Washington District of Columbia

Davidson to Tanner - Bill of Sale
Furnished by : John G. Sharp

Bill of Sale dated 15 April 1826 John Davidson to Lethe Tanner for Oscar Fitz, Allen Cook, William Cook, Alfred Cook, John F. Cook, Betsey Cook, and Laurena Cook.
Introduction: This Bill of Sale dated 15 April 1826 by John Davidson to Lethe Tanner is an excellent example of the historical value of early District of Columbia Slave Bills of Sale that are recorded in the District Deed Books. Alethia "Lethe" Browning Tanner (circa 1785 - 1864) was a remarkable woman who overcame considerable hardship to emancipate not only herself but eventually to manumit her extensive family. Tanner sold vegetables and produce at a District of Columbia in order to accumulate sufficient funds to buy her freedom and the freedom of her extensive family. This Bill of Sale reflects Tanner's purchase of her sister Laurena Browning Cook and her family from John Davidson their owner. Much of the surviving information about Alethia Browning Tanner, Sophia Browning Bell Laurena Browning Cook and their remarkable families are derived from District of Columbia, Department of Education, Special Report of the Commissioner of Education on the Condition of Public Schools in the District of Columbia, submitted to the Senate, June 6, 1868, and to the House, with Additions June 13, 1870 Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1870) See pages 195 - 198. The Special Report published in 1870 is notable for its candor and that individuals who knew the Bell, Browning, and Cook families apparently provided much of the information used in this report. Another important source of information is the last wills and testaments of both Lethe Tanners brother-in-law George Bell and her sister Sophia Browning Bell. They both contain valuable insights into the Bell and Cook family's economic situation and are also valuable to establish the number and names of their surviving children and grandchildren. Their wills were filed in the District of Columbia Orphans Court (Probate Court) see Bell, George1845 Box 17, and Bell, Sophia 1853 box 22. Among those listed on the Bill of Sale below is Lethe Tanner's nephew, the Reverend John F. Cook, Sr. (ca. 1810-1855) who became a school principle and well know figure in the Presbyterian Church and a noted abolitionist.   Transcription: This transcription was made from a copy of the typewritten manuscript of Liber W.B. no 15 Folio 356 filed in the District of Columbia Deed Books. Bill of Sale for slaves and other property could be recorded within the District of Columbia in the Deed Books. Each deed book is identified liber (latin for book) then the alpha numeric for a specific year and defined area. The spelling, punctuation and the use of ampersands is that of the typed documents in the collection of the District of Columbia.   Bibliography: The District of Columbia Free Negro Registers 1821 -1861 volumes 1 & 2 by Dorothy S. Provine Heritage Books, Bowie, Maryland 1996. See the introduction to volume 1 for a discussion the various types of manumission documents used in the District of Columbia. For the birth year of Alethia Browning Tanner,see in particular Volume 1 page 154. Provine quotes Liber Y 24, page 369 and notes that "Lethe Tanner" was freed on July 10, 1810. The 1840 U S Census for the District of Columbia lists "Lethea Tanner" a free black, between 55 and 100 years of age (the 1840 Census enumerates only the heads of household by name and all individuals ages are in broad categories). The 1850 U S Census for the District of Columbia enumerates "Alethe Tanner" as free black, 50 years of age. The ages listed by the Census takers were often guesses provided by relatives or friends. Since there is documentation for the date of her manumission as 1810 the 1850 census listing of her age as 50 is clearly in error; for we know Tanner was a mature adult at the time she was manumitted, hence circa 1785 is a reasonable surmise. Subversives Antislavery Community in Washington D.C. 1828 1865 by Stanley Harrold Louisanna State university Press Baton Rouge 2003 pp 41-42 for information on the life of the Reverend John F. Cook. Free Negroes In the District of Columbia 1790 -1846 by Letitia Woods Brown, Oxford University Press New York 1972 has an excellent discussion on modes of emancipation and manumission in the District of Columbia See particularly chapter 6 pp 97 -120 for her discussion of manumission and the recording of Bills of Sale by deed..   Acknowledgement: My thanks once again to Mr. Ali Rahmann Archivist, District of Columbia Archives, for generously providing a copy of the Lethe Tanner bill of sale .      John G. Sharp                                                                                       1 October 2008
John Davidson} to } Bill of Sale recorded 27th April 1826 Lethe Tanner } Know all men by these presents, that I, John Davidson of the City of Washington, in the District of Columbia for and in consideration of the sum of Fourteen Hundred and Fifty Dollars current money of the United States at different periods heretofore to me paid, by Lethe Tanner, of the City & District aforesaid at and before the sealing and delivery of these presents the receipt whereof i do hereby acknowledge and confess myself to be fully paid & satisfied, have granted bargained sold and delivered unto the said Lethe Tanner the following Slaves Viz: Oscar Fitz - Allen Cook, William Cook, Alfred Cook, John Cook, Betsey Cook, and their mother Laurena Cook. To have and to hold the said slaves unto her, the said Lethe Tanner her heirs and assigns hereby warranting and defending against all claims whatsoever. In Witness Whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed my seal this fifteen day of April one thousand eight hundred and Twenty Six (1826) Acknowledged in presence of R. Johnson John Davidson (Seal) District of Columbia, County of Washington to wit Be it known that on this seventeen day of April 1836 John Davidson appeared before me on of the Justices of Peace in and for the County aforesaid and acknowledged the within Bill of Sale to be his act and deed according to the true intent & meaning thereof and the slaves therein mentioned and conveyed to be the property of Lethe Tanner also mentioned ,- R. Johnson J. Peace   END NOTES Alethia Lethe Browning Tanner (circa 1785 -1864) see : Biography and Last Will and Testament of Alethia Browning Tanner   incuding   Manumission Document

© 2008 Genealogy Trails     by Wayne Hinton