Hi Anne. You wrote, "I am aware that many who owned just one or two slaves 
did not treat their slaves as callously as did those who owned large 
plantations especially those further south than Virginia."

Do you know what research was done on this subject? In my research in 
Virginia and North Carolina I have not noted any differences in how those 
with large or small numbers of slaves treated them as property. Those with 
very large numbers of slaves could often divide them up evenly among their 
children in their will, but those with one or two slaves would either sell 
them and divide the money equally or have their executors put a price on 
them and give equivalent cash to the other children. In either case, the 
language does not sound much different from their references to their cattle 
or horses.
Paul 

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