A partial holograph document dealing with the purhase or sale of real estate. Text in full: also one third of meadow lot containing three acres/[Rods?] Bounded North by land of Hanmer & Forbes. East by land of Levi Smith, South by land of Ira Wells and West by land of S L Bilden. Also one third of house lot containing three acres 1 Rood 27 Rods. Bounded north by land of E. Roberts. East by land of Ira Hill South by land of Jesse Judson & West by land of Osias Roberts Esq Forbes SS all val in the above amount $174.74 1/3[.] Hartford [signature] James Mars

Hartford, n.d.. Very Good/. We did notice that this fragment does not include a notary’s certificate.. Light blue paper. 19 x 10 cm. Neatly handwritten in brown ink. Undated. Signed by James Mars. Blank on back (verso). Mars was enslaved at birth. The enslaver of his family was the local Congregational minister in Canaan, Connecticut.. Connecticut enacted a law in 1784 providing for gradual emamciapation of enslaved residents of Connecticut. The minister decided to go the Virginia which had no such law. The Mars family escaped but were located. Negotiations ensued. The resulting agreement in 1798 resulted in freedom for his parents and sister with James and his brother remaining enslaved in Connecticut until emanciapated by law at the age of 25. James later negotiated with his successor enslaver and bought his freedom in 1811 for $90. James later worked in a dry goods store and became a leader among freedmen in the Hartford area. He had eight children. Mars and his family moved to Pittsfiled, Mass. around 1845 where his wife died a few years later. James remained in Pittsfield for about 20 years. He then returned to Hartford and wrote a narrative of his life at least partly to support himself in his otherwise impoverished old age. It was first published in Hartford in 1866 and titled "Life of James Mars, a Slave Born and Sold in Connecticut." There were several printing or editions. We assume that this document relates to a real estate transaction that occurred when Mars was living in or near Hartford, Connecticut either before or after his decades in Pittsfield but have not tried to ascertain the land's exact location. We did notice that this fragmewnt does no include a notary's certification. (Inventory #: 95602)