The Price for Their Pound of Flesh by Daina Ramey Berry

Author:Daina Ramey Berry [Berry, Daina Ramey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-8070-4763-7
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: 2016-11-20T16:00:00+00:00

Commodification Data for Elderly Adults

Using a sample of 12,244 appraisal and sale values for enslaved people aged forty and older, I found that the elderly and superannuated had low economic values. On average, women were appraised at $268 and men at $433. Their enslavers knew that many in this age range had health challenges deeming them risky financial investments. Thus, appraisals at this age involved more extensive health examinations and sometimes warranties for soundness before they were sold. Enslaved people like Ponto preyed upon these uncertainties by openly speaking about their health issues to raise doubt among planters interested in purchasing them. As a result, market values for the elderly were also low. Mean sale prices for men and women were, respectively, $546 and $301. Some enslaved people, especially those considered sickly or near death, even had negative values or were literally given away in a group sale because they could not be sold on their own. As investments, those individuals were viewed as economic liabilities.22 One “kind-looking” “mulatto” man, aged forty-five, went to the auction block in Richmond, Virginia, but “no bids were made for him,” according to a witness. A twelve-year-old girl who had received heavy scrutiny from the crowd preceded the enslaved man on the auction block, and this contrast, in addition to his age, likely influenced potential buyers.23

Propaganda, including newspaper advertisements and posters or broadsides, often preceded sales. These documents itemized the merchandise that was to be auctioned and outlined payment terms. More detailed ads listed appraisal values or starting bids so potential buyers were often well educated before the sale. In January 1860, a husband and wife, Jake and Clarissa, appeared in an ad along with sixty-three other souls scheduled for auction in Charleston, South Carolina. Jake, age fifty, was a “first-rate plowman and axeman.” Clarissa, also fifty, was lauded as a “first-rate” midwife and nurse who could “mix and administer medicine.” Despite their advanced age, they had noteworthy skills. Other elderly men and women were also for sale that day, making up 16 percent of the group that was being auctioned. Flora and Jupiter (both age fifty) had gardening skills indicated by the term “Gardiner” next to their names on the auction materials. Harry (age forty-five) was a “first-rate house servant,” while Hammond (age fifty) had “a good eye for laying out ditches, etc.” In order to purchase these elders, many who appeared with their children listed beneath them, buyers had to put “one third cash” down with the “balance payable in one, two, or three years,” depending on securing the terms with “bonds bearing interest from the day of sale, payable annually.” Potential buyers also knew that the “mortgage of negroes sold” had been secured and approved.24 Although we do not know why these individuals went to auction, the enslavers clearly found a use for the elderly enslaved, particularly given that some were considered “first-rate.”

Enslaved men like Isam (age forty) received less complimentary descriptions in market settings. He was “not able to bring more than $700, because his youth has gone.

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