There were two legal places for selling slaves in Augusta; the Lower
Market, at the corner of Fifth and Broad Street, and the Upper Market at
the corner of Broad and Marbury Streets. The old slave quarters are
still standing in Hamburg, S.C., directly across the Savannah River from
the Lower Market in Augusta. Slaves who were to be put up for sale were
kept there until the legal days of sales.
Advertisements in the newspapers of that day seem to point to the fact
that most slave sales were the results of the death of the master, and
the consequent settlement of estates, or a result of the foreclosure of
mortgages.
In the Thirty-Seventh Section of the Ordinances of the City of Augusta,
August 10, 1820-July 8, 1829, is the following concerning Vendue
Masters:
"If any person acts as a Vendue Master within the limits of
this City without a license from the City Council, he shall be
fined in a sum not exceeding $1,000.00. There shall not be more
than four Vendue Masters for this city. They shall be appointed
by ballot, and their license shall expire on the day proceeding
the 1st Saturday in October of every year. No license shall
be issued to a Vendue Master until he has given bond, with
securities according to the laws of this State, and also a bond
with approved security to the Council for the faithful discharge
of his duties in the sum of $5,000.00."
The newspapers of the time regularly carried advertisements concerning
the sale of slaves. The following is a fair sample:
"Would sell slaves: With this farm will be sold about Thirty
Likely Negroes mostly country born, among them a very good
bricklayer, and driver, and two sawyers, 17 of them are fit for
field or boat work, and the rest fine, thriving children."
The following advertisement appeared in _The Georgia Constitutionalist_
on January 17, 1769: "To be sold in Savannah on Thursday the 15th. inst.
a cargo of 140 Prime Slaves, chiefly men. Just arrived in the Scow
Gambia Captain Nicholas Doyle after a passage of six weeks directly from
the River Gambia." by Inglis and Hall.
Most of the advertisements gave descriptions of each slave, with his age
and the type of work he could do. They were generally advertised along
with other property belonging to the slave owner.
The following appeared in the Chronicle and Sentinel of Augusta on
December 23rd, 1864: "Negro Sales. At an auction in Columbus the annexed
prices were obtained: a boy 16 years old, $3,625.
"At a late sale in Wilmington the annexed prices were obtained: a girl
14 years old $5,400; a girl 22 years old, $4,850; a girl 13 years
$3,500; a negro boy, 22 years old $4,900."
Very few of the slaves interviewed had passed through the bitter
experience of being sold. Janie Satterwhite, who was born on a Carolina
plantation, and was about thirteen years old when she was freed,
remembered very distinctly when she was sold away from her parents.
"Yes'm, my Mama died in slavery, and I was sold when I was a little
tot," she said. "I 'member when dey put me on de block."
"Were you separated from your family?" we asked.
"Yes'm. We wus scattered eberywhere. Some went to Florida and some to
odder places. De Missus she die and we wus all sold at one time. Atter
dat nobody could do nothin' on de ole plantachun fer a year--till all
wus settled up. My brudder he wasn't happy den. He run away fer five
years."
"Where was he all that time?"
"Lawd knows, honey. Hidin', I reckon, hidin in de swamp."
"Did you like your new master?"
"Honey, I wus too little to have any sense. When dat man bought me--dat
Dr. Henry, he put me in a buggy to take me off. I kin see it all right
now, and I say to Mama and Papa, 'Good-bye, I'll be back in de mawnin'.'
And dey all feel sorry fer me and say, 'She don' know whut happenin'."
"Did you ever see your family again?"
"Yes'm. Dey wusn't so far away. When Christmas come de Marster say I can
stay wid Mama de whole week."
Easter Jones, who had many bitter memories of slavery days back on the
Bennet plantation near Waynesboro, said, when asked if she was ever sold
into slavery, "Dey had me up fer sale once, but de horse run away and
broke de neck o' de man whut gwine buy me."
Harriet White, whose father was a slave, gives this account of his sale,
"Yas'm, he tell me many times 'bout when he wus put up for sale on
Warren Block (in Augusta). Father say dey put him on de block down here.
De gemmen whut bought him name Mr. Tom Crew. But when dey tryin' to sell
him--dat right durin' de war, one man say, 'No, I don' want him--he know
too much.' He'd done been down to Savannah wid de Yankees. Den my father
say, 'If you buy me you can't take me oudder de state of Georgia, 'cause
de Yankees all around."
Carrie Lewis, who was owned by Captain Phillip Ward and lived on a
plantation down in Richmond County said, "No'm, I wasn't never sold, but
my Mama was sold fum me. See, I belonged to de young girl and old
Marster fool Missus away fum de house so he git to sell my Mama."
"Did you ever see your mother afterwards?" we asked.
"No, ma'm. I wouldn' know my Mammy no more den you would."
"But were you happy on the plantation?"
A smile brightened her wrinkled old face as she replied, "I'd be a heap
better off if it was dem times now."
When we asked Ellen Campbell if she was ever sold during slavery times
she replied, "No'm. I wa'n't sold, but I know dem whut wus. Jedge
Robinson he kept a nigger trade office over in Hamburg."
"Oh yes, we remember--the old brick building."
"Yas'm, dat it. Well, all de colored people whut gonner be sold was kept
dere. Den dey brung 'em over to de market and put 'em up fer sale.
Anybody fixin' to buy 'em, 'zamines 'em to see if day all right. Looks
at de teef to tell 'bout de age."
Laura Steward, who was a slave in a Baptist preacher's family in Augusta
told some interesting things about slave sales here: "Slaves were sold
at the Augusta market, in spite of what white ladies say." She stated
that there was a long house with porches on Ellis between 7th and 8th,
where a garage now stands. In this building slaves were herded for
market. "Dey would line 'em up like horses or cows," said Laura, "and
look in de mouf at dey teef; den dey march 'em down togedder to market
in crowds, first Tuesday sale day."
Old Mary used to live on the Roof plantation with her mother, while her
father lived on a nearby plantation. She said her father tried for a
long time to have his owner buy his wife and children, until finally,
"One day Mr. Tom Perry sont his son-in-law to buy us in. You had to get
up on what they called the block, but we just stood on some steps. The
bidder stood on the ground and called out the prices. There was always a
speculator at the sales. We wus bought all right and moved over to the
Perry place. I had another young marster there. He had his own hands and
didn't sell them at all. Wouldn't none of us been sold from the Roof
place, except for my father beggin' Mr. Perry to buy us, so we wouldn't
be separated."
Susannah Wyman of the Freeman plantation in South Carolina said, "Once
de Marster tried to sell my brudder and anodder youngster fer a pair o'
mules, and our Mistis said, 'No! You don' sell my chillun for no mules!'
And he didn't sell us neider. They never sold anybody off our
plantation. But people did sell women, old like I am now--or if they
didn't have no chillun. The fus' spec-lator come along and wants to buy
'em, he kin have 'em. De Marster say, 'Bring me han's in. I want
han's!'"
Eugene Smith, who used to belong to Mr. Steadman Clark of Augusta said,
"I read in the papers where a lady said slaves were never sold here in
Augusta at the old market, but I saw 'em selling slaves myself. They put
'em up on something like a table, bid 'em off just like you would do
horses or cows. Dere wus two men. I kin recollect. I know one was call
Mr. Tom Heckle. He used to buy slaves, speculatin'. The other was name
Wilson. They would sell a mother from her children. That's why so many
colored people married their sisters and brothers, not knowin' till they
got to talking 'bout it. One would say: 'I remember my grandmother,' and
another would say, 'that's _my_ grandmother!' Then they'd find out they
were sister and brother."