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1805-14 antique SOUTH CAROLINA LAW slavery native american indian boundary mason
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The following description was prepared with the assistance of AI to help summarize and highlight the key details of this antique South Carolina law book. Please review photos for your own evaluation, as AI may occasionally make errors.
Offered here is a remarkable and historic compilation of the Acts of the General Assembly of South Carolina, covering the legislative sessions from 1805 through 1814, with continuous pagination running to 792 hand-numbered pages. The volume measures approx. 8.25\" x 5.25\", bound in period cloth with gilt spine title for the Social Law Library, Boston.
What makes this volume extraordinary is the extensive provenance: at the conclusion of the printed text is an additional 60-page handwritten manuscript index, compiled by John Blount Miller (1772–1827) — a prominent South Carolina lawyer, legislator, and judge. Miller carefully constructed his own reference system, arranging entries by subject (e.g., Militia, Colleges, Worship, Banks, Slavery, Ferry regulations, Courts, etc.), cross-referenced to page numbers within the text. This working tool transforms the book from a legislative record into a unique window into how South Carolina’s laws were actively consulted by a jurist of the period.
About John Blount Miller
Born: 1772, Charleston, SC
Career: Practiced law; elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives (1800–1801); later appointed as a Circuit Court Judge (1812), where he presided over significant cases in the Courts of Equity.
Died: 1827, Charleston, age 55.
His manuscript index is a rare survival of a judge’s professional working notes. Each heading reveals not only how he organized the legal statutes for quick access but also which subjects he considered most important in practice.
Content Highlights
The printed laws themselves include key acts on:
Slavery & manumission regulations.
Militia service, fines, and organization during the War of 1812 period.
Taxation, ferries, and canal/road improvements.
Bank charters and insurance companies.
Education and academies (Columbia College, Mount Pleasant Academy, free schools).
Church incorporations (Episcopal, Presbyterian, Baptist, Independent congregations).
Boundary disputes (notably with North Carolina, ca. 1808–1813).
Condition
Binding is firm, showing institutional gilt and expected age wear. Text is generally clean with scattered foxing and toning, heavier at margins. Ownership markings as shown. The manuscript index is entirely legible, in dark brown ink, filling 60 pages with Miller’s neat hand.
Significance
A scarce early 19th-century South Carolina session law compilation.
Enhanced by an original 60-page manuscript index by Judge John Blount Miller, giving direct provenance to a leading South Carolina jurist.
Suitable for collectors of American legal history, Southern antebellum law, and early statehood imprints, or for institutional acquisition as a primary source in the study of South Carolina’s legal framework.
CONDITION: Tight binding, hand laid paper. Light antique wear for age. See listing description and photos.
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LOC2: BOOKBOX36-TMKTK-E250916BDB42
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