Henry Wilson's petition to the Honorable Judge Samuel Fulkerson, Washington County [Virginia], Wilson makes a plea to choose enslavement over being deported to Liberia, single page on lined paper, with Wilson's mark in lieu of signature, 12-1/4 x 8 in. 

Provenance: Private Tennessee Collection

Note: Judge Samuel Vance Fulkerson was the son of Abram Fulkerson, also a judge in Washington County. Samuel was a Colonel in the 37th Virginia Infantry and was killed in action at the Battle of Gaines Mill on June 28, 1862.

A similar document requesting enslavement brought a hammer price of $3,200 at Fleischer's auction of May 14, 2024. Written requests for enslavement are, obviously, quite rare and much less frequently encountered than a simple "Application to Remain," which would preserve one's newfound freedom.

Lot 38 from Fleischer:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/173251506_free-black-woman-requests-a-master