The Chester Historical Society in Chester New York has a slave bell. They have an image of the bells as well as the sound it makes on the HRVH website. www.hrvh.org. The clip is number 15 on the first page. They call it an ankle fetter used to prevent escapes.

---

From:  Hillary Murtha <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To:  Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]>
To:  [log in to unmask]
Subject:  [MUSEUM-L] slave bells
Date:  Tue, 31 Oct 2006 14:11:32 -0500
>Please excuse cross-listings.
>
>I am a doctoral candidate at the University of Delaware, and I am writing my dissertation on the use of bells, horns, & other auditory signalling devices used to manage labor in nineteenth-century America.
>
>At present, I am looking for preserved antebellum southern historic sites that still have the bell(s) that were used to direct & discipline enslaved field hands - ie, calling them to and from the fields, etc. I would also appreciate any other relevant information anyone is willing to share - that is, if you have or know of the existence of a slave-bell or horn in a museum collection, know of a collection of particularly relevant papers, etc.
>
>Many thanks in advance,
>
>Hillary Murtha
>University of Delaware
>
>=========================================================
>Important Subscriber Information:
>
>The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
>
>If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).