Rare 1823 District of Columbia Slave Deed of Trust – Purchase of Enslaved Boy "Anthony" – Charles H. W. Wharton & Henry Waring
From a dark past...
Original Deed of Trust, executed in Washington County, District of Columbia, on December 2, 1823, between Charles H. W. Wharton and Henry Waring, recorded the following day before William Thornton, Justice of the Peace.
The document concerns the use of funds held in trust for Rebecca Wharton, wife of Charles H. W. Wharton, to purchase:
"one negro boy named Anthony about fourteen years of age."
The consideration is stated as $300, and the instrument provides that Anthony is thereafter to be held in trust as part of Rebecca Wharton's separate estate. The deed reflects the legal mechanisms employed in the early nineteenth century to manage married women's property while simultaneously documenting the purchase and legal treatment of an enslaved child as property under the law of the District of Columbia.
The manuscript retains its original recording endorsement dated December 3, 1823, identifying its entry into the Washington County land records, together with the acknowledgment before William Thornton, Justice of the Peace.
Beyond its legal significance, the document offers a stark and powerful record of the institution of slavery in the nation's capital. It preserves the name, approximate age, and purchase price of Anthony, an enslaved fourteen-year-old boy whose life was reduced to a legal transaction. Such documents are now recognized as important primary sources for the study of American slavery, family history, property law, and the legal status of enslaved people in the early Republic.
Condition: Very good. Complete four-page folded document with original signatures, recording endorsements, expected folds, light toning, and minor wear. An attractive, well-preserved example of an uncommon District of Columbia slavery manuscript with exceptional historical and research value.
From a dark past...
Original Deed of Trust, executed in Washington County, District of Columbia, on December 2, 1823, between Charles H. W. Wharton and Henry Waring, recorded the following day before William Thornton, Justice of the Peace.
The document concerns the use of funds held in trust for Rebecca Wharton, wife of Charles H. W. Wharton, to purchase:
"one negro boy named Anthony about fourteen years of age."
The consideration is stated as $300, and the instrument provides that Anthony is thereafter to be held in trust as part of Rebecca Wharton's separate estate. The deed reflects the legal mechanisms employed in the early nineteenth century to manage married women's property while simultaneously documenting the purchase and legal treatment of an enslaved child as property under the law of the District of Columbia.
The manuscript retains its original recording endorsement dated December 3, 1823, identifying its entry into the Washington County land records, together with the acknowledgment before William Thornton, Justice of the Peace.
Beyond its legal significance, the document offers a stark and powerful record of the institution of slavery in the nation's capital. It preserves the name, approximate age, and purchase price of Anthony, an enslaved fourteen-year-old boy whose life was reduced to a legal transaction. Such documents are now recognized as important primary sources for the study of American slavery, family history, property law, and the legal status of enslaved people in the early Republic.
Condition: Very good. Complete four-page folded document with original signatures, recording endorsements, expected folds, light toning, and minor wear. An attractive, well-preserved example of an uncommon District of Columbia slavery manuscript with exceptional historical and research value.
