Deed of Sale of Land Between Julia and Samuel P. Gardiner 1836
Chloe
Routine financial documents in archives may seem easy to overlook, but in the case of Sylvester Manor, they provide valuable insights into the lives of those who inhabited and labored the land. The image on the left shows a deed of sale from July 1836, in which Julia Havens, the daughter of Comus Fanning (who passed away in 1832) sold 10 acres of land to Samuel P. Gardiner. The deed was addressed to a Charles Eustis Gibbons, with the warranty equating to $160.
In the events leading up to the sale, Comus Fanning was granted manumission in 1796. In 1820, Comus used money he had saved as a free man to purchase 21.75 acres of land near the Sylvester property from Sylvester Dering at $35 an acre. For $750 in cash ($25,000 today), the land was his until his death.
For Comus Fanning to own land as a freedman in the early 19th century was a rare and empowering achievement. At a time when most African Americans remained either enslaved or subjected to cruel economic limitations, land ownership symbolized significant independence and agency. In an era where land ownership was largely denied to African Americans, owning land granted Comus permanence, security, and control.
However, as seen in the deed above, the concept of permanence started to fade after Comus’s death. Predatory buying and land dispossession initiated by Samuel P. Gardiner began once the ownership of the land was transferred to Comus’s stepdaughter, Julia Havens. While rare for Comus to own land, it was even more so for Julia, a free mixed-race woman born on Shelter Island in 1808. Working as a housekeeper at the Manor throughout her life, Julia’s race, class, and gender fueled opportunities for deceptive practices by the Gardiner family to slowly strip her of the land she had rightfully inherited. Despite having been purchased by Comus for $35 an acre, the deed of sale shows that Samuel P. Gardiner purchased 10 acres of the land for only $20 per acre, far below market value and its original price.
As historic spectators, we ask: Why did Julia sell the land? Was there a threat of violence or intimidation from Samuel Gardener? What were the moments leading up to this deed (e.g. how was her relationship to the Gardener family)? Is there anything else in the archives that could foresee this move against Julia?