Hargis, Thomas

Article IV of the Northwest Ordinance made it impossible for slavery to exist legally in the new territories. In 1805, the newly-elected Indiana territorial legislature passed an act (Indenture, 1805) concerning Negroes and Mulattoes who had been brought into the territory. A slave would become the indentured servant of the owner or be sent back to the slave state from which they came. The Indenture Act is utilized in the document in this collection. Sela , a thirty-three year old black woman, is being indentured to Thomas Hargis. Her term of indenture was twenty years.

From the description of Document, 14 April 1814. (Indiana Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 58798928