Robert Carter III “Deed of Gift” Emancipation Document, 1791

“I have for some time past been convinced that to retain them in Slavery is contrary to the true principles of Religion and Justice, that therefore it was my duty to manumit them.” On September 5, 1791, the Northumberland District Court of Virginia recorded a “Deed of Gift,” authored by Robert Carter III, and dated August 1 of that same year. In that document, Carter manumitted 452 enslaved persons across 18 of his properties in five Virginia counties stretching from the Shenandoah ridge to the Northern Neck peninsula east of Fredericksburg. It is believed to be the largest private emancipation in the US prior to the Civil War. This dataset transcribes the census contained in that document into a reuseable spreadsheet form for the use of both scholars and descendant communities.