_State of North Carolina, Wake County._
Know all men by these presents, that for and in consideration of the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, to me in hand paid, I have this day bargained and sold; and do hereby bargain, sell and deliver unto Lunsford Lane, a free man of color, a certain negro girl by the name of Laura, aged about seven years, and hereby warrant and defend the right and title of the said girl to the said Lunsford and his heirs forever, free from the claims of all persons whatsoever.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Raleigh, this 17th May, 1841.
B.B. SMITH, [seal.]
Witness--Robt. W. Haywood.
Below is the Bill of Sale for my wife and other six children, to which the papers that follow are attached.
_State of North Carolina, Wake County._
Know all men by these presents, that for and in consideration of the sum of eighteen hundred and eighty dollars to me in hand paid, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, I have this day bargained, sold and delivered unto Lunsford Lane, a free man of color, one dark mulatto woman named Patsy, one boy named Edward, one boy also named William, one boy also named Lunsford, one girl named Maria, one boy also named Ellick, and one girl named Lucy, to have and to hold the said negroes free from the claims of all persons whatsoever.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my hand and seal this 25th day of April, 1842.
B.B. SMITH, [seal.]
Witness--TH. L. WEST.
_State of North Carolina, Wake County._
Office of Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, April 26, 1842.
The execution of the within bill of sale was this day duly acknowledged before me by B.B. Smith, the executor of the same.
[L.S.]
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed the seal of said Court, and subscribed my name at office in Raleigh, the date above.
JAS. T. MARRIOTT, Clerk.
_State of North Carolina, Wake County._
I, Wm. Boylan, presiding magistrate of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions for the county aforesaid, certify that James T. Marriott, who has written and signed the above certificate, is Clerk of the Court aforesaid,--that the same is in due form, and full faith and credit are due to such his official acts.
Given under my hand and private seal (having no seal of office) this 26th day of April, 1842.
WM. BOYLAN, P.M. [seal.]
_The State of North Carolina._
To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting:
Be it known, that William Boylan, whose signature appears in his own proper hand writing to the annexed certificate, was at the time of signing the same and now is a Justice of the Peace and the Presiding Magistrate for the county of Wake, in the State aforesaid, and as such he is duly qualified and empowered to give said certificate, which is here done in the usual and proper manner; and full faith and credit are due to the same, and ought to be given to all the official acts of the said William Boylan as Presiding Magistrate aforesaid.
[L.S.]
In testimony whereof, I, J.M. Morehead. Governor, Captain General and Commander in Chief, have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed, and signed the same at the city of Raleigh, on the 26th day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, and in the sixty-sixth year of the Independence of the United States.
J.M. MOREHEAD.
By the Governor.
P. REYNOLDS, Private Secretary.
But thou art born a slave, my child; Those little hands must toil, That brow must sweat, that bosom ache Upon another's soil; And if perchance some tender joy Should bloom upon thy heart, Another's hand may enter there, And tear it soon apart.
Thou art a little joy to me, But soon thou may'st be sold, Oh! lovelier to thy mother far Than any weight of gold; Or I may see thee scourg'd and driv'n Hard on the cotton-field, To fill a cruel master's store, With what thy blood may yield.
Should some fair maiden win thy heart, And thou should'st call her thine; Should little ones around thee stand, Or round thy bosom twine, Thou wilt not know how soon away These loves may all be riv'n, Nor what a darkened troop of woe Through thy lone breast be driv'n.
Thy master may be kind, and give Thy every wish to thee, Only deny that greatest wish, _That longing to be free:_ Still it will seem a comfort small That thou hast sweeter bread, A better hut than other slaves, Or pillow for thy head.
What joys soe'er may gather round, What other comforts flow,-- _That_, like a mountain in the sea, O'ertops each wave below, That ever-upward, firm desire To break the chains, and be Free as the ocean is, or like The ocean-winds, be free.
Oh, child! thou art a little slave; And all of thee that grows, Will be another's weight of flesh,-- But thine the weight of wees Thou art a little slave, my child, And much I grieve and mourn That to so dark a destiny A lovely babe I've borne.
And gladly would I lay thee down To sleep beneath the sod, And give thy gentle spirit back, Unmarr'd with grief, to God: The tears I shed upon that turf Should whisper peace to me, And tell me in the spirit land My lovely babe was free.
I then should know thy peace was sure, And only long to go The road which thou had'st gone, and wipe Away these tears that flow.
Death to the slave has double power; It breaks the earthly clod, And breaks the tyrant's sway, that he May worship only God.
J.P.B.