Autograph letter signed by "J.A. Coner." Addressed to Elder John A. Gano of Centerville, Bourbon County, KY. Lake Providence, Louisiana. 28 November 1848. 1p, 7 1/2 x 12 1/2 in. (creasing at folds, light soil, adhesive remnant on verso). Detailed letter about the status of cotton production on Coner's plantation, with postscript following signature "P.S. the Negro Girl sent by Unce W.B. Keens got down safely all are well."

Reverend John A. Gano of Centerville, Kentucky, was a well-known Baptist minister in his home state. Like many religious leaders, it seems he embraced the institution of slavery. This letter written to the reverend offers a subtle reference to a widespread Kentucky practice, that of exporting its enslaved laborers into the Deep South. By the 1850s, Kentucky was annually exporting between 2500 and 4000 of its slaves to the large plantations farther south.

[Also with:] Autograph letter signed by "W.L. Brady(?)." Addressed to "Mr. Elijah Sutton / Springfield." Clio, [?]. 17 December 1842. 1p, 7 7/8 x 10 in. (creasing at folds, toning). Brady writes to Sutton with regard to the disposition of two enslaved persons, noting that a Captain Ker "will want the negro and all his things that he left taken to Tom when you move except John who he says you will leave with me...."