Mississippi, Wilkinson County Newspaper Slave Ads, 1823-1849

This is a digital index of slave ads and other slave related items in the Woodville Republican and Wilkinson County Advertiser between 1823-1849. The records were compiled by Roberta Louise Burns Hofmann in her book From Natchez to New Orleans: Slaves, Slaveholders and Slavery in the Woodville Republican & Wilkinson County Advertiser, 1823-1849. Both of these newspapers were popular along the Mississippi River between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi. The index includes the name of every slave, slave owner, and plantation that was included in either of the two newspapers. These primarily came from advertisements that related to slaves. Ads were placed for notices of runaway slaves or notification for slave sales. There were also ads by the sheriff of the county for runaway slaves that were in his custody.

Articles, letters-to-the-editor, editorials, speeches and acts of the legislature that related to slavery are also included. Hofmann also included photos of the area from the Library of Congress, as well as excerpts about the area and culture from the American Life Histories of the Federal Writer’s Project, 1936-1940. The index may include:

• Name
• Relationship, e.g., slave and owner
• Location
• Age
• Estimated birth year
• Publication date

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