Robert Carter III’s Deed of Gift

This is the first page of Robert Carter III's Deed of Gift, a legal document signed on August 1, 1791, that set out provisions to free 452 men and women he held in bondage on his various plantations. Carter listed the names of his enslaved people, dividing the list into columns of men and women. The inventory included the age of each slave, and identified the plantation where each one lived. The page shown here records the names of children—all of whom are two years old or younger—and the names of their mothers.