According to the sale notices from 1796-1854 (year of death of Silas Burke), published in The Alexandria Gazette, Silas was involved in four (4) Sales of Slaves during that entire period. All of them have Notices published in The Alexandria Gazette and are available online for viewing.
Silas Burke was a prominent Attorney in Fairfax County and, as part of his practice, he prepared Wills and Trusts that involved acting as the Executor, Trustee, Administrator, and Agent responsible for distributing Estates. He also prepared Estate Inventories for the sales and accounting documents required by the Court. These were normal services provided by Attorneys as Officers of the Court in representing deceased clients. The four Sales of Slaves that Silas handled during that period were:
Note: There are numerous guardianship cases throughout this time in history that resulted from parental deaths through Wars, sicknesses from which there were no vaccines, and the general hardships of life.
Example used by Fenton Project:
These Notices were in The Alexandria Gazette
November through December 1840.
Estate of Sarah Jenkins, deceased, referenced above.
Sales were required to be Noticed to the public and therefore posted in the newspaper. NOTE that all of Sales that he handled were a result of Estates which had to be settled according to law at that time. There is no record of Silas participating in ‘general’ Sales – as an Agent to purchase or sell slaves as a business. Silas was a prominent member of The Temperance Society that promoted anti-slavery, his circle of friends and work colleagues were in the same groups. It must have been very difficult for him to participate in those 4 Sales.
Purchase Agreement referenced by Fenton Project
The document below is the example shown in a TV Interview relating to Fenton, in which the viewer was told Silas Burke was buying and selling slaves. This document is the required Sale Agreement between the Estate of James Burke, deceased, (Silas’ father) and Silas, as a beneficiary of the Estate. The Burke siblings inherited their father’s assets. Silas’ transaction relating to Fenton is a transfer of an asset of the Estate that he had already inherited with his siblings. Silas was paying into the Estate for that asset to be transferred to him thereby replacing Fenton’s value to the Estate for the eventual final cash distribution to all sibling beneficiaries. It is a transfer between an Estate asset and Silas with Silas transferring to the Estate the value set for Fenton. That value paid becomes part of the proceeds of the Estate for final distribution out to all of the group beneficiaries.
See “SILAS in his own Words” to read about Silas talking with Fairfax County Sheriff, Jonathan Roberts, regarding how he came to be a slaveholder in the first place. He explains in that conversation that he inherited the slaves from his father’s Estate. He did not seek out purchases. He grew up with the enslaved people of his father’s Estate; he knew them and felt responsibility to make the best of the situation in which that they found themselves. Evidence supports the position that he did not support slavery. He joined organizations and became a leader within those organizations that did not support slavery. However, in his profession positions he was bound by law.
Additional Transfer of an Enslaved Person to Silas
In the Will of James Burke, deceased, who was Silas’ father, James Burke set out that his spouse, “Chloe Burke, is to receive the mansion house and a negro man named Charles.” From the Estate Inventory, you can see that Charles was valued at $0.00. Usually, the reason an enslaved person received no value is because of their age, or physical or mental condition. You can see that during the distribution phase of the assets that Silas Burke steps forward and purchases Charles. The document indicates that Silas placed a value on him of $94.00, which was most likely a courtesy value to the Estate and to show Charles that he had value to the family itself. The transfer document indicates:
“Old Negro Charles to be taken care of and provided for, balance for the balance of his life (lowest bid) $94.00”
Will of James Burke, deceased, father of Silas. Will Book N1-P1, 1822-1830
Inventory of Estate of James Burke, deceased, father of Silas, Pg. 200, showing Charles who is mentioned in the Will having a $0.00 value to the Estate.
Inventory sale in estate of James Burke, deceased, father of Silas, Pg. 200, showing Charles who is mentioned in the will being purchased by Silas Burke for $94.00 even though the inventory placed a value of $0.00 – and having it entered into the court records that he will provide for “Old Negro Charles to be taken care of and provided for, the balance of his life.”
The transactions relating to Charles reflect the character of Silas Burke. As Silas says in his discussion with Sheriff Jonathan Roberts, which is reported under, SILAS in his own Words, he grew up with the enslaved people on his father’s estate, and that he then inherited them after his father’s passing. He indicates he felt a responsibility to them.
