Are their records of his slave transactions?

Question

I am researching my mothers family.  Her great grandfather Rufus Bell was an African American.  Info I gave found so far indicates he was born in area in Nashville Davidson County or Murphysboro in 1840.  At some point i believe he was sold to S.W. Goodrich who owned a plantation in Austin Texas Barton Springs.  Any help would be appreciated

Debra pendleton
deblou46rus@yahoo.com

Answer 1

I'd suggest you volunteer (become a WikiTree member and then once you're approved (which usually only takes a few hours), there are some groups you can join here which concentrate on people with African-American roots.  They may be able to lead you to such resources. Of course, unfortunately, there were a lot of such records destroyed during the civil war.   But you might be able to find information in old southern newspapers.

Answer 2

I've found published references to sales of property, including slaves, in Virginia. Perhaps the Tennessee State Library or State Archives can point you toward similar publications. Also try the Tennessee and/or Nashville Family History Society. FamilySearch's wiki would be a good place to look as well.

I've used google to find publications and references with some success. The sales of slaves will be included with property sales and leases.