Contract Between George Noble Jones & Sylvestor McIntosh, Harry Hall, et.al.

Freedmen's Bureau Labor Records

Sharecropper Contracts

Labor Contracts

Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands

Jones, George Noble

State Archives of Florida, Series L346

1867-01-01

McIntosh, Sylvestor

Hall, Harry

Amos, Madison

McIntosh, Cain

contracts

eng-US

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L346

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Jefferson County (Fla.)

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State of Florida Jefferson County This agreement made & entered into this first day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred & sixty-seven, between G. Noble Jones of Georgia on the first and Sylvester McIntosh, Harry Halls, Madison Amos, and Cain McIntosh on the second part, witnesseth that for and in consideration of the sum of one dollar in hand paid by the second party to the said G. Noble Jones at & before the sealing of these presents, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged and in further consideration of the rents & covenants hereinafter contained to be paid & performed by the said second party the said G. Noble Jones doth hereby lease & to farm let unto the said second party an enclosed field known as the Prieleau field, lying on each side of the canal, containing about 160 acres of cleared land situated in the state & county first aforesaid for and during the term of one year from date, then to be fully ended, without the privilege of subletting without the permission of G. Noble Jones, together with the use of the dwelling house formerly occupied by Jonathan Roberson, excepting the kitchen, the enclosures now in the possession of a freedman named Joe, and of the cooper shop being in Leon County, state aforesaid. In consideration of the premises aforesaid the said second party doth for themselves and their representatives jointly & severally agree with the said G. N. Jones as follows: 1st - to deliver to the first party (or his legal representatives) at his gin house on or before the 1st of December next, 6,000 pounds of ginned middling Florida cotton, the said cotton to have been ginned at the expense of the second party.

2nd - to put under good fence the land that may be cultivated. 3rd - after paying to the first party the rent aforesaid then to pay to the first party out of the crops which may be raised on land aforesaid all advances made by the first party to the second party whether in provisions, mules, money or other articles which the said first party may deliver to the members of the second party jointly or severally. 4th - at the end of the lease aforesaid, the second party agrees without further notice quietly to give up the possession of said land to the said first party or to his legal representatives, it being further understood that the first party or his legal representatives may at all times during the said lease enter upon said land or any part thereof for an lawful purpose whatever. 5th - to conduct themselves with propriety and to require all associated with them to do likewise. 6th - finally to secure to the first party the faithful performance of the foregoing covenants & agreements by the second party, the latter hereby convey by the way of mortgage to the former all crops planted or to be planted, gathered or to be gathered on the said land during the lease aforesaid, whenever said second party shall have complied with the terms & conditions of this contract. And if the said crops should not be sufficient to pay for the rents & advances aforesaid, then the second party jointly & severally agree to work & labour for the first party at reasonable wages until their liabilities to the first party shall have been discharged. In witness whereof the parties to these presents have hereunto set their hands & seals the day & year first aforesaid G. Noble Jones [witnesses] G. Fenwick Jones, Wallace S. Jones Sylvester McIntosh [ his X mark] Harry Hall [ his X mark] Madison Ames [ his X mark] Cain McIntosh [ his X mark] [written sideways over contract] If the second party prefers to [detain?] the cotton [...] the said the first party will receive it at the rate of two thousand pounds of seed .. for every five hundred pounds of lint rather as stipulated in article number one. All differences arising on account of this contract are to be submitted to a Board of Arbitration composed of two reliable citizens, one selected by each party, and the agent of the B.R.F. & A.L. whose decision shall be final. By order of Col. J. T. Sprague A.B. Grunwell Bt. Capt. & A. Com, B.R.F. & A.L.

State of Florida Jefferson County Personally appeared before me … who being duly sworn say, that the within contract was read and thoroughly explained to the freedmen who voluntarily signed the same in his presence and in the presence of ____ voluntarily. Sworn and subscribed to before me this ____ day of ____ A.D. 1867.

No. 151 Contract with Sylvester McIntosh et al No. of Bales as rent Approved March 21st, 1867 A.B. Grunwell Bt. Capt. & A. Com., B.R.F. & A.L.