622. WATSON FAMILY PAPERS
ca. 10,000 items, ca. 1760-1890
Correspondence, business and personal, ledger books, bank books, farm
account books, and sundry memorandum books of this Louisa
County family. This collection is rich in slave material and may
prove useful for quantitative approaches to slavery. Many of the journals
and the private correspondence refer to slavery and particular slaves.
Examples are a May 3, 1768, letter outlining
medical treatment for a young male slave; an 1824-50 farm diary describing the division of
slaves among the family members and the work performed; an 1858 account book in which pages 32-60 are devoted
to a description of the work done by each slave; and an 1866 account book labeled "Freedman Accounts."
(Acc. 530)
