Historical Documents
We have gathered information about enslaved people from the US Census records, estate inventories, private letters, Federal army rolls, print publications, city directories, and cemetery burial records. The following is a selection of our research documents that shed additional light on the history of the enslaved people at Belmont. It is by no means exhaustive and researchers are encouraged to reach out for more information.
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Clicking on the link will download either a PDF copy of the document or a zip folder containing images of the document. Please note that these sources contain racist language and/or racist stereotypes which were commonly in use during the time when the document was created.
Title | Date | Description | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
Estate Inventory - Isaac Franklin | 1847 | Includes names of 138 individuals considered part of the Fairvue Estate at the time of Franklin's death. | Gallatin, Tennessee |
Estate Inventory - Isaac Franklin | 1847-1852 | Includes names of 582 individuals considered part of the Louisiana at the time of Franklin's death. | West Feliciana, Louisiana |
Notary Receipt - Joseph Acklen | 1849 | Purchase record of London by Joseph Acklen | |
US Census - Slave Schedule - Acklen | 1850 | List of 13 individuals enslaved at Belmont (only gender and age was recorded) | Belmont Estate |
US Census - Slave Schedule - Acklen | 1850 | List of 28 individuals enslaved at the Acklen's residence in Nashville (only gender and age was recorded) | Nashville, Tennessee |
US Census - Slave Schedule - Franklin Estate | 1850 | List of 103 individuals enslaved at Fairvue (part of the unsettled Franklin estate, only gender and age was recorded) | Gallatin, Tennessee |
US Census - Slave Schedule - Franklin Estate | 1850 | List of 567 individuals enslaved in Louisiana (part of the unsettled Franklin estate, only gender and age was recorded) | West Feliciana, Louisiana |
Newspaper Notice - Runaway Slave Captured | 1851 | Andrew Jackson was captured after trying to run away from the Louisiana properties. | Mississippi |
Rules of Plantation Management by Joseph A. S. Acklen | 1856 | Joseph Acklen's description how he recommended running a plantation, published in Debow's Review. | |
US Census - Slave Schedule - Acklen | 1860 | List of 32 individuals enslaved at Belmont (only gender and age was recorded) | Belmont Estate |
US Census - Slave Schedule - Acklen | 1860 | List of 659 individuals enslaved in Louisiana (only gender and age was recorded) | West Feliciana, Louisiana |
Notary record of Mortgage - Joseph Acklen | 1861 | Includes names of 362 individual enslaved people who were mortgaged as property for a loan, possibly to build a house in Louisiana | West Feliciana, Louisana |
Belmont Mansion does not possess original copies of any of these documents. Sources include Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com, the New Orleans Notarial Archives, and Sumner County Archives.