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Preferred Citation

E. A. Preston letter to Judith Merriweather, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries

Immediate Source of Acquisition

From the Hart Collection.

Scope and Contents

Three page letter from Preston to his cousin, reporting that some of the persons enslaved by him have fallen ill. H mentions that they one enslavewd girl to the illness. Addresses inquiries about buying "good land" and "good" enslaved persons in the country, talks about the settlement of Texas and how "many from Virginia are moving to Texas" and how a fine society might develop there. Preston writes that the enslaved persons "will occasion great distress in this country some time, and not at a distant period." Postscript mentions that land and enslaved persons sell for "very high, men for fifteen hundred dollars, women a thousand" and that those enslaved by the Preston family's "are better than we usually see them."

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Illness
• Slavery--Virginia--History