A REPUBLIC OF TEXAS BILL OF LADING FOR SMUGGLER AND FORGER MONROE EDWARDS, NEW ORLEANS TO GALVESTON,

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By Simpson Galleries

May 21, 2022

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• Lot Description
  A REPUBLIC OF TEXAS BILL OF LADING FOR SMUGGLER AND FORGER MONROE EDWARDS, NEW ORLEANS TO GALVESTON, MAY 1, 1836, lithograph and manuscript ink on paper wove paper, shipping supplies listed as coarse sacks, possibly for sugar cane production, bulk flour, sugar, sacks of coffee, keg powder, tea caddy, keg brandy, jug of oil, box of dry goods, and whiskey, with arrival destination at the, "mouth of Sabine or at the mouth of Clear Creek, Galveston Bay (Kemah), signed by James Spilman, shipmaster, and with a spurious "R.G. Hazard," merchant signature. 5 3/4" x 10 1/2" Note: Monroe Edwards sets a nefarious precedent as an illicit smuggler of humans and known forger during his tenure in the Republic of Texas. His otherwise apparently average seeming motive to receive goods along the Gulf Coast appears subliminally fraught with his usual par for the course potential for illegal behavior, which is here exhibited within the present bill of lading. The financial document curiously has an unnamed cost amount for his freight shipment, which was to be received at the mouths of either the Sabine River or Clear Creek in Galveston, Texas. In the record, on March 2, 1836, only two months prior to the present bill of lading date, "Edwards took about 171 slaves up the Brazos river and drove them overland to Chenango.," Edward's working plantation, formerly cotton turned sugar cane. The use of the river mouth meeting point as opposed to a legal port of entry, which is notably scratched out on the present document, has implications that nurtures the odios nature of Monroe Edwards' less respectable pursuits. In finality of examining this document and comparing the present bill of lading to other bills of lading from the same year; most are signed "R.G. Hazard," for Rowland G. Hazard, a sensational abolitionist merchant working in New Orleans from 1833-1842. R.G. Hazard was looking for illegally imprisoned men and women, and certainly would have been no friend of a man like Monroe Edwards. In fact, Hazard posed a distinct problem for Edwards. It's hard to believe they did business at all. In complementing fashion to the criminal nature of Monroe Edwards' tendency to forge, the signature in the upper right is decidedly not that of R.G. Hazard, however attempted to doup the reader, which further implicates this document as evidence of Monroe Edwards' forgery. Lastly, quantity number of the first product listed identifies "83 sacks corse". The relationship of the term coarse with Lowell or "Negro cloth" has implications within this document that require careful historical consideration. The strange number eighty three within in a shipping context, and considering Monroe Edwards was known for purposefully driving illegally imported slaves eastward over land after receiving them from a ship at the Gulf Coast; this document stands to be considered within the context of its place within the Republic of Texas AfroTexan genealogical history. There is enough questionable evidence here to consider that the "83 sacks corse" were not just sugar cane production supplies, but indeed possibly being worn by enslaved people. Provenance:

  Condition

  Unframed, smudges, stains, creases, pale/translucent red color stains, tape/glue residue, verso pencil inscriptions. Simpson Galleries strongly encourages in-person inspection of items by the bidder. Statements by Simpson Galleries regarding the condition of objects are for guidance only and should not be relied upon as statements of fact and do not constitute a representation, warranty, or assumption of liability by Simpson Galleries. All lots offered are sold "AS IS.”
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