ANTIQUE 1855 HANDWRITTEN RECEIPT HIRE OF 2 SLAVES ABOARD STEAM BOAT GEORGIA

Description

Please email with any questions.4" by 8" pale blue paper receipt dated 1855. Receipt states that the Steamer Hartridge was paying for the "hire of 2 boys one week at per month each". Payment was received and the receipt is signed "A G Bostick". I can't decipher the name of the person that was hiring out.
Although not stated as slaves, the fact that no surnames are given and the money owed is going to a third party leaves me to believe that the hired hands were slaves. I read a bit about the hiring of slaves and it seems to have been pretty common in the south to hire slaves out when it wasn't a busy part of the year.
The Hartridge was one of two steamers that traveled up and down the Altamaha and Ocmulgee rivers between Savannah and Macon. Water rates were cheaper than shipping by rail and the trip usually took 4 or 5 days- the two steamers were primarily used to send cotton and other crops to the port of Savannah.