Slavery Era Insurance Records
Nautilus Insurance Company Slavery Era Ledgers
From 1845 to 1849 the Nautilus Insurance Company of New York sold life insurance on enslaved people. Nautilus later became New York Life. Enslavers bought these policies so they would get paid if the person they held died. A lot of the people in these books were hired out to work in coal mines, on steamboats, in saw mills and in towns like Louisville, Richmond, Charleston and Wilmington.
I transcribed every policy on an enslaved person in Policy Registers vol. 1 through 4, plus the Death Claim Book. Every record links to the ledger page it came from so you can check my reading. Names are spelled the way the clerk wrote them. When you see [?] it means I wasn't sure of a word.
If you find your people here, or you see something I got wrong, let me know.
611
Policies
54
Death claims
$304,812.50
Dollars insured
1845
Earliest year
1860
Latest year
| Occupation | Residence | Term | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | July 18, 1854 | Betsy Dyer | Booth, Jack | Natchez, MS | ||||
| 64 | June 30, 1857 | Betty | Alley, Nelson | Frankfort, KY | ||||
| 75 | October 30, 1857 and June 30, 1857 | Not listed | ||||||
| 86 | February 4, 1859 | Not listed | ||||||
| 94 | January 18, 1860 | Not listed | ||||||
| 109 | October 27, 1856 | Benjamin | Anderson, Nelson | Henderson County, KY | ||||
| 168 | Dec 24 1845 | Tom, Black Man of T.R. [?] | 29 | Laborer | Thomas Robison | Savannah Ga. | $600 | One year |
| 188 | Jan 17 1846 | Alfred, her Slave | 35 | Engineer | Margaret M. O'Hanlon | Fayetteville N.C. | $666 | 1 year |
| 189 | Jan 17 1846 | Patsy, her Slave | 45 | Cook | Margaret M. O'Hanlon | Fayetteville N.C. | $233 | 1 year |
| 190 | Jan 17 1846 | George, her Slave | 40 | Ship Carpenter | Margaret M. O'Hanlon | Fayetteville N.C. | $533 | 1 year |
| 194 | Jan 20 1846 | Joe, slave of R. Millar | 40 | Baker | Robert S. Millar | Charleston S.C. | $750 | 1 year |
| 195 | Jan 20 1846 | James, slave of R. Millar | 29 | Baker | Robert S. Millar | Charleston S.C. | $750 | 1 year |
| 196 | Jan 20 1846 | Tom [?], a slave of Millar | 27 | Baker | Robert S. Millar | Charleston S.C. | $750 | 1 year |
| 197 | Jan 20 1846 | John, a slave of Millar | 25 | Baker | Robert S. Millar | Charleston S.C. | $750 | 1 year |
| 198 | Jan 20 1846 | Tommy, a slave of Millar | 16 | Baker | Robert S. Millar | Charleston S.C. | $750 | 1 year |
| 201 | Jan 26 1846 | Duncan, slave of do | 40 | Common Laborer | Thos. H. Wright, cashr. | Wilmington | $400 | 1 year from 13th Jan |
| 202 | Jan 26 1846 | Wm Smith, slave of do | 40 | Brick Mason | Thos. H. Wright, cashr. | Wilmington N.C. | $600 | 1 year |
| 203 | Jan 26 1846 | John Wright, slave of do | 40 | Common Laborer | Thos. H. Wright, cashr. | Wilmington N.C. | $300 | 1 year |
| 204 | Jan 26 1846 | Kitty, slave of do | 17 | T. S. Swann | Wilmington N.C. | $400 | 1 year | |
| 205 | Jan 26 1846 | Joe, slave of do | 19 | Common Laborer | T. S. Swann | Wilmington N.C. | $500 | 1 year |
| 206 | Jan 26 1846 | Mary, slave of do | 17 | [illegible] | T. S. Swann | Wilmington N.C. | $400 | 1 year |
| 207 | Jan 26 1846 | Sam, slave of do | 17 | Common Laborer | T. S. Swann | Wilmington N.C. | $500 | 1 year |
| 215 | Feb 2 1846 | Israel Walker, slave | 28 | Miner | A. S. Wooldridge | Midlothian Coal Mines | $525 | 1 year |
| 228 | Feb 2 1846 | Philip Swann | 45 | Miner | F. A. Clarke | Midlothian coal mines | $225 | 1 year |
| 248 | Feb 2 1846 | Phill Moody | 50 | David I. Moody | $206.25 | 1 year | ||
| 249 | Feb 2 1846 | Henry Moody | 16 | David I. Moody | $393.75 | 1 year | ||
| 251 | Feb 2 1846 | Ned | 35 | R. H. Tatum | Chesterfield Co. | $375 | 1 year | |
| 252 | Feb 2 1846 | George | 30 | R. H. Tatum | Chesterfield Co. | $375 | 1 year | |
| 253 | Feb 2 1846 | Israel | 30 | R. H. Tatum | do [Chesterfield Co.] | $375 | 1 year | |
| 261 | Feb 7 1846 | Richard a Dick, his slave | 26 | Jacob Sistrunk [?] | Augusta Ga. | $500 | 1 year | |
| 268 | Feb 16 1846 | Benjamin L. Webb | 41 | Forwarding and Com. Merchant | Elizabeth Webb | Detroit Mich. | $2000 | Life |
| 270 | Feb 11 1846 | Sam Jones, a slave | 40 | Miner | James H. Moody | Coal Mines, Chesterfield Co. Va. | $375 | 1 year |
| 271 | Feb 11 1846 | Henry Montague, a slave | 25 | Miner | James H. Moody, Guardian for Jameson [?] S. Moody | Midlothian Mines | $412.5 | 1 year |
| 272 | Feb 11 1846 | Joe Moody, slave | 35 | Miner | James H. Moody, Guardian for Joseph S. Moody | near the Midlothian Mines | $525 | 1 year |
| 279 | Feb 14 1846 | John, a slave | 19 | Carpenter | W. B. Giles | Wilmington N.C. | $400 | 1 year |
| 280 | Feb 14 1846 | Alik or Alexander | 19 | Labourer | W. B. Giles | Wilmington N.C. | $400 | 1 year |
| 281 | Feb 14 1846 | Jim, a slave | 45 | Carpenter | W. B. Giles | Wilmington | $400 | 1 year |
| 282 | Feb 14 1846 | Jim Giles | 17 | Labourer | W. B. Giles | Wilmington N.C. | $400 | 1 year |
| 283 | Feb 14 1846 | Ephraim Green, slave | 21 | Labourer | W. B. Giles | Wilmington | $400 | 1 year |
| 284 | Feb 14 1846 | Hardy | 36 | Labourer | W. B. Giles & R. Bradley | Wilmington N.C. | $400 | 1 year |
| 285 | Feb 14 1846 | Ned Martin, slave | 27 | Cooper | W. B. Giles & R. Bradley | Wilmington N.C. | $400 | 1 year |
| 286 | Feb 14 1846 | Bill Hyman, slave | 38 | Labourer | W. B. Giles & R. Bradley | Wilmington N.C. | $400 | 1 year |
| 287 | Feb 14 1846 | Lewis, a slave | 25 | Carpenter | W. B. Giles for A. Giles | Wilmington | $500 | 1 year |
| 288 | Feb 14 1846 | Hector | 34 | Labourer | Annabella Giles | Wilmington N.C. | $400 | 1 year |
| 289 | Feb 14 1846 | John, a slave | 30 | Labourer | W. B. Giles & Co. | Wilmington N.C. | $400 | 1 year |
| 290 | Feb 14 1846 | Jim, a slave | 45 | Pitman [?] | W. B. Giles & Co. | Wilmington N.C. | $400 | 1 year |
| 291 | Feb 14 1846 | Dick Ferguson | 45 | Engineer | W. B. Giles & Co. | Wilmington N.C. | $800 | 1 year |
| 301 | Feb 20 1846 | George Cook, a slave | 40 | Fireman on board Steam Boat Peytona | William B. Woodruff as guardian of his infant daughters Susan H. & Rosa Emma [?] Woodruff | Jeffn. Co. Ky. | $500 | 6 months from 12th Feby |
| 304 | Feb 21 1846 | Wm Martin, a slave | 24 | Miner | Mid Lothian Coal Mining Co. | Mid Lothian Coal Mines | $487 | 1 year |
| 306 | Feb 21 1846 | Sim Mills | 29 | Miner | Mid Lothian Coal Mining Co. | Mid Lothian Coal Mines | $525 | 1 year |
611 records · Page 1 of 13
Source: Nautilus Insurance Company Slavery Era ledgers, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library. Transcribed by Walter English for the Brister English Project.