1853 Arkansas Slave Bill of Sale – Two Enslaved Children / SOLD

Description

1853 Arkansas Slave Bill of Sale – Two Enslaved Children

Original handwritten Arkansas bill of sale dated January 28, 1853, documenting the sale of two enslaved children.
The document records the sale by Henry Kelly and Margaret E. Kelly, his wife, to Ford Harris for the sum of $300. It identifies the children as Andy, a boy approximately eight years old, and Nancy, a girl approximately six years old, and states that they were conveyed to Harris and his heirs “forever.”

Signed at the conclusion by Henry Kelly and Margaret E. Kelly, with witnesses Jacob E. Harris and William E. Harris.
A sobering primary-source document of American slavery, recording by name two young children who were treated as property under Arkansas law in the years preceding the Civil War.

Dated: January 28, 1853
Location: Arkansas
Document: Manuscript bill of sale
Names recorded: Andy and Nancy
Condition: Period folds, light toning and expected age-related wear, with the manuscript remaining strong and legible.

Inventory Number: CON 737