Guide to the Allegheny County (Pa.) Recorder of Deeds Manumission and Indenture Records 1792-1857

Repository Heinz History Center Title Allegheny County (Pa.) Recorder of Deeds Manumission and Indenture Records Collection Number MSS 494 Extent 2 linear feet Date 1792-1857 Abstract Manumission records, also referred to in this collection as Certificates of Freedom or Freedom Papers, are legal documents used to verify the status of freeborn Blacks and those released from servitude. Copies of manumission and indenture records were recorded with the Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds, the office established to document sales or transfers of property such as land, homes or businesses. In 2007, the documents in this collection were uncovered by staff at the Department of Real Estate, the office that succeeded the Recorder of Deeds, and transferred to the Heinz History Center. This collection consists of copies of 49 manumission records and 12 indenture agreements, dating from 1792 until 1857. The documents have been digitized and are accessible online at exhibit.library.pitt.edu/freeatlast. Language The material in this collection is in English. Author The guide to this collection was written by Robyn Reed and Matt Strauss. Publisher Heinz History Center Address 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

History

Manumission records, also referred to in this collection as Certificates of Freedom or Freedom Papers, were legal documents that verified the status of freeborn Blacks and those released from servitude. Indentures records were formal agreements binding a servant to a master. In Pennsylvania, the Gradual Abolition Act called for children of slave mothers born after 1780 to serve as indentured servants until they reached the age of 28 years.

In Allegheny County, manumission and indenture records were recorded with the Recorder of Deeds, the office established to document sales or transfers of property such as land, homes or businesses. Pennsylvania law requires that for the transfer of property to be binding on third parties, the deed must be recorded with the Recorder of Deeds. Fees were collected by the Recorder of Deeds and in return the transaction was recorded, providing both parties with proof of the legal transfer of property. With a legal affidavit attesting to their status, freed Blacks could have some protection against being kidnapped and sold into slavery.

In May 2005, Allegheny County voters authorized the consolidation of several local government offices, including the Office of the Recorder of Deeds. The Allegheny County Department of Real Estate was created to manage the recording of deeds and mortgages, property ownership and mapping, and realty taxes.

Scope and Content Notes

This collection contains copies of 49 manumission records and 12 indenture agreements, dating from 1792 until 1857, found in deed books by staff at the Department of Real Estate in 2007. The documents were removed from the legers and transferred to the Heinz History Center for preservation purposes and to provide greater access to the public. Noted on the folder is the deed book from which each document originated.

The manumission documents typically contain the individual's name, physical description, birthplace, and reason for the manumission. If the record documents the freeing of a slave, the price the individual paid for their freedom may also noted. Records indicating freeborn status may also include verification from a witness.

Indenture documents contain the terms of the indenture and the names of the concerned parties. Often, slaves emancipated from bondage became immediately indentured, at times to a different master. The names of several notable Pittsburghers, such as William Croghan Jr., John McKee, and James O'Hara, appear in these documents as contractors of indentured servants.

Conditions Governing Access

Researchers should use the photocopies found in Series II or view digital surrogates online at exhibit.library.pitt.edu/freeatlast. Original documents found in Series I are only to be used under the close supervision by Library and Archives staff.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Valerie McDonald Roberts, Manager of the Department of Real Estate, on behalf of Allegheny County. The records were donated in November 2007 and March 2012.

Archives Accession#: 2007.0261, 2012.0063

Existence and Location of Copies

The documents have been digitized and are accessible online at exhibit.library.pitt.edu/freeatlast. The website, constructed by University of Pittsburgh's University Library System, is an online version of "Free at Last? Slavery in Pittsburgh in the 18th and 19th Centuries," an exhibit on display at the Heinz History Center from October 2008 to April 2009.

Preferred Citation

Allegheny County (Pa.) Recorder of Deeds Manumission and Indenture Records, 1792-1857, MSS# 494, Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Robyn Reed in January 2009. and Matt Strauss in January 2010. Finding aid updated by Matt Strauss in December 2012.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.

Subjects

Other Subjects

Container List

Series I Original Records from Deed Books, , 1792-1857 Deed Book Volume 2F-31, Pages 1 & 2, Containers Box 1 , Folder 1

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 2G-32, Pages 131, 132, 395, & 396

Scope and Contents

  1. Indenture, Mary Smith, 1825 (p.131)
  2. Indenture, Sally, 1825 (p.395)
Deed Book Volume 2K-35, Pages 63 & 64

Scope and Contents

  1. Certificate of Freedom, Amery Joiner, 1827(p.63)
  2. Certificate of Freedom, Mary Joiner, 1827(p.64)
Deed Book Volume 2L-36, Pages 372-375

Scope and Contents

  1. Certificate of Freedom, Matilda Richardson, 1828 (p.372)
  2. Indenture, Matilda Richardson, 1828 (p.372- 373)
  3. Certificate of Freedom, Charles Gouldman, 1828 (p.373)
  4. Indenture, Charles Gouldman, 1828 (p.374)
Deed Book Volume 2X-47, Pages 121-124

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 2Y-48, Pages 447 & 448

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 3C, Pages 24, 25, 186-187, 364-365

Scope and Contents

  1. Certificate of Freedom, Peter Cosco, 1792(p.24)
  2. Indenture, Negro Suck, 1793 (p.187)
  3. Indenture, Deemer, 1794(p.364)
Deed Book Volume 3C-52, Pages 203-204

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 3D-53, Pages 459-460, 535-536

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 3E-54, Pages 67-68, 71-74, 185-186, 206-207, 338-339

Scope and Contents

  1. Certificate of Freedom, Henry Stevens, 1837(p.68)
  2. Certificate of Freedom, James Bayly, 1837(p.72-73)
  3. Certificate of Freedom, Henry Williams, 1837(p.186)
  4. Certificate of Freedom, Stephen, 1837(p.207)
  5. Certificate of Freedom, Jacob, 1837(p.338-339)
Deed Book Volume 3H-57, Pages 353-354

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 3I-58, Pages 203-206

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 3L-60, Pages 249-250

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 3M-61, 296-299, 366-367

Scope and Contents

  1. Certificate of Freedom, Emanual Jackson, Jr., 1841(p.297-298)
  2. Certificate of Freedom, Armsted, 1841(p.366)
  3. Certificate of Freedom, Milly, 1841(p.367)
Deed Book Volume 3N-62, Page 1

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 3O-63, Pages 52-53, 462-463

Scope and Contents

  1. Certificate of Freedom, Johnston Howard, 1841(p.53)
  2. Certificate of Freedom, Matilda Hall, 1842(p.462)
  3. Certificate of Freedom, Edward Robinson, 1842(p.463)
Deed Book Volume 3S-67, Pages 611-612

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 3T-68, Pages 293-294

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 3V-69, Pages 573-576

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 3X-71, Pages 333-334

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 3Z-73, Pages 637-638

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 3Z-73, Pages 637-638

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 4T-92, Pages 467-468, 487-488

Scope and Contents

  1. Certificate of Freedom, Thomas Mahorney, 1850(p.467-468)
  2. Certificate of Freedom, Oscar Wright, 1841(p.487)
Deed Book Volume 12M, Pages 203-206, 281-282

Scope and Contents

  1. Certificate of Freedom, Jacob Moore, 1804(p.204-205)
  2. Certificate of Freedom, Caleb Mills, 1804(p.281)
Deed Book Volume 14, Pages 435-436

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 14-O, Pages 253-254

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 16, Pages 547-548

Scope and Contents

  1. Certificate of Freedom, James Cooper, 1810(p.547)
  2. Indenture, Comfort Tunnel, 1810(p.547-548)
Deed Book Volume 16Q, Pages

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 21, Pages 1-2, 235-236

Scope and Contents

  1. Certificate of Freedom, Mary, 1815(p.2)
  2. Indenture, Frankey, 1815(p.235)
  3. Certificate of Freedom, Frankey, 1815(p.236)
Deed Book Volume 21V, Pages 1-2

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 22, Pages 331-332

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 98, Pages 203-206, 399-400

Scope and Contents

  1. Certificate of Freedom, Archibald Brant, et al, 1851 (p.203-206)
  2. Certificate of Freedom, Julia Mason, 1851(p.400)
Deed Book Volume 110, Pages 493-496

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volume 130, Pages 49-52

Scope and Contents

Deed Book Volumes 12M (Page 435) 17R (Page 531),18S (Page 537), 18S (Page 538), 19T (Page 494)

Scope and Contents

  1. Indenture, Jerry Jones, 1805
  2. Freedom Papers, Peter Griffith, 1812
  3. Certificate of Freedom, Bob Smith, 1813
  4. Freedom Paper, Essex, 1813
  5. Indenture, Hester Hill, 1814
Series II Photocopies

Scope and Contents

The container list of the photocopies in Box 2 mirrors the container list of Box 1.

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