Thomas L. Mann issued these three receipts to freedmen for work performed in 1865. I have been unable to locate Mann or the men he had formerly enslaved — Lewis, Jocks and Jim Mann. However, it was not unusual for freedmen to “try on” one or more surnames before making a permanent selection, often different from their former enslaver’s name.

Jany 6th 1866 Recd of Thos. L. Mann our Former Master Fifty Six Dollars in full For my Services  for the Year 1865. Lewis (X) Mann

Witness [signature illegible]

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Jany 6th 1866 Recd of Thos. L. Mann our Former Master Fifty four Dollars in full For my Services & Wife for the Year 1865. Jacks (X) Mann

Witness [signature illegible]

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Jany 6th 1866 Recd of Thos. L. Mann our Former Master Forty Six Dollars 25/100 in full For my Services and Wife Patsey for the Year 1865. Jim (X) Mann

Witness [signature illegible]

Wage Receipts, Slave Records, Wilson County Records, North Carolina State Archives.