Feb 28, 2005 - Sale 2034

Sale 2034 - Lot 52

Price Realized: $ 5,750
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 6,000 - $ 9,000
SILVER CUP PRESENTED TO THEIR WHITE MINISTER (SILOAM BAPTIST CHURCH.) Silver Cup, "Presented to Rev. J. H. De Votie by the colored members of the Siloam Baptist Church." Octagonal coin silver beaker, with floral repousse borders; engraved inscription in a cursive hand across 2 panes. 4-1/2 high. Accompanied by a Manuscript Indenture for two black girls. [Marion, Ala, circa 1855]
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The Reverend James H. De Votie (1813-1891) was born in New York but moved to Georgia in the early 1830's and then to Alabama in 1835. There he took his first ministry at the Baptist church of Montgomery. When he married a non-Baptist who was thought to be "worldly," he was forced to move to a smaller town. He became pastor of Siloam Baptist Church in the slave community of Marion, where he remained from 1840 to 1855. In later years he was instrumental in founding Howard College, which today is Samford College.
In her history of the Siloam Baptist Church, Julia M. Lovelace says, "The highest number of members recorded in the association minutes was during De Votie's pastorate, when the church had 659 members. This included blacks as well as whites."
With this cup is an indenture for two very young girls, "These children's mother being dead and the father unknown if alive. The mother and children above named were the slaves of said De Votie." De Votie agrees to care for Louisa and Ellen for ten and eleven years respectively, providing them with necessities and giving them a small amount of money at the close of their servitude. 3 pages, 4to; Signed by De Votie. Columbus, GA, 19 August 1867.