There is some paper involved, just not me doing it!! 
I actually go to the courthouses and look up all the old records. It is quite interesting to read those old deeds and wills. Sad too. They are selling their land, mules, and slaves. They always put a price down by the slave too. It will be like $6 for a kid, $15 for a teen/young adult, and about $6 for an older person. The mules always cost more too. Of course here in MS, many of our courthouses were burned down in the Civil War so the records only go back to the 1860's. Sometimes you can find some 1850 stuff.
Good work Soleil.
From records here in the North we find that when a home owner died and an inventory was made on their goods that everything they owned ,home and personal property was way short of the value of the slaves.
I am speaking of what we consider low middle class folks that owned land, a home and worked at menial jobs. The Man may have brought in in living wage as a fisherman, the wife may have been a streamstress--Some may have owned taverns, some been blacksmiths.
It was a huge expense to buy a slave, but without them and their help, little could be done. Slaves were for most members of the family---on Sundays they sat in the upper decks of the Church in Pews paid for by their owners.
Slaves in this area were an investment, they had to be fed, clothed and medical care given to them.----Some where in the early 1700's it became a crime to harm a slave and the Whipping Post was in the center of town for those who did so.
Some slaves were taught to read and wright, they soon handled the family finances and some were sent to schools to learn more.----Still they were slaves.
It comes down to the middle class here that die off and an inventory is made of personal goods.
Beds made of straw, a few blankets made of rags. In the kitchen, a couple of cast iron pots, perhaps a ladle a few dishes made of wood to eat from. So How did these people survive ???
They had the slaves to churn the milk from the cow into butter, the slaves watched and cared for the chickens and hogs while their mistress was scavenging for nuts and Berry's to feed them all.
Mean while the fisherman or blacksmith had labor to keep him in business. Sure they could have hired help but even if it was more expensive to own a slave, they were bonded with survival.
Yankees looked at slavery much different then the South. To the Yankee slaves were people, humans not beasts of the field.
When a Yankee died, his home and possessions were few, but his slaves were worth a fortune to those that needed their skills, their ability to to make life easier for the new owners.
Look back Soliel, what happend to the slaves when they were set on the street with freedom but no way to use it.
No place to go, no food, clothing, no roof over their head. They had the skills and more but no one wanted to pay them hard cold cash for it. More then a few men went west and became cowboys, ---little known fact is the American cowboys were by a majority freed slaves.
Darn but I love history
