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14 Wharfside StreetCharleston, SC 29401
Museum open 10am to 5pm (last entry 4:00 PM) Tuesday-Sunday. Closed Monday.
14 Wharfside Street — Charleston, SC 29401
Oct 05, 2017
In April of 1848, Eliza Kohne, a free white resident of Charleston, South Carolina filed affidavits attesting to the status of John L. Francis and his brother James Francis as Free People of Color. In South Carolina, the free or enslaved status of a child followed the free or enslaved status of the mother. Children of an enslaved mother were enslaved in the eyes of the law, and children of a free mother were considered free.
In this instance, documenting that John and James Francis were free involved demonstrating that they were born to a Free African American mother.
Eliza Kohne testified that John and James Francis were the sons of Hagar, an enslaved woman who was purchased from Kohne’s father John Neufville by Steward Lamboll, and subsequently freed by a Deed of Manumission in 17991.
Please click on the images below to view larger:
Steward Lamboll’s purchase of Hagar from John Neufville was recorded in Charleston Bills of Sale Volume 3N, page 1362:
If you find documentation for a free African American ancestor in Charleston, there are several record sets you can consult to pick up a further document trail. Here are some starting points:
Affivadits Reharding the Free Status of Sarah Houston and Rose Buckmyer, Charleston, SC 1848
[1] South Carolina, Secretary of State, Miscellaneous records, 1771-1868</span></a>, v. 6A-6B 1844-1849, Affidavit and Certificate Concerning the Freedom of John L. Francis, <a href=” https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLV-291W-D?i=359&cat=476811” > </a>, frame 360 of 567, accessed 12 Sep 2017.
[2] Neufville, John, Bill of Sale to Steward Lamboll for Enslaved Woman Hagar. “South Carolina Estate Inventories and Bills of Sale, 1732-1872,” Database online at Fold3.com, https://www.fold3.com/image/256/267326846, accessed 4 Oct 2017. Original Data: Records Of The Secretary Of State, Recorded Instruments, Miscellaneous Records (Main Series), Bills Of Sale, Vol 3N, p. 136.
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