the said Cooper Hughs, Freedman, with his wife and one other
woman, and the said Charles Roberts, with his wife Hannah and
one boy, are to work on said farm and to cultivate forty acres in
corn and twenty acres in cotton... to be under the control and
directions of said IG Bailey, and to receive for their said services
one half of the cotton and one third of the corn and fodder raised by
them on said farm in said year 1867 ...
Excerpt from contract between owner IG Bailey and tenants C.
Hughes and C. Roberts
Contracts such as the one shown most often resulted in -
the tenants purchasing the land from the owner
the tenants being in debt to the owner at the end of the year
the tenants becoming business partners with the owner
the tenants failing to produce the contracted crop