Slave Related Letter and Cover Rare 1853 Postmark Bethania, North Carolina

Description

Southern Slave Related Letter and Cover Postmarked Bethania, North Carolina 1853.
Signed, "Maria S. Butner." Bethania, North Carolina; May 24, 1853. A very descriptive letter in ink from Butner to her brother Albert Butner in Whiteville, North Carolina, in which she related family news in Bethania and mentions the price of young male slaves: "You want to know the price of negro boys. Father bids one write that they are selling very high, some quite young at 00 & upward, even elderly negroes sell for eight hundred & more. He would like to buy one, but thinks them too high at present."
A little family history : Maria Susanna Butner (1829-1869) was the daughter of Heinrich ("Henry") Herman Butner (1792-1879) and Johanna Salome Strub (1794-1851) of Bethania, Forsyth county, North Carolina. Her brother, Albert Israel Butner (1827-1914), was principle of a school in Whiteville, Columbus County, North Carolina when this letter was written. Maria married Reverend Maximillian Eugene Grunert (1823-1887) in April 1864 at Salem, North Carolina.
Item will ship USPS Priority insured.