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Black Man Buys A Slave Relative, 1829

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Black History

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A Black Man Buys a Slave Relative--Possibly His Son

September 8, 1829, A Black Man Buys A Slave Relative--Possibly His Son!, [City of Washington], Prince George's County, MD, Choice Fine.
In this Manuscript Document, a legal notice from Maryland and the District of Columbia, a Black man, Marlbro Cammal, pays $75 to Henry A. Prather to buy a "Negro Boy named Robert Cammal the Son of Cassa Cammal aged about Seventeen years of age..." Sharing the same last name (Cammal) and racial background (Negro), suggests that Marlbro Cammal was related to the mother and the boy. He is identified in the document as "Marlbro Cammal (a black man)"--and the sale is witnessed by Henry Naylor and George Naylor, justice of the peace. This is a rare document that reflected one avenue for freedom for enslaved African Americans: to be purchased by a free relative. The two-page document on integral folded sheet measures 12.5" x 8", has normal folds, and an edge tear along the top horizontal fold; with crisp brown-ink writing.



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