Last Will and Testament, Robert Peebles, 1808

When Robert Peebles drew up his last will and testament in 1808, he declared that his “Negro Girl Peggy be & Shall Go free on the first day of April Next.” He also specified that his son James was to learn “some Mechanical Trade” and that his other son John be given the means to become a physician.

Peggy was twenty-two years old in 1808. It is unclear what happened to the others, people who were likely her mother and siblings.