Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
Business Number: 540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu
Emily Cook, Student Assistant
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Samuel Crews Sharecropper Contract, Ms2008-067, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Source of Acquisition
The Samuel Crews Sharecropper Contract was purchased by Special Collections.
Processing Information
The processing and description of the Samuel Crews Sharecropper Contract occurred in August 2008.
Biographical Note
Samuel Walter Crews appears in Virginia's 1850 census under southern Halifax County as a four-year-old boy, thus placing his birth in around 1846. Crews was born to James Henry Crews and Marguerite Walker and had three sisters: Anne E., Phebe M. and Mary F.
Crews was a sharecropper, one who farms land without owning it for a share of the yield. Sharecropping became popular in Halifax County, Virginia, after the abolition of slavery caused landowners to seek new forms of labor.
Scope and Content
The Samuel Crews Sharecropper Contract is a manuscript agreement between S. and R. Dodd and Samuel Crews for the year 1877. The contract outlines the terms in which Samuel Crews can farm, but not own, land in Halifax County, Virginia. In the document, Crews agrees to pay the Dodds one fourth of crops grown and to build a fence. Crops cultivated include tobacco, corn, wheat, and oats. This diversified list of crops represents the shift away from a tobacco monoculture that occurred between 1870 and 1880 in Virginia.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
- Agriculture
- Legal instruments (Legal documents)
- Sharecropping -- United States -- Virginia
Rights Statement for Archival Description
The guide to the Samuel Crews Sharecropper Contract by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).