358:
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254:
33:
167:., on the 3d instant, 2 Negro Men, namely: JOE, a Mulatto, 23 years old, straight black hair, 6 feet 2 inches high, and weighs about 180 pounds; had on a suit of red jeans, cloth cap, and a pair of new brogans. Also, boy JOHN, black complexion, 20 years old, 5 feet 7 inches high; weighs about 165 pounds; has a scar over the right ear in the hair; had on a black cloth coat, tow pants, and a new red wool hat. I will give 25 each, if taken in this State; 50 each, if taken in Kentucky; or 100 each, if taken in any other State. R. H. ELAM. Murfreesboro. Tenn., Sept. 11
342:
237:. By proving that he had a slave depot in a fixed location rather than traveling from "point to point" selling slaves as the tax law described, he was able to avoid paying "three and one-eighth percent, upon the gross amount of sales, making, upon each slave of the value of $ 1,200, the sum of $ 37.50." There were several similar suits pending in the courts, but Elam's was made the
1141:
357:
194:
which was loose in my pocket; also, a plain Gold Lever Watch, with the letters "R. H. E." engraved on the back, made by James G. Bradley, Liverpool, No. 179, with a heavy Gold Vest Chain; also, a plain Silver Lever
Hunting Watch, belonging to J. Q. Webb, besides various other small articles of less value.
296:
At the time of the 1860 federal census, Elam resided in New
Orleans. His occupation was listed as "slave depot" and he reported owning $ 20,000 in real estate and owning $ 9,000 in personal property. Elam was listed as the owner of seven people on the slave schedules that year, ranging in age from 11
249:
were unique among slave traders advertising in New
Orleans papers in that "their advertisements made no reference to the terms of sale," unlike the ads of others who specified that cash or a form of credit called "city acceptances" were both accepted. Also in 1860 Griffin & Pullum advertised that
819:
Gardner's New
Orleans directory for 1861: including Jefferson City, Gretna, Carrollton, Algiers, and McDonogh : with a new map of the city, a street and levee guide, business directory, an appendix of much useful information, and a planters directory containing the names of the cotton and sugar
369:
193:
STOLEN on the night of the 3d instant, my room at the Forks of the Road, near
Natchez, was entered and the following property taken, viz: a small Calfskin POCKET BOOK, nearly new, containing a Spanish doubloon and a one dollar note on some one of the Tennessee banks; about eight dollars in silver,
292:
hospital in New
Orleans between 1859 and 1864. It was profitable for traders to treat sickly enslaved people who had arrived "at their destinations physically and emotionally exhausted, often hungry and suffering from various illnesses—rather less attractive physical specimens than slave traders
127:
Elam was born about 1820 in
Tennessee. According to a 1934 study of the interstate slave trade, Elam both exported slaves from Kentucky to the Deep South, and "served as a local broker for the small traders from the Blue Grass." Elam may have served as a local broker in Mississippi for Kentucky
285:, stables, cow-houses and poultry-yard, the splendid fish-pond, and excellent spring, fine garden and orchard," along with 100 acres of timberland and 190 acres in cultivation. The property was to be subdivided into smaller lots, and Elam's farm equipment and stock would be sold in early 1859.
341:
327:, read "Please call at No. 58 Baronne Street, where planters and others will at all times find a carefully selected and assorted lot of SLAVES for sale. R. H. ELAM." When the U.S. Army recaptured and occupied New Orleans in 1862, Elam fled to Tennessee.
384:
396:
962:(Original publisher: J. H. FĂĽrst Co., Baltimore). Southern Classics Series. Introduction by Michael Tadman (Reprint ed.). Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press.
665:. Vol. IV: Containing All the Cases Determined by the December Special Term, 1853, and Part of Those at the April Term, 1854. Boston: Little Brown & Co. pp. 474–476.
266:
152:
311:, in Dearborn, Michigan, holds bill of sale dated February from Elam for February 19, 1861 for four enslaved people, Harvey, Jack Tweet, Ambrose, and Henry Hindes for
730:"Selected articles from the Natchez Daily Free Trader, published in Natchez, Mississippi, from February 4, 1860 through September 28, 1860, and February 16, 1861."
144:
1168:
1178:
1203:
1188:
1183:
278:
1193:
189:
in 1851. Elam would pay for the "recovery of all or any" of the missing items and pay a "$ 50 additional reward for the detection of the thief."
967:
453:
253:
1035:
917:
448:
183:
Elam reported that he had been burglarized and offered a reward for some non-human lost property in an advertisement placed in the
32:
289:
116:
852:"Bill of Sale for African-American Slaves Bought from Robert Elam by Daniel Morrison, New Orleans, Louisiana, February 19, 1861"
443:
433:
1173:
958:
438:
422:
209:
204:
851:
820:
planters of
Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas : a summary of the commercial history of New Orleans, continued
1107:
222:
148:
679:
663:
Reports of Cases Argued and
Determined in the High Court of Errors and Appeals for the State of Mississippi, Volume XXVII
875:
747:
608:
553:
828:
323:
were struck out by the notary. Elam's last known newspaper ad, which appeared April 9, 1861, three days before the
378:
slave jails on the 1860 slave schedules, including enumeration of people incarcerated on the premises of R.H. Elam
230:
135:
As a property-owning white adult male, Elam was legally permitted to participate in democratic processes in the
578:
817:
185:
164:
404:
298:
226:: "I have just returned to my stand, at the Forks of the Road, with fifty likely young NEGROES for sale."
1102:
324:
217:
1108:
A key to Uncle Tom's cabin: presenting the original facts and documents upon which the story is founded
274:
1198:
297:
to 35. His slave depot was on the same street (possibly the same block of
Baronne Street) as traders
270:
242:
213:
156:
375:
175:
316:
302:
246:
129:
994:
1082:
1014:
477:
473:
169:
1151:
Speculators and slaves in the old South: a study of the American domestic slave trade, 1820-1860
147:, and as such, he seemingly ran for office in 1845, coming in third in a three-way election for
1120:
1112:
1090:
1074:
1041:
1031:
981:
973:
963:
953:
931:
923:
913:
658:
427:
265:
In 1858, Elam listed for sale his 365-acre (148 ha; 0.570 sq mi) property near
199:
1066:
1006:
905:
824:
1128:
238:
909:
799:
1149:
511:
308:
1162:
729:
245:, but seemingly as a satellite to his main office in New Orleans. In 1860, Elam and
1140:
1055:""A Dictate of Both Interest and Mercy"? Slave Hospitals in the Antebellum South"
173:
will copy to amount of $ 5 in daily and weekly paper, and charge to this office.
282:
140:
985:
935:
136:
1124:
1078:
1132:
234:
1094:
1070:
363:
Elam's stand at the Forks of the Road was depicted on a 1856 surveyor's map
1086:
1054:
823:. New Orleans: Compiled and published by C. Gardner. 1861. p. 489.
315: (equivalent to $ 172,947 in 2023) to Daniel Morrison. The state of
1018:
241:. By the end of the 1850s Elam was operating out of the state capital,
293:
described in their advertisements for the purpose of making a sale."
1010:
250:
they were selling out of the "old Elam House" at Forks of the Road.
1045:
927:
252:
273:. Previously the property of Josiah Williams, it stood along the
1116:
977:
476:'s newspaper ad seeking the return of papers stolen from him in
1028:
Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution
216:
in 1852–53. One of Elam's ads from this era was highlighted in
119:
who worked in Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
279:
Nashville and Louisville, and Edgefield and Kentucky Railroad
208:, Elam was one of the "best known" traders operating at the
995:"The Slave Trade between Kentucky and the Cotton Kingdom"
472:
For another "lost items" notice from a slave trader, see
288:
Elam paid for the treatment of 75 enslaved people at the
902:
An Unholy Traffic: Slave Trading in the Civil War South
1059:
Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences
111: – after 1864), usually advertising as
390:
Slave dealers in the 1861 New Orleans city directory
163:"$ 200 REWARD. Ran away from the undersigned, near
91:
83:
75:
63:
46:
23:
191:
161:
554:"Wilkinson County—Election of County Officers"
151:circuit clerk. In September 1850 he placed in
560:. Natchez, Miss. November 13, 1845. p. 2
220:'s coverage of the interstate slave trade in
8:
804:United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1860
686:. Vicksburg, Miss. April 5, 1854. p. 2
512:"Entry for R H Elam and James Wilson, 1860"
430: – American slave trader (~1809–1876)
31:
20:
615:. Natchez, Miss. April 9, 1851. p. 3
999:The Mississippi Valley Historical Review
703:
632:
609:"Stolen, on the night of the 2d instant"
540:
904:. Oxford University Press. p. 69.
858:, Dearborn, Mich., Object ID 92.0.112.3
748:"The Best Bill Yet—Maple Wood for Sale"
558:The Semi-Weekly Mississippi Free Trader
498:
465:
337:
876:"Please call at No. 58 Baronne Street"
715:
680:"Important Decision of the High Court"
281:ran through it. The property boasted "
1030:. New York: Oxford University Press.
846:
844:
794:
792:
783:
771:
674:
672:
644:
528:
7:
659:"Samuel V. Newman v. Robert H. Elam"
603:
601:
599:
506:
504:
502:
1169:19th-century American slave traders
454:Female slavery in the United States
229:In 1853 Elam successfully sued the
16:19th-century American slave trader
910:10.1093/oso/9780197578261.001.0001
856:The Henry Ford Digital Collections
402:Slave depot advertisements in the
14:
1179:History of slavery in Mississippi
1111:. Boston: J. P. Jewett & Co.
449:History of slavery in Mississippi
1139:
395:
383:
368:
356:
340:
1204:History of Natchez, Mississippi
1189:History of slavery in Tennessee
1184:History of slavery in Louisiana
585:. September 10, 1850. p. 2
444:History of slavery in Louisiana
434:History of slavery in Tennessee
1194:History of slavery in Kentucky
993:Clark, T. D. (December 1934).
959:Slave Trading in the Old South
829:2027/dul1.ark:/13960/t5n880n68
736:, University of Texas at Tyler
439:History of slavery in Kentucky
423:List of American slave traders
347:"For Sale—40 Choice Negroes",
317:Louisiana had recently seceded
210:Forks of the Road slave market
205:Slave-Trading in the Old South
1:
1154:(Thesis). University of Hull.
754:. October 22, 1858. p. 3
319:from the Union and the words
105:
50:
900:Colby, Robert K. D. (2024).
1026:McDaniel, W. Caleb (2019).
613:The Mississippi Free Trader
1220:
1053:Kenny, Stephen C. (2010).
882:. April 9, 1861. p. 3
800:"Entry for R H Elam, 1860"
516:United States Census, 1860
223:A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin
657:Cushman, John F. (1855).
30:
1148:Tadman, Michael (1977).
806:– via FamilySearch
518:– via FamilySearch
321:United States of America
837:– via HathiTrust.
299:Poindexter & Little
186:Mississippi Free Trader
117:interstate slave trader
1103:Stowe, Harriet Beecher
262:
196:
181:
1174:People from Tennessee
728:Betts, Vicki (2016),
349:Natchez Daily Courier
325:firing on Fort Sumter
256:
233:sheriff over a slave
218:Harriet Beecher Stowe
165:Murfreesborough, Tenn
39:Natchez Daily Courier
1071:10.1093/jhmas/jrp019
405:New Orleans Crescent
243:Jackson, Mississippi
214:Natchez, Mississippi
130:Griffin & Pullum
718:, pp. 240–241.
583:The Courier-Journal
351:, December 14, 1849
257:"Maplewood Again",
41:, February 10, 1852
954:Bancroft, Frederic
880:The Times-Picayune
478:Richmond, Virginia
474:Theophilus Freeman
263:
261:, December 1, 1858
170:Louisville Journal
145:early Republic era
115:, was an American
969:978-1-64336-427-8
752:Republican Banner
428:William A. Pullum
331:Additional images
275:Gallatin Turnpike
259:Republican Banner
200:Frederic Bancroft
99:
98:
92:Years active
1211:
1155:
1144:
1143:
1136:
1098:
1049:
1022:
989:
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796:
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738:
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719:
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372:
360:
344:
314:
153:runaway slave ad
149:Wilkinson County
110:
107:
76:Other names
55:
52:
35:
21:
1219:
1218:
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1011:10.2307/1897378
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704:Bancroft (2023)
702:
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633:Bancroft (2023)
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541:McDaniel (2019)
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509:
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471:
467:
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419:
414:
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409:
408:in January 1861
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373:
364:
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352:
345:
333:
312:
303:Walter Campbell
247:Walter Campbell
125:
108:
71:
68:
59:
56:
53:
42:
26:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1217:
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1196:
1191:
1186:
1181:
1176:
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1161:
1160:
1157:
1156:
1145:
1099:
1050:
1037:978-0190846992
1036:
1023:
1005:(3): 331–342.
990:
968:
948:
945:
942:
941:
918:
892:
867:
840:
809:
788:
776:
764:
739:
720:
708:
706:, p. 310.
696:
684:Vicksburg Whig
668:
649:
647:, p. 358.
637:
635:, p. 305.
625:
595:
579:"$ 200 Reward"
570:
545:
543:, p. 106.
533:
531:, p. 337.
521:
497:
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489:
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376:Baronne Street
374:
367:
365:
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355:
353:
346:
339:
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309:The Henry Ford
176:Nashville Whig
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121:
102:Robert H. Elam
97:
96:
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25:Robert H. Elam
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919:9780197578285
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813:
810:
805:
801:
795:
793:
789:
786:, p. 38.
785:
780:
777:
774:, p. 37.
773:
768:
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753:
749:
743:
740:
735:
731:
724:
721:
717:
716:Tadman (1977)
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283:out-buildings
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269:, outside of
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198:According to
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957:
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895:
884:. Retrieved
879:
870:
860:, retrieved
855:
832:. Retrieved
818:
812:
803:
784:Kenny (2010)
779:
772:Kenny (2010)
767:
756:. Retrieved
751:
742:
733:
723:
711:
699:
688:. Retrieved
683:
662:
652:
645:Stowe (1853)
640:
628:
617:. Retrieved
612:
587:. Retrieved
582:
573:
562:. Retrieved
557:
548:
536:
529:Clark (1934)
524:
515:
468:
403:
348:
320:
307:
295:
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264:
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231:Adams County
228:
221:
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134:
126:
112:
101:
100:
87:Slave trader
38:
18:
1199:1820 births
1065:(1): 1–47.
159:newspaper:
141:Mississippi
109: 1820
54: 1820
1163:Categories
1046:2018047090
986:1153619151
936:1412042395
928:2023053721
886:2023-11-28
862:2023-11-28
834:2023-11-29
758:2023-11-28
690:2023-11-28
619:2023-11-28
589:2023-11-28
564:2023-11-28
488:References
290:HĂ´tel-Dieu
277:, and the
137:U.S. state
113:R. H. Elam
95:1845?–1864
84:Occupation
79:R. H. Elam
67:after 1864
37:"Notice",
1133:21879838M
1125:317690900
1079:0022-5045
956:(2023) .
493:Citations
313:US$ 5,100
271:Nashville
267:Edgefield
239:test case
235:sales tax
157:Nashville
123:Biography
58:Tennessee
1117:02004230
1105:(1853).
1095:19549698
1087:24631845
978:95020493
734:By Title
417:See also
128:traders
1019:1897378
947:Sources
143:in the
70:Unknown
1137:
1131:
1123:
1115:
1093:
1085:
1077:
1044:
1034:
1017:
984:
976:
966:
934:
926:
916:
1083:JSTOR
1015:JSTOR
460:Notes
155:in a
1121:OCLC
1113:LCCN
1091:PMID
1075:ISSN
1042:LCCN
1032:ISBN
982:OCLC
974:LCCN
964:ISBN
932:OCLC
924:LCCN
914:ISBN
301:and
64:Died
47:Born
1067:doi
1007:doi
906:doi
825:hdl
212:in
202:in
139:of
1165::
1129:OL
1127:.
1119:.
1089:.
1081:.
1073:.
1063:65
1061:.
1057:.
1040:.
1013:.
1003:21
1001:.
997:.
980:.
972:.
930:.
922:.
912:.
878:.
854:,
843:^
802:,
791:^
750:.
732:,
682:.
671:^
661:.
611:.
598:^
581:.
556:.
514:,
501:^
305:.
179:."
132:.
106:c.
51:c.
1135:.
1097:.
1069::
1048:.
1021:.
1009::
988:.
938:.
908::
889:.
827::
761:.
693:.
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