tatements extant before about the year 1855. The prices
which we have obtained are quotations from the auction of slaves of
estates to settle the interests of the heirs. On January court day, in
1855, there were sold in the settlement of estates in Bourbon,
Fayette, Clark and Franklin Counties Negro men who brought $1,260,
$1,175, $1,070, $1,378, $1,295, $1,015 and $1,505.[276] The county
commissioner of Harrison auctioned the slaves of the deceased George
Kirkpatrick with the following prices received:

America 40 years of age }
Peggy 6 years of age } all for $1,600
Eliza 4 years of age }
Brown 6 months of age }

Peter 23 years of age $1,290
Emanuel 24 years of age 750
Tom 16 years of age 1,015
Ann 14 years of age 775
Emma 12 years of age 865
Sarah 26 years of age 350[277]

The county commissioner at Henderson received the following prices for
slaves in the settlement of several estates on January 28, 1858:[278]

Ruth 33 years of age $ 800
Willis 59 years of age 475
George 35 years of age 1,200
Delphy 80 years of age 75
Leila 65 years of age 282
Clarissa 24 years of age 1,131
Andrew 19 years of age 1,500
Susan 17 years of age 470
Jennie 17 years of age 1,100
Cupid 85 years of age 74
Eliza 32 years of age 500
Bell 41 years of age 1,000

This sale is most significant for the cases of "Delphy," 80 years old,
and "Cupid," 85 years of age. It is difficult to account for such a
sale in any discussion of the slave trade, but it does show the
humanitarian side of Kentucky slavery. Negroes at such an age had no
economic value even if they were given away, because the expense of
their maintenance was more than the value of any possible labor they
could perform.

At Georgetown in December of the same year we have this record:[279]

Griffin 45 years of age $ 640
Mary 14 years of age 1,060
Ellen 12 years of age 800
Elizabeth 11 years of age 406 (one-eyed)
Sanford 9 years of age 700
Arabel 10 y