FARISH CARTER PAPERS, #2230, 1794; 1806-1868
Correspondence and financial and legal papers of Carter, planter, land speculator, and
entrepreneur of Scottsborough Plantation, near Milledgeville, Baldwin County, Georgia, and of
Coosawattee Plantation, Murray County, Georgia. The collection primarily documents Carter's
business activities, including the buying, selling, and hiring-out of slaves. Letters also
cover topics such as the treatment of slaves (1825); problems of
slave management (1830-1850); news of house
servants and field hands (1851-1858); effects of
an ordinance passed in Marietta, Georgia, concerning African Americans' autonomy to hire out
their services and relating to their residences (1854); and
marriage customs among slaves (1854). Financial and legal materials
include bills of sale for slaves (1812, 1821); a certificate of character for a slave (1830); bills
for hire of slaves (1840); and terms for hire of slaves (1850). The papers also document Carter's involvement in legal
controversies over ownership of slaves in Florida. Microfilm available.