Thanks Deo and yes I felt like my box of stuff was a once in a lifetime find. The recipient of the above document, J.F. SMITH is hard to find online although their is mention of him. He was a plantation owner and had a bank in york S.C. The bank records and slave records are extremely interesting as is a written account by one of his previous slaves of the Union army coming down Congress street in York and of all the slaves hiding from them. When the word got out that they were freed, they ran to walk with the union army and were cursed and beaten off, they returned to the plantation, where they were eventually given emancipation "letters". Pretty Cool. Even better, but not relating to the time period, is a last will and testament belonging to J.F. Smiths father in law, Adam Crane Jones. He was a notable figure in the revolutionary war and if you google his name you'll find his last will and T online, procured from an 1813 copy held by the clerk of courts in VA. The original Will remained in family hands for almost 200 years, incredibly its now sitting in my safe. I will be seeking assisstance in preserving/handling these documents before trying to get very deep into them. J
