Osnaburg Overalls, Calico Frocks, and Homespun Suits: The Use of 19th Century Georgia Newspaper Notices to Research Slave Clothing and Textiles

Abstract

This paper discusses the value of newspaper notices in the search for data on slave clothing. Two hundred and seventy-three fugitive slave notices, 10 sheriff notices, and 79 store advertisements were examined from 34 Georgia newspapers published from 1800 to 1865. Although these sources provide us with, in most cases, extremely detailed information about slave clothing and textiles, researchers should also recognize the limitations these sources have. These include a narrow picturing of the slave runaway population (mostly male slaves) as seen in a relatively small number of extant newspapers that carry notices. If researchers keep these restrictions in mind when drawing conclusions based on these sources, extant newspapers of the times can reveal much about the slave clothing which is no longer available for research.

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