1819 Slave document signed by Mayor of New Orleans, Augustin de Macarty For Sale
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1819 Slave document signed by Mayor of New Orleans, Augustin de Macarty:
$499.00
1819 Slave document signed by Mayor of New Orleans, Augustin de Macarty. Condition is "Used". For your consideration, I have an order from the New Orleans mayor’s office to reimburse Mr. Valerie (Valery) Avart for the use of his slave, Henry, from August 10, 1819 to September 14, 1819 (In French). The document measures 8 inches X 10 inches, and has crease lines from where it was apparently folded long ago.
I am only aware of a few or these in existence, all currently part of the Louisiana Digital Library. They can be seen de Macarty was the 9th Mayor of New Orleans, serving two terms from September 4, 1815 to May 13, 1820. He was a member of an influential Creole family, related by marriage to Esteban Rodriguez Miro, one of the last Spanish Governors of Louisiana.
One interesting thing about Augustin de Macarty is that he was a cousin of the infamous Delphine LaLaurie, nee Macarty, widely believed to be a serial killer and torturer of slaves. Wikipedia has an excellent account of Delphine LaLaurie on that website, which cannot be linked here. Makes one wonder what the mayor was doing with these slaves.
Valery Avart, owner of the slave Henry, was also from a prominent Creole New Orleans family and served in the Battle of New Orleans. There is also a subdivision or "faubourg" named for his family in New Orleans.
And then there’s Henry, the subject of the document from this sad chapter in America’s history.Of course it would take a considerable amount of research to learn more of Henry without the benefit of a surname.He no doubt had a laborious life.The document is proof enough of that.On the brighter side of things, there are existing records that demonstrate that Monsieur Avart was, in fact, known to emancipate some of his slaves.
I came to acquire this document from my father's estate. He likely attained it from the estate of my aunt - his sister - who was an avid lover of all things New Orleans. It is well known to the family that she shopped for articles of significance, and being knowledgeable of New Orleans history, likely saw the mayor's signature on the document and bought it immediately.