Seth Woodroof Account Book, Jones Memorial Library: Sales of Enslaved Persons in Lynchburg, VA, 1834-1840

The Seth Woodroof Account Book, Manuscript 1047, is held at the George M. Jones Memorial Library in Lynchburg, Virginia, and also available digitally. The book is among the collection’s original local history holdings. The account book is believed to have been donated to the library by the Manson family after the library opened in 1908. Data from Manuscript 1047 was transcribed verbatim in 2023 from the original handwritten account book. The dataset includes the first and last names of persons listed in transactions brokered by slave traders Seth Woodroof, John Harris, and Rowan Harris in Lynchburg, Virginia and the Deep South between 1834 and 1840. The dataset includes fields for alternate spellings of first and last names. Within the account book, 206 individuals are listed including 135 sold persons and an additional 33 relocated (presumably enslaved) persons.