Broadside for the estate sale of Robert Skeen including ten enslaved people: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This broadside advertises the estate of recently deceased Robert Skeen, owner of the Eagle Hotel and a farmer in Covington, Virginia. The list of property to be sold is: [The "EAGLE HOTEL," and other lots in the Town of Covington; a FARM adjoining the town; several LOTS AT THE DEPOT of the Central and Covington & Ohio Railroad; other tracts of land in the County of Alleghany; all and EVERY KIND OF FURNITURE used in connection with the Hotel; Wagons, Plows, Horses, Cows, and all other kinds of FARMING IMPLEMENTS....; a large number of HAIR and other MATTRASSES, Feather beds, Bedding and Blankets; also, Bacon, Flour, Corn,...; also 4 NEGRO MEN, 2 WOMEN, 2 BOYS & 2 GIRLS. Everything sold without reserve.]. The advertisement was posted on March 18, 1862, by Ira F. Jordan and William Skeen, executors of Robert Skeen's estate.

The broadside is matted in light brown mat paper and framed in a gold frame. The frame is backed with brown paper and an inscription is handwritten in black ink on the paper. The framed backing states: “Robert Skeen, Deceased, was a brother to Margaret (Skeen) Hart, wife of Samuel Hart. She was a mother of Mary E.K. Hart (Old Granny), G. Mother of Maggie (Dressler) Jackson, G.G. Mother of Mary (Jackson) Brown, G.G.G. Mother of Porter Brown. W.C. Skeen was a lawyer and brother of Robert and Margaret. Robt. Skeen owned a Tavern (Hotel) on Main Street in Covington, near or on the corner of Maple Ave.”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: March 18, 1862
• Written by: Ira F. Jordan, 1810 - 1887
• Written by: William Skeen, 1818 - 1893
• Subject of: Robert Skeen, 1795 - 1860
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Subject of: Unidentified Child or Children
• Type: broadsides
• Medium: ink on paper, mat board, paint on wood, and metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D (framed): 13 1/2 × 11 × 3/4 in. (34.3 × 27.9 × 1.9 cm)
• Place depicted: Covington, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Children
• Topic: Commerce
• Topic: Domestic slave trade
• Topic: Finance
• Topic: Men
• Topic: Slavery
• Object number: 2015.222.10
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from the Liljenquist Family Collection
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.