Sussex County, Virginia plantation owner Hugh Ivey (1826; 0.04 cubic feet) names the twenty-seven enslaved persons in the body of the document to be freed; this is not Ivey's original signed copy, but rather a transcript by a county clerk made at the time.
Hugh Ivey was born circa 1777 in Sussex County, Virginia to Daniel and Sally Ivey. Hugh and his brother Littlebery inherited 146.5 acres of land in Sussex County after the death of their older brother Henry circa 1826. In 1826, Hugh also filed documents with the Sussex County Clerk to free twenty-seven of his enslaved laborers. Notably, the previous year, state attorney John G. Mason filed charges against Hugh for allowing his enslaved laborer Jenny to move about the country as a free person.
By 1850, Ivey had moved to Ohio, likely with many of his former enslaved laborers. Ivey died in Ross County, Ohio on 27 December, 1868.
Source: Materials within collection.
MSS 16395, Hugh Ivey emancipation deed, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
Collection is open for research use.
2019-0002 Purchased April 2018; Elizabeth Cocke Coles Fund, 2017/2018.