William Payne & Sons, Charleston, South Carolina

I would like to give a warm welcome today to our newest contributor Margaret Seidler. Margaret is a native of Charleston, South Carolina. She is retired now after a career in leadership development and organization management. 

Historical Street Marker, Broad Street, Charleston,South Carolina. With thanks to Margaret Seidler.

​After a lifetime of believing that my family was not involved in slavery, a deeper investigation of my family tree led to the discovery that I am a descendant of John Gordon Torrans of County Derry, Ireland (1702-1780), a partner in the shipping and shipping agent firm of Torrans, Greg and Poaug on Bay Street.
Torrans, Greg and Pouag brought many Ulster people to the Carolinas, then later expanded their operation to include the transportation of enslaved Africans into Charleston.
In 1791, Torrans' daughter Maria Margaret (1772-1827) married William Payne (dec. 1834). Payne was a son of servants to the Butler family from Cloughrenan, County Carlow, Ireland, He arrived in Charleston about 1786, accompanying their son, Edward Butler, the nephew of Major Pierce Butler. At first, Payne worked as a clerk for Pierce Butler but by 1803 he had started a brokerage business. He was later joined by his sons John William and Joshua. William Payne and Sons, became the largest auction house in Charleston engaged in the sale of thousands of enslaved people in the domestic slave trade.  My research to date has focused on uncovering these transactions in historical newspaper advertisements.  

Excerpt from the research undertaken by Margaret Seidler, Charleston, South Carolina.

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The attached pdf. includes my research on William Payne & Sons to date and also my email address if you would like to contact me.

margaret_seidler_auction_research_of_sales_apr_2020__1_.pdf
File Size:	1744 kb
File Type:	pdf

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Margaret Seidler: Domestic Slave Trading in Charleston 1800-1832  (13 Oct. 2020)
youtu.be/i3xE07VCax0

Note
If you would like to learn more about Margaret's research, the above talk was one she gave to local historians and tour guides in Charleston, Oct 2020.