Bill of sale of a "Negro Woman Slave, " Dinah

Bill of sale of a "Negro Woman Slave, " Dinah

White, Jotham, 1728-1809.

Although Vermont prohibited slavery in its constitution of 1777, slavery persisted in the state after that date. One of the most famous examples is Dinah, a slave owned by Vermont Supreme Court justice Stephen Jacob of Windsor. This is a typescript and photograph of the bill of sale executed on 26 July 1783 and certified by Jacob on 21 July 1801. Dinah was sold by Jotham White of Charlestown, New Hampshire, to Stephen Jacob of Windsor, Vermont, for "forty pounds lawful money." The bill of sale was used as evidence in a case about who would care for Dinah in her old age that eventually went to the Vermont Supreme Court.

21 July 1801

Vermont Historical Society manuscript collection (X MS 326 W582)
Woodstock (Vt.) Historical Society (E-432)

DinahBillOfSale.jpg

Leahy Library, Vermont Historical Society

Typescript

Vermont Historical Society Library, 60 Washington Street, Barre, Vermont 05641