From Inventory and Appraisement of the Personal Estate of Peter Johnston, Jr. (1763-1831). Peter Carr Johnston (1793-1877), administrator. Washington County, Virginia, Will Book No. 6, page 261, recorded August 27, 1832. Appraisers: George V. Litchfield (ca. 1797-1875), Valentine Baugh (1775-1851) and Robert R. Preston (probably 1793-1866, Abingdon banker. Note that his son attended VMI and that Peter Carr Johnston was on VMI's first Board of Visitors in 1839).
First, I'll list the names of the enslaved people. Only two aspects are given in the original, both of them grim reminders of human bondage: first names and monetary value.
Charles
Nat
Bob
Queen
Robert
Suckeye
Sam
Hercules
Susan
Nancy
Mary
Julia
Patsy [aka Patsey]
Henry
Amy
Cato
Frank
Isabel
Anthony
Britannia
Sam Baker
Elizabeth
Eliza
Flora
Joe
Betsy
Angelina
Martha
Amy
John
Stephen
Anthony
With monetary value as appraised in 1832:
Charles = $450 (high end: equivalent to about $12,000 in 2016)
Nat = $400
Bob = $150
Queen = $75
Robert = $375
Suckeye = $325
Sam = $450
Hercules = $400
Susan = $180
Nancy & child Mary = $350
Julia = $180
Patsy [aka Patsey] = $250
Henry = $150
Amy = $100
Cato = $70
Frank = $350
Isabel and child Anthony = $60 (low end: equivalent to about $1,600 in 2016)
Britannia and child Sam Baker = $375
Elizabeth = $120
Eliza and Flora = $350
Joe = $250
Betsy = $200
Angelina = $100
Martha = $300
Amy = $150
John = $450
Stephen = $400
Anthony = $400
If I did the math correctly, Johnston's slave labor population, thirty-two people, amounted to an appraised value of $7,410 out of his total personal property, appraised at $10,244. In 2016 terms, that would equate to about $200,000 out of a personal estate worth $275,500 -- the core worth (72%).
It is essential to note that of these enslaved people, few are mentioned by name in owner family letters at the time, so that they are largely erased from such texts. Sometimes there are references to "servants" or "hands." It will be challenging to figure out what happened to them from 1832 onward: some were sold to pay debts, some hired out, some transferred to or "picked up" by certain children of Peter Johnston, Jr., such as Charles Clement Johnston (1795-1832) and Beverly Randolph Johnston (1803-ca.1876). I suspect that certain Preston men became owners of at least some. Hopefully, more will be revealed.
First, I'll list the names of the enslaved people. Only two aspects are given in the original, both of them grim reminders of human bondage: first names and monetary value.
Charles
Nat
Bob
Queen
Robert
Suckeye
Sam
Hercules
Susan
Nancy
Mary
Julia
Patsy [aka Patsey]
Henry
Amy
Cato
Frank
Isabel
Anthony
Britannia
Sam Baker
Elizabeth
Eliza
Flora
Joe
Betsy
Angelina
Martha
Amy
John
Stephen
Anthony
With monetary value as appraised in 1832:
Charles = $450 (high end: equivalent to about $12,000 in 2016)
Nat = $400
Bob = $150
Queen = $75
Robert = $375
Suckeye = $325
Sam = $450
Hercules = $400
Susan = $180
Nancy & child Mary = $350
Julia = $180
Patsy [aka Patsey] = $250
Henry = $150
Amy = $100
Cato = $70
Frank = $350
Isabel and child Anthony = $60 (low end: equivalent to about $1,600 in 2016)
Britannia and child Sam Baker = $375
Elizabeth = $120
Eliza and Flora = $350
Joe = $250
Betsy = $200
Angelina = $100
Martha = $300
Amy = $150
John = $450
Stephen = $400
Anthony = $400
If I did the math correctly, Johnston's slave labor population, thirty-two people, amounted to an appraised value of $7,410 out of his total personal property, appraised at $10,244. In 2016 terms, that would equate to about $200,000 out of a personal estate worth $275,500 -- the core worth (72%).
It is essential to note that of these enslaved people, few are mentioned by name in owner family letters at the time, so that they are largely erased from such texts. Sometimes there are references to "servants" or "hands." It will be challenging to figure out what happened to them from 1832 onward: some were sold to pay debts, some hired out, some transferred to or "picked up" by certain children of Peter Johnston, Jr., such as Charles Clement Johnston (1795-1832) and Beverly Randolph Johnston (1803-ca.1876). I suspect that certain Preston men became owners of at least some. Hopefully, more will be revealed.
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