickens and Drew families of Jackson County, Florida and Laurens County, Georgia.
- The collection is organized into six subseries. Subseries 3 and 6 hold materials of particular interest in tracing the lives of enslaved individuals.
- Subseries 3 includes letters making very brief mention of enslaved persons, but these constitute a very small portion of the topics discussed in these letters.
- Subseries 6, Box 25, includes a number of records relating to the enslavement of Black persons by Thomas Williams and Thomas White, including receipts of sale for enslaved persons that list their names and the dates of sale.
- Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church Records, 1847-1878, 1908-1941 (M74-21)
- This collection contains microfilmed copies of records of the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Tallahassee and the surrounding area.
- It includes a list of Catholics in Chattahoochee, Quincy, St. Marks, New Port, Tallahassee, Monticello and Madison along with a register recording confirmations, baptisms, marriages, burials and visits of the missionary priest from 1847 to 1878.
- This collection also includes the names of Black congregants baptized from 1851 to 1864.
- Simpson Family Papers, 1825-1978 (M91-5)
- The collection includes some miscellaneous books and papers collected by the Simpson family such as railroad pension application papers of Dabney Palmer; an autograph book, late 1800s; slave records, 1842-1858; and a transcript of the parish book of the Presbyterian Church in Monticello, 1864-1879.
- Six volumes, 1875-1877 and 1904-1934, listing coffin sales by a Jefferson County undertaker provide such information as name, age and race of the deceased; the cause of death, if known; and cost of the coffin.
- One folder contains seven deeds of sale for enslaved Black persons to enslaver William Perkins, filed in Leon County between 1842 and 1858. The records name and describe the enslaved persons.
- Elliot Family Papers, 1851-1957 (M86-38)
- Within this collection, the Frederick R. Cotten materials dating from the 19th century include a card advertising a debate about the participation of Black men in politics and a plantation journal book listing 19 enslaved Black individuals by name and recording the weights of cotton bales picked at Burgesstown in Leon County in 1860.
- Also included in these materials is a receipt for the $15,000 purchase of 35 named enslaved men and women by Cotten from Gary Whitaker Sr. of Halifax County, North Carolina on August 29, 1837.
- One folder contains a copy of a letter written by Lenn, an enslaved man in Lunnenburg City, Virginia, to his sister Memory in Tallahassee, Florida, dated November 30, 1855.
- Thomas Fitch Papers 1818-1836 (M93-1)
- This collection contains correspondence, invoices, agreements and contracts related to the business and legal activities of Thomas Fitch in South Georgia and East Florida from 1818 until his death in 1821.
- It also includes papers dated 1822-1836 related to the settlement of his estate, including an inventory of personal estate, valuation of enslaved persons and record of sale of household effects.
- The estate settlement papers include a receipt for hiring out 13 acres of land to three free Black men named Sancho, George and Mingo in February 1822.
- The collection also contains several items that describe Fitch's activities as an enslaver. Notable documents that contain the names and ages of enslaved persons include an 1819 proposal by Fernando M. Arredondo to sell his plantation and 27 enslaved persons to Fitch, an 1820 agreement between Fitch and Benjamin Chaires for division of 59 enslaved persons purchased from George Atkinson and a valuation of persons enslaved by Fitch, circa 1821.
- Taylor Family Papers, 1850-1960 (M83-27)
- The collection contains the 1850s journal of Elizabeth L. Taylor in Black Creek, Duval County, wherein she recorded the names and birth and death dates of several enslaved Black persons from 1850 to 1863 and the approximate 1830s birth years of two enslaved Black women.
- William Elliston Parmenter Papers, 1884-1932 (M86-26)
- The collection contains 30 bound volumes of personal diaries, journals and ledgers of William E. Parmenter, Jr.
- The diaries (1892-1932) contain short daily entries that reflect the planting, harvesting and marketing of his produce.
- Entries often include the names of farm workers in his employ and a notation of the weather and temperature.
- The diaries also reflect family travels and home life.
- Edmund Cottle Weeks Papers, 1854-1935 (M74-22)
- The collection contains the papers of Major Edmund Cottle Weeks and Elizabeth Hunt Weeks from 1854 to 1935.
- The majority of E. C. Weeks' papers relate to his term as United States Marshal from 1890 to 1895 and include official correspondence and record books, civil, execution and criminal dockets, ledgers, accounts, jury lists and subpoenas.
- After U.S. Army forces supporting Reconstruction efforts withdrew from the Republican government, the Freedmen were exposed to extreme hostility from their white neighbors. In 1890, the U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Florida resigned in frustration at the inability to enforce the laws of the United States in Florida. President W.H. Harrison appointed Weeks as the new Marshal. Weeks carried out his duties in conflict with the people of Florida, and Freedmen and whites seeking sanctuary from mobs often used his home in Tallahassee as a refuge.
- Craigmiles Family Papers, 1802-1899 (M87-23)
- This collection includes the family papers of Pryor Lee Craigmiles, a North Carolina planter that settled in Thomas County, Georgia in the 1860s.
- By 1868, the Craigmiles property extended into Leon County, Florida. After the Civil War, Craigmiles employed Freedmen to work his farm and rented out property to Thomas Hart, a Freedman.
- Materials of interest include a letter from Pryor Lee Craigmiles dated May 10, 1868, describing the condition of Freedmen living on his property. The letter also lists the names and ages of Thomas and Catherine Hart and their children.
- Henry Edward Partridge Diary, 1837-1888, 1895 (M91-11)
- This diary begins as a reminiscence, 1850-1870, describing Partridge's childhood years up through his college days, then assumes the daily entry form from 1873 to 1888. At the end are fragments dated 1895.
- The diary contains descriptions of Partridge's travels throughout Florida and Mississippi and presents Partridge's commentaries on the social and economic life of the times and information about his family, friends and the different churches he pastored.
- One passage from 1873 describes Mollie, a woman enslaved by the Partridge family who was originally brought to South Carolina on a slave ship from Africa. A hand-tinted daguerreotype photograph of Mollie is included in Monticello Photographic Collection M84-41 and has been digitized and is available on Florida Memory.
