December 2, 1865
Heyward, William H., 1817-1889
Autograph letter signed
Title: to William A. Williams
One letter from William Henry Heyward, enslaver and proprietor of Clay Hall plantation in Reconstruction-era South Carolina, to William A. Williams dated December 2, 1865. Discusses going to Charleston to receivea pardon and to attain ownership of Clay Hall by the Bureau of Freedmen, Refugees and Abandoned Lands. He would be contracting freedmen he had formerly enslaved into a labor contract for cash rather than offering them crops. He remarks: "It only remains for me to enter into contract with the Freedmen (formerly my own Negroes) for the ensuing year-- and although it is difficult to…
GLC00496.254.06