Lloyd - I know you have the shoe list - but have you had a chance to look at any oter of these documents owned by VA historical Society:

56. Baskervill family papers, 1747-1928. 1,962 items. Mss1B2924a. Microfilm reel B3.
This collection contains a variety of fairly typical documents generated by a Mecklenburg County family of plantation owners. There is a significant amount of general correspondence and many accounts.

Of particular interest is section 15, which holds a number of post-Civil War agreements between William Rust Baskervill and former slaves. These agreements outline the work that various individuals had previously done as slaves and agreed to continue to do as hired laborers. Former domestic slaves had specific parts of the house and grounds (upstairs rooms, dining room, porches, and greenhouses) assigned to them for regular maintenance, as well as attendance on certain individuals. Men signed the contracts for their wives, but single women signed for themselves. The tenant farmers all signed one contract.

An undated list of slaves allotted to Mary Baskervill includes valuations for fourteen men, twelve women, and four children opposite a list of fifty slaves--names only. Another undated item consists of a list of birthdates for thirteen slaves, including parents' names (section 20). An account book belonging to Dr. Robert Dortch Baskervill (section 22) contains two lists, one of males belonging to Eureka plantation and one of females. The lists include parents' names and dates of birth and death, where applicable. Later entries in the account book delineate medical accounts with freedmen and indicate plantations with which they were affiliated, as well as who settled the accounts. Entries vary in detail from "visit for sick child" to "tooth extraction" and matters of women's health.

57. Baskervill family papers, 1751-1904. 755 items. Mss1B2924b. Microfilm reels B004 and C384.
Concerns family members in Mecklenburg County. Section 10 contains agreements, 1823-1852, made by Charles Baskervill (concerning the purchase of slaves) and Mary (Eaton) Baskervill (concerning a gift of slaves).

58. Baskervill family papers, 1785-1912. 35 items. Mss1B2924c. Microfilm reel C385.
Primarily contains financial and legal records of Robert Dortch Baskervill (1826-1891) and William Rust Baskervill (1869?-1960) of Mecklenburg County. Section 7 includes an agreement, 1866, of Robert Baskervill with Louisa (a freed African American) for her services as a servant and seamstress.

59. Baskervill family papers, 1787-1891. 622 items. Mss1B2924d. Microfilm reels C385-C387.
This addition to the collection above contains several items of interest to researchers of African American subjects. A number of slave lists indicate how many pairs of shoes were distributed among the slaves, 1838-1848, how many sides of leather were required for the manufacture of the shoes, and how many items were made on the plantation and how many had to be bought (section 5). The dates of distribution are also indicated. One list also tallies seventy-two blankets and thirty-six hats; the reverse side has comments on the number and value of slaves owned in 1825 and in 1850. In the same section (separate folder) is a letter, March 1865, to W. E. Baskervill from the president of the Slave Claims Board concerning the values of four unnamed slaves belonging to Mark Alexander, W. R. Baskervill, and Charles Lewellen.

Three deeds, 1834–1837, cover slaves bought by Mark Alexander. The first names nine slaves; the second is for Dorcas, a slave woman; and the third is for Billy and his wife Nancy together with their eleven children (section 24). The 1866 agreements of James T. Alexander with nine freedmen outline the conduct and duties of freedmen for operating the plantation and the compensation for each worker (section 35).

Denise