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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Thompson, William (fl. 1802) [Warrant for the Sheriff of Halifax County to hold Abram, convicted of participating in the Easter Plot]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06338.16 Author/Creator: Thompson, William (fl. 1802) Place Written: Halifax County, Virginia Type: Document signed Date: 26 April 1802 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 19.3 x 16 cm. Order a Copy

Thompson, a justice of the peace, orders the Halifax County jailer to receive into custody Abram, a slave belonging to William Smith, who has been convicted of "advising, consulting & conpsiring to rebel and make insurrection." Docket indicates this is a mittimus (a type of warrant).

Related to the Easter Plot, also known as Sancho's Rebellion. Sancho, an earlier participant in Gabriel's Rebellion of 1800, instigated the Easter Plot, intended to take place on or around Good Friday 1802. The ferment spread through southern Virginia (including Halifax County), and northeastern North Carolina, resulting in the hanging of Sancho and four other participants.

Thompson, William, fl. 1802
Sancho, d. 1802

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