The Lantern Project is a collaborative project led by Mississippi State University as part of a coalition of institutions located within Mississippi and Alabama, including the University of Mississippi Libraries (Oxford, MS); Delta State University (Cleveland, MS); The Natchez Historical Foundation (Natchez, MS); Columbus-Lowndes County Public Library System (Columbus, MS); and the Montgomery County Archives (Montgomery, AL). The Lantern Project provides, for the first time, centralized and institutionally supported access to information in legal records documenting enslaved persons, including probate records, court records (orphans court, civil court, criminal court, and others), deeds, receipts, bills of sale, and other documents which were or could have been used as evidence in a trial, from across Mississippi and the Deep South.
The materials contributed by University of Mississippi Libraries are drawn from court records and personal and family papers held in multiple collections. Documents represented include wills and other legal instruments used to transfer personal property; receipts, bills of sale; plantation ledgers, and other plantation records. Geographic areas represented include Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
These collections have been donated to the UM Libraries in support of teaching and research and document the lives and businesses of early residents of Mississippi and other locations in the Deep South. To donate personal and family papers, or records of antebellum businesses and organizations which document the lives of enslaved persons to the University of Mississippi, please contact archivesdept@olemiss.edu.
The Lantern Project has been generously funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) of the United States National Archives and Records Administration. The complete collection is hosted in Mississippi State University's institutional repository.
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Plantation Ledger Page Listing Names of 18 Enslaved Persons
A. Macrery
Plantation ledger page listing the names of 18 enslaved persons
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News Article Reporting the Death of an Enslaved Person Named Quaco
Pricleau
News article reporting the death of an enslaved man named Quaco, who reportedly attacked his overseer, a man named Denham, after Denham struck Quaco's wife; Denham shot Quaco, who was enslaved by a Mr. Pricleau
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News Article Reporting on an Unnamed Enslaved Person's Attempt to Poison a Lodger
Jacob Milligan
News article reporting that an unnamed enslaved woman in the family of Captain Jacob Milligan attempted to poison a lodger
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News Article Reporting on the Actions of an Enslaved Person Named Judy and 8 Other Enslaved Persons
John Postell
News article describing the plans that an enslaved woman named Judy carried out with an unnamed accomplice (presumed enslaved man) to remove 7 other enslaved persons named Thomas, Hannah, Caesar, London, Ishmael, Captain, and Anthony from Round O Plantation
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News Article Requesting Information on the Whereabouts of an Enslaved Person Named Sarah
Andrew Stewart
News article requesting information or the return of an enslaved woman named Sarah, presumed to have run away
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News Article Regarding a Group of Over 100 Runaway Enslaved Persons Sheltering on Belleisle Island
Author Unknown
News article detailing several attacks that were carried out against a group of over 100 runaway enslaved persons who had taken up shelter on Belleisle Island near Savannah