Lewis Commodore
Item
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Name
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Lewis Commodore
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Given Name
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Lewis
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Family Name
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Commodore
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Alternate Name
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Commodore Lewis
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Birth Date
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1803
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Death Date
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1872
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Sex
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Male
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Description
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Lewis Commodore (1803-1872) was a man who was the only person to be claimed in ownership by the University of Virginia. Before 1832, he was claimed in ownership by white enslaver Dabney Minor and was contracted to labor as the janitor and bell ringer of the Rotunda at the University. When Minor's estate went to auction, Lewis was trafficked and sold to Proctor John A. Carr, Professor John A. G. Davis, and Dr. Robert Maskell Patterson "for the use of the University." The three were reimbursed $580 by the Board of Visitors.
