Slavery and emancipation in rural New York: Evidence from nineteenth-century accounting records

Abstract

Contributing to a more inclusive history, this study explores slavery and emancipation in the northeastern USA, using accounting ledgers maintained in New York’s mid-Hudson River valley during the first half of the nineteenth century. The social and economic circumstances faced by rural blacks prior to emancipation are examined using the accounting records maintained by Ann DeWitt Bevier, a wealthy widow who managed an estate staffed by both slave and free labor. Aspects of rural life after emancipation are revealed by the personal account books maintained by John Hasbrouck. These first-hand records document Hasbrouck’s employment and compensation after emancipation, and show how one African-American family adapted to freedom. This study facilitates a comparison of the practice of slavery in the North and the South, and illustrates how these differences were reflected in the type of information included in the accounting records.