Research Guides: Enslavement and Sharecropping in Florida: FSU Digital Library

Digital Library

FSU's Digital Library provides online access to thousands of unique items from Special Collections in addition to research products of Florida State University such as papers, articles, theses, and dissertations.

Portions of collections in this research guide have been digitized and aggregated in the Enslavement and Sharecropping Materials Digital Collection.

Below are some examples of material you might encounter within.

Whitfield Notebook
The notebook of enslaver George Whitfield of Tallahassee. His notebook documents the family relationships of enslaved people he bought and sold.
"Articles of Agreement" (Sharecropping Contract)
Three manuscript pages of two sharecropping contracts signed by the Winthrops and the contracted individuals with an X over their names. These contracts contain the terms of the annual rent for land near Tallahassee, Florida, such as acreage to be farmed, payment, and type of crop.
R.F. Van Brunt Store Day Book
The Day Book from R.F. Van Brunt’s store in the Iamonia Community documents the quotidian financial transactions of the store and its customers, many of whom sharecropped on Van Brunt’s plantation. The Day Book shows documentation about sharecropping in the Tallahassee locale.
Sharecropping Contracts
Sharecropping contracts stored inside a ledger from R.F. Van Brunt’s store in the Iamonia Community.

Digital Collections

Explore digital primary sources through these collections.