Sale of Enslaved People at Oakland

M-41

Slave sales, a foundation of Virginia's antebellum economy and a commonplace occurrence in a society that regarded human beings as property, brought terror to the enslaved. William Ransom Johnson sold 46 enslaved men, women, and children at an auction at his Oakland plantation near here on 25 March 1845. Johnson’s auction, precipitated by financial trouble and poor health, attracted 18 purchasers who paid a total of $16,705.50 and splintered several families. Petersburg slave trader Henry Davis, who regularly shipped slaves to the markets in New Orleans, bought ten people. After Johnson’s death in 1849, his executor held another auction here in which 24 enslaved people were offered for sale.

Department of Historic Resources, 2021

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

Johnson Family Papers, Mss1 J6398, Virginia Museum of History and Culture. Richmond Enquirer, 11 March 1845, 6 Sept. 1850 Alexandria Gazette, 20 Feb. 1849. Philadelphia Public Ledger, 9 Dec. 1844. Charleston Courier, 23 Feb. 1849. 1850 U.S. Census (Henry Davis) https://www.afrigeneas.com/slavedata/Roll.12.1837-1839.html http://randomthoughtsonhistory.blogspot.com/2016/08/henry-davis-petersburg-slave-trader.html http://randomthoughtsonhistory.blogspot.com/2017/02/william-ransom-johnson-napoleon-of-turf.html “Slaves Sales,” Encyclopedia Virginia: https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Slave_Sales Steven Deyle, Carry Me Back: The Domestic Slave Trade in American Life (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005).