Antebellum Slave Auction Broadside Advertising 43 Slaves from the Estate of SC Governor's Relative

A 1p broadside advertising an upcoming slave auction from either North or South Carolina (more on this below.) Not dated, but the typography suggests a period between ca. 1820-1865. The broadside is headlined: "Under Decree in Equity. Allston v. Allston. List of Negroes Belonging to the Estate of John E. Allston, Deceased." The names, ages, and "qualifications" of all 43 slaves are itemized below, in what appear to be family groups (which sometimes was a pre-condition of sale.) Expected paper folds, some well-creased and professionally repaired. Isolated ghost ink impressions and stains, else near fine. 8.125" x 13.5."

John E. Allston has not been definitively identified, but he was almost certainly a relative of Robert Francis Withers (R.F.W.) Allston (1801-1864), an extremely wealthy planter politician who served as Governor of South Carolina between 1856-1858. The Allston family had emigrated from England in the late seventeenth century and soon split into two branches, one centered in Warren County, North Carolina, and the other focused in Georgetown County, South Carolina. R.F.W. Allston's side of the family possessed several city residences and plantations, including their ancestral home Chicora Wood. Owning nearly 700 slaves, R.F.W. Allston was the eighth largest slave owner in the United States upon his death. Was John E. Allston a cousin?

John E. Allston's 43 slaves ranged in age between 3 months to 70 years. Of the 24 adults and 19 children living on Allston's plantation, 16 were male, 24 were female, and 3 were undeterminable by first name (Slann, Dorril, Sandy, etc.) The "Qualification" column indicates which tasks slaves performed. Household slaves included a cook, washer, seamstress, driver, coachman, and child's nurse, while there were 15 part-time or full-time field hands. The number of John E. Allston's slaves placed him within the estimated 6.6% of the American population in 1860 which owned between 10-99 slaves. If in North Carolina, Allston's slaves probably produced rice, cotton, or tobacco; if in coastal South Carolina, rice, sweet potatoes, peas, beans, oats, and Indian corn would have been the staple crops.

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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