Sam Thomas papers, 1786-1835 [manuscript].

ArchivalResource

Sam Thomas papers, 1786-1835 [manuscript].

Items relating to the Thomas family, who had been slaves in Stokes County, N.C. In the earliest document, 1786, Frederick Marshall gave the "Negro Sam" the right to work some land for a yearly rent of either crops or money. There are also bonds, dated 1802, that freed Pleasant Thomas, Sam Thomas, John Thomas, and Amy, identified as Sam Thomas's wife. These bonds were signed by Sam Thomas and several white men from Salem, N.C., including Francis Clark, Archibald Campbell, and Gottlieb Shober. Also included are an 1826 letter to Mary Thomas in Zanesville, Ohio, from a sibling in Chillicothe, Ohio, which chiefly discusses the health of various relatives; a small printed paper stating that Thomas Laurence of Zanesville, Ohio, was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1835; and an undated statement, signed by William Johnson and Garrard Johnson, certifying certain criminal charges against "Black Sam Thomas" of Salem, N.C., who was charged with stealing clothes, robbing a wagon, fighting "whitemen," and poisoning his wife and others who were to be witnesses against him.

8 items.

Related Entities

There are 3 Entities related to this resource.

African Methodist Episcopal Church. Seventh Episcopal District

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w68s8nzp (corporateBody)

Organized in 1816 from a congregation formed by a group of blacks who withdrew in 1787 from St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia because of discrimination; Richard Allen was consecrated the first bishop in 1816. From the description of African Methodist Episcopal Church collection, 1914-1971 (bulk 1950-1971). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70962830 ...

Thomas, Sam, fl. 1786-1802.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ks9g3k (person)

Sam Thomas was a free black man in Stokes County, N.C., in 1786. It appears that he was able to free his wife Amy in 1802. It also appears that members of the Thomas family moved to Ohio in the early 1800s, settling in Zanesville and Chillicothe. Their relationship to Sam Thomas is unknown. At some point, a Sam Thomas was accused of several crimes in Salem, N.C., including poisoning his wife. From the description of Sam Thomas papers, 1786-1835 [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 48895...

Thomas family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qs41jc (family)