Books by Carrie Eldridge

Sampson Sanders was the wealthiest landowner in Cabell County, [West] Virginia during the antebellum period, and the owner of fifty-one slaves that came to him through inheritance. Sanders never purchased or sold a slave, and upon his death, he manumitted all his slaves and provided them with the means and land to start a new life as free men and women in Michigan. This remarkable man taught his slaves to run his holdings rather than hire an overseer, and in defiance of Virginia laws, it is evident that some of his slaves could read, write and cipher. Readers and historians will appreciate this well-researched perspective of life on Sander's unique plantation, as well as the history of its slaves. Thanks to nearly complete records, Carrie Eldridge is able to trace family origins back to Hannah, the family matriarch, and reconstruct the history and evolution of an African-American family from 1780 to the present. Numerous illustrations, appendices, a bibliography and indices to people and places enhance the text.

Tax lists are an excellent resource often overlooked by researchers. Tax lists provide researchers with the names of persons present in the county at the time the tax was assessed along with a comparison of name spelling. The first section of this valuable research aid covers four tax years (1800, 1801, 1809, and 1811) and includes: the location of properties, the name of the person who first claimed or provided surety, which type of land was taxed, and property value. Entries include year, person, location and water course, and entered/surveyed, as well as number of voters, white males, slaves and horses. The second section compares tax records for eleven years that fall within two census periods. The third section shows an expanded census for 1810, and the fourth section offers the deed book indices of the period for name comparison. An index to tax payers and a map of Nicholas County add to the value of this work.

The Overseers of the Poor were gentlemen and property owners selected by the county court to protect the poor and indigent of the county. They were responsible for setting the Poor Rate and seeing that it was collected; from that, they received a payment for their services and allotted monies to assist persons in need. This book covers most of the first fifty years of Cabell County's existence (the period under Virginia control).

This slender volume contains abstracts of the combined "First" Minute and Law Order Books of Cabell County, Virginia/West Virginia. Three-quarters of the cases are either debt (by bond, contract, or covenant) or assault and battery (with or without trespass). The assault and battery cases seem to appear after the elections and at the same time as indictments for selling liquor without a license (probably due to fights as the result of too much alcohol). There is one case of murder, one for larceny, and several for ejectment (removal of land holders due to overlapping land claims caused by Virginia's metes and bounds land system). Every effort has been made to include all the names recorded and the case information if listed. The abstracts are followed by an alphabetical list of jurors and their frequency of jury duty.