Inventories and Bills of Sale
1851-1865

Once an ancestor has been traced back to 1866, you have to determine if they were free or enslaved before that date. If they were living in 1850 or 1860 and their names do not appear on the censuses taken those years, most likely they were slaves. At this point your attention must turn to the white slave owners in the area where they lived in 1870.

How did that owner obtain those slaves? Did he purchase or inherit them? Surprisingly, large number of owners living in 1860 inherited their slaves. Now, estate records become the focus of your research - they may list the names and ages of your slave ancestors; some even group slaves by families.

One of our professional record searchers will search the Inventories and Bills of Sale between 1851-1865 for a surname in a county for you. For example, let’s say that your ancestor lived in Talbot County, Georgia in 1870 and you know that your slave ancestor took Leonard as their surname, but you don’t know which of the men named Leonard in Talbot County, Georgia owned your ancestors. If a member of the Leonard family died, it’s possible that their estate records will name their slaves, including your ancestor and his relatives. It’s also possible that the estate records will not mention your ancestors. You are purchasing the time it takes to copy, scan and deliver the documents to you. It’s up to you to analyze the content of those documents to identify your ancestors.

You will be given a quote before the search begins for estates involving common surnames, such as Smith, Jones, Taylor, Johnson, Williams, etc., or in densely populated counties. All pertinant documents will be sent to you, either via email or postal service. If we do not find any estate records for the surname, you will only be charged a $12.00 search fee for the time required to search the records.

Discounts for multiple orders: Order four or more of any of our Record Lookups within a 24 hour time and our staff will deduct 15% from the record's cost. Records already marked as On Sale are not eligible for the discount but will count towards your minimum of four records.

Shipping and Handling Charges: Shipping will only be charged for items that are mailed. Charges are based on domestic addresses. Orders to international addresses will be charged any additional shipping charges.

Please Note: You can contribute to the thoroughness and success of this search by providing as much information as possible about your ancestor and his or her relatives. Sometimes the form will ask for more information than you are able to provide. If that's the case, simply leave the space blank. Record searchers must have some parameters to perform a search. At a minimum you must estimate dates and places of events. Although it takes more time than filling in this form, you might want to send a pedigree chart, family group record, or other details or instructions that might help get the best results. It's more convenient and faster to send additional information by e-mail. Many customers prefer to save time by sending GEDCOM files containing information pertinent to a search as attachments to their e-mail messages.

Record searchers are not responsible for, nor can they guarantee, the presence or absence of an ancestor's name in any record. When employing a professional record searcher, you are paying for the time involved in performing the search, not the results. By providing accurate, detailed information, you will help record searchers distinguish your ancestor from others with the same name.

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