Champion, Richard (1743-1791) Certificate of freedom for Peter a free Negro
High-resolution images are available to schools and libraries via subscription to American History, 1493-1943. Check to see if your school or library already has a subscription. Or click here for more information. You may also order a pdf of the image from us here.
Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06147 Author/Creator: Champion, Richard (1743-1791) Place Written: Camden, South Carolina Type: Manuscript document signed Date: 1 December 1786 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 22.8 x 37 cm. Order a Copy
Written by Champion for the Court of Common Pleas in Camden County held on 27 November 1786. Document certifies the freedom "of the Negro Peter lately claimed by William Massey." It states that Peter "hath been adjudged a free Man and ... he shall be deemed held and taken as a free Man during his Life." Document was witnessed, but not signed by, Henry Pendleton, an associate justice of the state. Red wax seal is extant on bottom of recto.
Champion was a British porcelain merchant who moved to a plantation in South Carolina in 1784.
[Draft Created by Crowdsourcing]
At a Court of Common Pleas begun to be held at Camden for the District of Camden on Monday the 27th day of November on the Year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and eighty six and in the eleventh Year of the Sovereignty and Independence of the United States of America. Present
The Honorable Henry Pendleton Esquire. -
One of the associate Justices of the State. -
I do hereby certify agreable to the act of General Assembly in that case made and provided that the Negro Peter [inserted: lately claimed by William Massey] hath been adjudged a free Man and that from henceforth he shall be deemed held and taken as a free Man during his Life. -
Done in Open Court this first day of December in the year above written as witness my hand and seal. -
Rich Champion
C.CPC.C.
[docket]
Nov. Term [1786]
Certificate of Freedom
of Peter a free Negro
Citation Guidelines for Online Resources
The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.