"[Lyles] is on his way to your house to purchase a family of negroes."

[Slavery]: [Maryland]: [Lyles, Robert]:

[Manuscript Document Confirming Montgomery County Resident Robert Lyles Not "Trafficking in Slaves," Just Simply a Slave Owner Himself].

Frederick, MD: October 2, 1818. [1]p., docketed on verso. Roughly torn along bottom edge, minor foxing and spotting. Good condition. Item #12956

An uncommon document in Maryland slave history, in which George Baer, the future mayor of Frederick, and a few other men attest that another local citizen named Robert Lyles is not a slave trader. The document reads, in part: "[Lyles] is on his way to your house to purchase a family of negroes. We have known Mr. Lyles many years and have never heard of his Trafficking in Slaves, nor do we believe that in this instance he has any other view, but to purchase them for his own use." Baer served as mayor of Frederick from 1820 to 1823; his correspondent, "C. Burney" is perhaps Clotworthy Birney (1765-1845), a farmer and real estate trader living near Taney Town. An unusual Maryland slave document concerning a slave owner who just wants to buy slaves for his own use, not traffic in them, because that's somehow better.

Price: $650