Creator: Crawford, Thomas, b. 1817.
Collection number: 5473-z
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Abstract: Thomas Crawford, who was owned by Thomas Mosley of Mount Sterling in Montgomery County, Ky., was sold as a slave by Mosley to James Crawford, also of Mount Sterling. Thomas Crawford was manumitted by James Crawford in 1842 and moved to Delaware, Ohio, with his wife Hattie and their children. The collection contains a letter, 1 April 1844, from Thomas Crawford to his former owner, Thomas Mosley, commenting on his life in Delaware, Ohio. In the letter, Crawford addressed Mosley as “Farther” and mentioned receiving money from Mosley, which he used to pay off a mortgage debt, and renting property out to “a Dutchman to crop on the haves.” Thomas Crawford also mentiond his son, Steward Crawford, in the letter. Also included is a copy of the 1836 will of James Crawford, containing instructions to manumit Thomas Crawford after his death and urging Thomas to move his family to Ohio.
Repository: Southern Historical Collection
Collection Highlights: The collection contains a 1 April 1844 letter from freed slave Thomas Crawford to his former owner, Thomas Mosley, commenting on his life in Delaware, Ohio. In the letter, Crawford addressed Mosley as “Farther” and mentioned receiving money from Mosley, which he used to pay off a mortgage debt, and renting property out to “a Dutchman to crop on the haves.” Crawford also mentioned his son, Steward Crawford, in the letter. Also included is a copy of the 1836 will of James Crawford, containing instructions to manumit Thomas Crawford after his death and urging Thomas to move his family to Ohio. The will was certified as a true copy by the Montgomery County, Ky., court in December 1841 and was signed and dated with seal on 3 May 1842 by James Howard, clerk, and on 18 May 1842 by Joseph Bondurant, justice of the peace.