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Collection Overview
Title: Ziba B. Oakes Papers, 1852-1857
Collection Identifier: MS Am. 322
Primary Creator: Oakes, Ziba B., 1806-1871
Extent: 652.0 Items
Arrangement: Original order of the correspondence has been maintained.
Subjects: McElveen, A. J., d. 1874 -- Correspondence., Oakes, Ziba B., 1806-1871 -- Correspondence., Slave trade -- South Carolina -- Charleston -- History -- 19th Century., Slave traders -- South Carolina -- Charleston -- Correspondence.
Languages: English
Abstract
The 652 letters in this collection document the business of Ziba B. Oakes, a slave broker, who lived in Charleston, South Carolina. The letters were written by business associates and cover all aspects of the slave trade business including pricing, selling instructions, and resolving problems with runaways. Oakes’s real estate business and other financial matters are also documented.
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The 652 letters in this collection document the business dealings of Ziba B. Oakes, a slave broker, who lived in Charleston, South Carolina. The letters were written by several business associates and cover all aspects of the slave trade such as pricing, selling instructions, and resolving problems with runaways. Oakes’s real estate business and other financial matters are also documented. There is no correspondence from Oakes.
The majority of the letters in the collection are from brokers, agents, and clients from different parts of South Carolina and other southern states with whom Ziba Oakes did business. For example, there are fifty-eight letters written to Oakes by William Wright from Savannah, Georgia; thirteen letters by Burch Kirkland and Company, from Montgomery, Alabama; and twenty-three letters by Thomas Limehouse, from Goulding, South Carolina. In addition, there are letters from traders from Richmond, Virginia and New Orleans, Louisiana. These contain specific details about slaves bought and sold, and give market prices for each city.
Of the approximately 480 letters written by slave traders, 135 were written by A. J. McElveen, whose job it was to travel throughout South Carolina’s Sumpter District and purchase slaves for Oakes. The letters include details about the number of slaves that were purchased on each trip, their gender and physical descriptions, and where on the plantation they should work. Other matters include the problems he had with selling certain slaves and his dealings with other traders. McElveen’s letters also provide insight into the relationship he had with Oakes.
Additional letters document Oakes’s real estate and other business ventures such as the buying and selling of plantations and railroad stock.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
Boston Public Library Archival and Manuscript Finding Aid Database
Access Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions:
Thank you for your interest in the Boston Public Library’s collections.
In most cases, the Boston Public Library does not hold the copyright to the items in our collections. In addition, we do not assert any additional restrictions on copies of items beyond those that might exist in the original.
As such, we cannot grant or deny permission to use copies of items held in our collections.
It is the sole responsibility of the user to make his or her own determination about what types of usage might be permissible under U.S. and international copyright law. Provision of a copy from the Boston Public Library should not be construed as explicit permission to use it for any particular reason.
Attribution
If you are using a credit line, please use “Boston Public Library” with the collection or call number, if available.
Acquisition Method:
The Ziba Oakes papers were found in a slave pen in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 20, 1865 by James Redpath. In April 1865, Redpath presented them to William Lloyd Garrison. The collection was donated to the Boston Public Library on November 11, 1891 by Francis Jackson Garrison.
Related Materials:
Slave Trade Letters, 1839. MS fAM 1034
Related Publications:
Drago, Edmund L. ed. Broke by the War: Letters of a Slave Trader. University of South Carolina Press. 1991.
Preferred Citation:
Ziba B. Oakes Papers. MS Am. 322. Rare Books and Manuscripts Department, Boston Public Library. Courtesy of the Trustees of the Boston Public Library/Rare Books.
Processing Information:
Finding aid written by Rare Books and Manuscripts staff.
Finding Aid Revision History:
Updated by Kimberly Reynolds, April 2011.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Box:
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Box 27],
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Box 28],
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Box 29],
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Box 30],
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Box 31],
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Box 32],
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Box 33],
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Box 34],
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Box 35],
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Box 36],
[Box 37],
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All]
- Box 37
- Folder 601: McElveen, A.J. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Hainville, Ala., 21 October 1856
- Report on trading, difficulties with James's contrariness. 2p.
- Folder 602: Bitting, J.A. A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Huntsville, Ala., 25 October 1856
- Would like to buy a few Negroes if fever danger over. 1p.
- Folder 603: Cox, William L. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; [illegible], Miss., 29 September 1856
- Asks help in case of unsound woman bought from Mordecai. 1p.
- Folder 604: Brock, Jacob. A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Savannah, Ga., 28 September 1856
- Has not heard from Oakes. 1p.
- Folder 605: Weatherby, Joseph A. A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Greensboro, N.C., 6 September 1856
- Will collect girl; has arranged payment for purchases. 1p.
- Folder 606: Whaley, William. A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; [Charleston, S.C.], [September 1856?]
- Believes Axson's credit for loan good. 1p.
- Folder 607: McElveen, A.J. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Sumter Court House, S.C., 1 September 1856
- On difficulties of business with country people. 2p.
- Folder 608: McElveen, A.J. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Sumter Court House, S.C., 8 September 1856
- Wants to give Joe hundred lashes; will come to Charleston; discusses prices. 2p.
- Folder 609: Behn, George W. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Washington, Washington Co., Tex., 23 September 1856
- Asks prices of various types of Negroes. 1p.
- Folder 610: Montmollin, John S. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Savannah, Ga., 20 September 1856
- Suggests mutual trade in Negroes. 1p.
- Folder 611: Smith, W.W. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Blackville, S.C., 29 September 1856
- Describes woman offered for sale. 2p.
- Folder 612: Pillow, Gideon Johnson. A.N.S. to [Ziba B. Oakes]; Columbia, Tenn., 10 September 1856
- Because of fever at Charleston has purchased Negroes from Richmond. 1p.
- Folder 613: Tharin, Theodore C. A.L.S. to [Ziba B. Oakes]; Grumesville, S.C., 11 September 1856
- On disposal of Negroes in contested estate. 1p.
- Folder 614: Weatherby, Joseph A. A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Greensboro, S.C., 13 September 1856
- Wants only a girl as specified. 1p.
- Folder 615: McElveen, A.J. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Sumter Court House, S.C., 16 September 1856
- Business better in Alabama. 2p.
- Folder 616: Whaley, William T. Jr. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; John's Island, S.C., 18 September 1856
- Wants runaway Moses sold. 2p.
- Folder 617: Norris, A.O. A.D.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; [Charleston, S.C.?], 11 June 1856
- Receipt from executrix of Capt. Thomas M. Howard. 1p.
- Folder 618: Sauls, Caleb A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Walterborough, S.C., 21 August 1856
- Efforts to capture runaway Negro. 2 p.
- Folder 619: Leighton & Sherman Ms.N.S. (W.F. Joy) to Ziba B. Oakes; Georgetown, 16 August 1856
- On negotiation of draft. 1 p.
- Folder 620: Buist, H. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; [Charlestown, S.C.], 21 August 1856
- On ownership of slave now sick in jail. 2 p.
- Folder 621: Cox, John A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Columbia, S.C., 7 August 1856
- Pillow wishes to buy some Negroes. 1p.
- Folder 622: Leighton & Sherman Ms.L. (incomplete) to Ziba B. Oakes; Georgetown, 4 August 1856
- On litigation and payments. 1 p.
- Folder 623: Leighton & Sherman Ms.N.S. (W.F. Joy) to Ziba B. Oakes; Georgetown, 21 August 1856
- Sends payment. 1 p.
- Folder 624: Leighton & Sherman Ms.N.S. (W.F. Joy) to Ziba B. Oakes; Georgetown, 7 August 1856
- Reuty in Charleston Workhouse. 1 p.
- Folder 625: Cox, John A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Mount Pleasant, Tenn., 1 August 1856
- Wants to buy 8 or 10 men. 1p.
- Folder 626: Weatherby, Joseph A. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Greensboro, N.C., 7 August 1856
- Has bought Negroes wanted in Richmond; criticizes Oakes for trying to please Negroes. 1 p.
- Folder 627: Hickman, William H. A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Pulatka, Fla., 31 August 1856
- Boy Stephen has run away; asks former owner's name. 1 p.
- Folder 628: Freemasons. South Carolina. Humility Lodge Ms.N.S. (Robert may, Secretary) to Ziba B. Oakes; [Branchville, S.C.?], 23 August 1856
- Asks minutes of lodge sent. 1 p.
- Folder 629: McElveen, A.J. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Sumter Court House, S.C., 2 August 1856
- On projected purchases. 2 p.
- Folder 630: McElveen, A.J. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Sumter, S.C., 8 August 1856
- Must have advice on market prices. 2 p.
- Folder 631: Pillow, Gideon J. A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Columbia, Tenn., 5 August 1856
- Wishes to buy some girls aged 14 to 18. 1 p.
- Folder 632: McElveen, A.J. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; [Sumter Court House, S.C.], 13 August 1856
- Fever at Charleston; plans for going to Alabama. 2 p.
- Folder 633: Cook, J. A.L.S. to A. J. McElveen; Fort Deposit, Ala., 21 August 1856
- Prospects for business in Alabama. 1 p.
- Folder 634: Alston, J.A. A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Aiken, S.C., 8 October 1853
- Asks due date of note. 1 p.
- Folder 635: Nisbet, M.C. A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Louisville, Ky., 21 August 1856
- Asks about land offered for sale. 1 p.
- Folder 636: Brock, Jacob Ms.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Palatka, Fla., 7 August 1856
- Sends titles for land being sold. 1 p.
- Folder 637: Aikman, John A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; [Charlestown, S.C.?], 27 August 1856
- On sale of circular saw. 1 p.
- Folder 638: Robertson, A.P. A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Hamburg, Tenn. [?], 8 August 1856
- On runaway slave. 1 p.
- Folder 639: Montmollin, John S. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Savannah, Ga., 25 September 1856
- On Savannah market. 1 p.
- Folder 640: McElveen, A.J. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Sumter Court House, S.C., 30 August 1856
- Efforts to find runaway Joe; plans for going to Montgomery. 1 p.
- Folder 641: South Carolina. Court of Common Pleas. Ms.D.S. (Nelson Mitchell) to Ziba B. Oakes; Charleston, S.C., 17 July 1856
- Summons to Oakes to appear in case between South Carolina Railroad and Arthur Blake. 2 p.
- Folder 642: McElveen, A.J. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Sumter, S.C., 8 July 1856
- Did not reach Darlington sale because of train delay; prices there high; asks about fever at Charleston; justifies conduct. 2 p.
- Folder 643: Bouknight, C. A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Columbia, Tenn., 9 July 1856
- Wants a house girl; asks about advertisement. 1 p.
- Folder 644: Brownlee, E. A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Ridgeville, S.C., 21 July 1856
- Will be in Charleston about Philip. 1 p.
- Folder 645: McElveen, A.J. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Sumter Court House, S.C., 10 July 1856
- Birth of Son; attempted purchase. 2 p.
- Folder 646: Alston, J.A. A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; [Charlestown, S.C.], 26 July 1856
- Requests visit at hotel. 1 p.
- Folder 647: Villeponteaux, William W. A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; [Charlestown, S.C.], 18 July 1856
- Arrangements with wife over ownership of girls. 1 p.
- Folder 648: McElveen, A.J. A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Sumter, S.C., 28 July 1856
- On current prices. 1 p.
- Folder 649: Norris, A.O. A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; [Charlestown, S.C. ?], 25 July 1856
- On payment by Benjamin Mordecai. 1 p.
- Folder 650: Leighton & Sherman Ms.N.S. (Wm F. Joy) to Ziba B. Oakes; Georgetown, 25 July 1856
- Asks about Reuty. 1 p.
- Folder 651: McElveen, Elijah A.L.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Sumtercille, S.C., 7 July 1856
- Asks prices of Negroes. 1 p.
- Folder 652: Wood, E.J.C. A.N.S. to Ziba B. Oakes; Aiken, S.C., 27 July 1856
- Offers $950 for Henry if willing to come. 1 p.
Browse by Box:
[
Box 27],
[
Box 28],
[
Box 29],
[
Box 30],
[
Box 31],
[
Box 32],
[
Box 33],
[
Box 34],
[
Box 35],
[
Box 36],
[Box 37],
[
All]
