Slaves of Drusilla Graves Boxley

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Louisa, Virginia, United States
Surnames/tags: Boxley Graves

Slaves of Drusilla Graves Boxley

1844: Will of George Boxley

Drusilla's husband, George Boxley, died in 1844 in Louisa County, Virginia. In his will he gives Drusilla 11 enslaved people (note: he intends that the people who are given to his wife, Drusilla, are to be sold at her death, the profit divided between his remaining heirs):

SLAVES:

Slave Owner	#	Sex	Name	Description
Drusilla (Graves) Boxley	1	M	York	None, assumed grown man
Drusilla (Graves) Boxley	1	M	Charles	None, assumed grown man
Drusilla (Graves) Boxley	1	M?	Lucy (maybe misspelling of Lucky?) or, if female: Lucy?	None, assumed grown man
Drusilla (Graves) Boxley	1	M	Iverson	None, assumed grown man
Drusilla (Graves) Boxley	1	M	Jason	None, assumed grown man
Drusilla (Graves) Boxley	1	M	Spencer	None, assumed grown man
Drusilla (Graves) Boxley	1	M	Peter	None, assumed grown man
Drusilla (Graves) Boxley	1	F	Rose	One of a group of women
Drusilla (Graves) Boxley	1	F	Winny	One of a group of women
Drusilla (Graves) Boxley	1	F	Sofa	One of a group of women “and her increas(sic)”
Drusilla (Graves) Boxley	1	?	Sofa's child	Child

1850 Census

Drusilla appears on the 1850 Slave Census for Hanover County, Virginia (image 54 of 118), line 11b^[1]:

SLAVES:

Line, Col.	Name of Slave Owner	#	Age	Sex	Color
11b	Mrs. Boxley	1	67 (b11783)	F	B
12b	Mrs. Boxley	1	45 (b18055)	M	B
13b	Mrs. Boxley	1	43 (b1807)	M	B
14b	Mrs. Boxley	1	15 (b1835)	M	B
15b	Mrs. Boxley	1	27 (b1823)	F	B
16b	Mrs. Boxley	1	12 (b1838)	F	B
17b	Mrs. Boxley	1	10 (b1840)	F	B
18b	Mrs. Boxley	1	8 (b1842)	F	B
19b	Mrs. Boxley	1	6 (b1844)	F	B
20b	Mrs. Boxley	1	2 (b1848)	M	B
21b	Mrs. Boxley	1	17 (b1833)	F	B

Virginia Slave Birth Index (between 1850 and 1859)

Between 1850 and 1860 Drusilla Graves Boxley appears as “Owner” in the Virginia Slave Birth Index 5 times^[2]:

Name of Slave Owner	Name/Sex of Baby	Name of Mother	Birthdate	County Born In	Page. No.
(Mrs.) Drusilla Boxley	Peter	Lucy	Nov. 1853	Louisa	7
Drusella Boxley	Henry	Sophia	Feb. 1855	Louisa	30
(Mrs.) Drusilla Boxley	John	Lucy	Feb.1, 1856	Louisa	38
Drusilla Boxley	Simon	Lucy	Mar. 1858	Louisa	58
(Mrs.) Drisilla Boxley	Robin	Eliza	Dec 1858-Jan 1859	Louisa	58/72

1860 Census

Drusilla appears on the 1860 Slave Census for Hanover County, Virginia, p2, line 28b and p3, line 01a^[3]:

SLAVES:

Page	Line, Col.	Name of Slave Owner	#	Age	Sex	Color
2	28b	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	50 (b1810)	M	B
2	29b	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	40 (b1820)	F	B
2	30b	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	36 (b1824)	M	B
2	31b	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	30 (b1830)	M	B
2	32b	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	27 (b1833)	M	B
2	33b	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	25 (b1835)	F	B
2	34b	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	20 (b1840)	F	B
2	35b	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	18 (b1842)	F	B
2	36b	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	15 (b18450)	F	B
2	37b	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	12 (b1848)	M	B
2	38b	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	12 (b1848)	M	B
2	39b	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	10 (b1853)	F	B
2	40b	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	7 (b1863)	M	B
3	01a	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	5 (b1855)	M	B
3	02a	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	4 (b1854)	M	B
3	03a	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	3 (b1857)	M	B
3	04a	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	2 (b1858)	F	B
3	05a	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	1 (b1859)	M	B
3	06a	Mrs. Drucilla Boxley	1	1 (b1859)	F	B

Virginia Slave Birth Index (between 1860 and 1866)

Between 1860 and 1866 Drusilla Graves Boxley appears as “Owner” in the Virginia Slave Birth Index 4 times^[4]:

Name of Slave Owner	Name/Sex of Baby	Name of Mother	Birthdate	County Born In	Page. No.
(Mrs.) Drucilla Boxley	Lizzie	Lucy	May 1860	Louisa	81
(Mrs.) Drucilla Boxley	Maria	Sophia	May 1860	Louisa	81
(Mrs.) Drucilla Boxley	Mary Lewis	Eliza	Jul. 1861	Louisa	95
(Mrs.) Drusilla Boxley	Jason	Lucy	Sep. 1862	Louisa	111

Runaway Slave Records

See Louisa County - Record of Slaves that Escaped

In 1862, 7 slaves owned by Drusilla Boxley escaped to the Union Army^[5]

• Sophia (43)
• Eliza (22)
• Malvina (21)
• Waller (15)
• Nancy (13)
• Frederick (12)
• Pleasant (11)

Research Notes

• Drusilla died in September of 1864 per her probate record that includes her will dated 1855.Drusilla's estate passed probate on 3 August 1855.^[6]The will needs to be transcribed to discover who inherited her enslaved people.

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1850 ", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HRWG-S1ZM : 15 February 2020), Boxley in entry for MM9.1.1/MV81-F9Q:, 1850..
2. ↑ "Virginia, Slave Birth Index, 1853-1866," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WDGB-VLN2 : 4 February 2020), Drusilla Boxley in entry for Peter, Nov 1853; citing Birth, Louisa, Virginia, United States, Virgina State Library and Archives, Richmond; FHL microfilm 007849154.
3. ↑ "United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:W2XG-KKZM : 16 October 2019), Drucella Boxley, 1860.
4. ↑ "Virginia, Slave Birth Index, 1853-1866," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WDGB-VKT2 : 4 February 2020), Drucilla Boxley in entry for Maria, May 1860; citing Birth, Louisa, Virginia, United States, Virgina State Library and Archives, Richmond; FHL microfilm 007849154.
5. ↑ Runaway Slaves Records, 1794,1806-1863, Accession APA 759, Record of Slaves that have escaped to the enemy during the war [1861-1863], Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. Link to Search Page
6. ↑ Probate: "Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900"
   Will Books, 1745-1865 ; General Index to Wills, 1742-1947; Author: Virginia. County Court (Louisa County); Probate Place: Louisa, Virginia
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62347 #1089935 (accessed 23 October 2022)
   Drusilla Boxley probate on 3 Aug 1855.