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.

“长久以来我始终坚信，将他们留于奴隶制之下违背了宗教与正义的真正要义，因此解放他们乃是我的职责。”1791年9月5日，弗吉尼亚州诺森伯兰地区法院记录了一份由罗伯特·卡特三世（Robert Carter III）起草、落款为同年8月1日的《赠与契约（Deed of Gift）》。在该文件中，卡特解放了分布于弗吉尼亚州5个县18处地产内的452名被奴役者，其范围覆盖从谢南多厄山脊至弗雷德里克斯堡东侧北颈半岛的区域。据信这是美国内战前规模最大的私人解放奴隶行动。本数据集将该文件中所载的人口普查记录转录为可复用电子表格格式，以供学者与后裔社群使用。