William Simmons, John Ashe, and William Hayne, planters and "trustees of a Religious Society ... calling themselves the Presbyterian Church," seek to sell slaves and land that "have been for upwards of half a century in the possession of the trustees of the said Church." They report that "long before the year 1758 the said Church existed as a Religious Society" and that "prior to the War of the Revolution gifts and grants of money were made by a number of pious persons to the said Church." They cite that "among other grants to the said Society were various negro slaves and a tract of Land ... that these became the property of the Church before the Revolution." They testify that "nearly the whole of the slaves absconded and went off with the British Army" during the war; the few remaining slaves "have been employed for the support of the Minister ... or in the repairs of the church and rebuilding it." They purport "that the profits of said slaves have at all times been very inconsiderable, that they have been often hired out for little or nothing." Noting that the construction of a new church was more costly than anticipated, the trustees believe that a sale of the "idle and dissatisfied" slaves would help defray said expenses. They therefore pray that they may be granted leave "to sell the said Land and negroes."
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Repository: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, South Carolina
