This database provides details about those persons, including age, sex, and color, but unfortunately, most schedules omit personal names. Census is usually the starting point for any genealogical research. In 1860 only a small minority of whites owned slaves. Researchers seeking information about slave owners may find slave schedules.
In the big picture, the 1860 census counted a total of 31,443,321. Since i was pursuing a degree in history, i obviously ha. The 1860 slave schedule adds a column for the number of slave houses on the property. Free negro owners of slaves in the united states in 1830. Slaves were gradually emancipated by tennessee law beginning in 1865. African american resources for tennessee genealogy. The following is a list of free black heads of household living in tennessee counties at the time the 1820 u.
Association for the study of negro life and history, inc. For the 1830 census, the age categories were expanded again. Federal census was taken census records do not survive for all counties that year. Slave lists covered here are 1800, 1810, 1820, 1850 and 1860. Now i ask you, does that make any sense whatsoever. Feb 24, 2017 very few did, but yes, it was legal for this to happen. However, black slave owners continued to thrive in the united states. During the 1850 united states federal census, enslaved individuals were recorded separately in what were called slave schedules. Some georgia slave owners in 1860 christines african. Free black slave masters in south carolina, 17901860 kindle edition by larry koger. Free negro owners of slaves in the united states in 1830 taking up the study of the free negro in the united states, the research department of the association for the study of negro life and history decided to make this statistical report as to the. I originally became interested in this topic during college, where as a history major one of my professors discussed the existence of free black slave owners in our area.
While not a record group with a focus on slavery or africanamericans, the records of the southern claims commission are a rich source of surprising details on african americans in the southern u. The census of 1830 lists 3,775 free negroes who owned a total of 12,760 slaves. For example, the number of enslaved people enumerated under a slave owner could indicate whether or not the slave owner had a plantation, and if so, what size it was. Examining south carolinas diverse population of africanamerican slaveowners, the book demonstrates that free african americans widely embraced slavery as a viable. Philip burnham, in the article selling poor steven published in the februarymarch 1993 issue of american heritage, found that in the us census of. History of the collection the official enumeration day of the 1860 census was june 1, 1860. In 1861, in an attempt to raise money for sick and wounded soldiers, the census office produced and sold a map that showed the population. National data reveals that farmers owners and tenants made up nearly 10% of utilized occupations. For example, early in the book koger describes the challenges of reconciling us census data 1800 civil war with local tax data. How many slaves were owned by black slaveholders before the.
Below are the number of slave owners, slaves, free blacks, and free mulattoes for 18501870. A significant number of these free blacks were the owners of slaves. Free negro owners of slaves in the united states in 1830, together with absentee ownership of slaves in the united states in 1830 by woodson, carter godwin, 1875. The county was developed in 1801 from a portion of green county, ky. Adair county ky slaves, free blacks, and free mulattoes. The slave owners from 1800 to 1820 were among the first settlers into henderson county. Under the slave owners name, a line for each slave shows age, complexion, and. Black slave owners in the united states little has been published regarding those blacks who owned black slaves in the usa, however, more research is bringing this littleknown subject to light.
Wayne county ky slaves, free blacks, and free mulattoes. Discover details about those enumerated in this supplement to the 1850 census, including the names and addresses of slave owners and descriptions of slaves held in 16 states across the country. That in a parish where whites outnumbered free blacks by a factor of 15 to 1, 72% of all slave owners were free blacks. How to find slave records state library of north carolina. Federal census, and the population increased to 9,272 by 1860, excluding the slaves. Dec 20, 2016 in the latter vein, 9 facts about slavery they dont want you to know lays out a mixture of true, false and misleading historical claims. Do they live in upper class white neighborhoods or black neighborhoods. Census records are basic building blocks for everyones research. Slave owners of perry county, missouri 1830 census abernathy, battee. Slave owners 18001820, 18501860 henderson heritage. This list in the order of the largest slave owners to the person with the smallest number of slaves.
The census also determined that there were fewer than 385,000 individuals who owned slaves 1. The modern nations of sierra leone and liberia both originated as colonies of repatriated former black slaves. Black slave owners in the united states ironbark resources. Slave owners of perry county, missouri 1830 census abernathy. One male slave under ten one male slave between twentyfour and thirtysix. Aug 17, 2016 9 facts about slavery they dont want you to know a widely circulated list of historical facts about slavery dwells on the participation of nonwhites as owners and traders of slaves in. The first legal slave owner in american history was a black tobacco farmer named anthony johnson. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Us census 1850 slave schedule uncover new details about your ancestors and the role slavery played in the united states before the american civil war. General john adair was born in south carolina and came to kentucky in 1786.
It cost a lot of money to own slaves, and you basically had to be an obsessive psychopath, sadist to go through the process it took to keep p. Not all black residents of tennessee were slaves before the civil war. Researching africanamerican ancestors who lived before the american civil war 18611865. The 1810 wayne county population was 1,850 heads of households, according to the u.
Free black owners of slaves 1 there were approximately 319,599 free blacks in the united states in 1830. Selected statistics on slavery in the united states unless otherwise noted, all data is as of the 1860 census total number of slaves in the lower south. Read, highlight, and take notes, across web, tablet, and phone. About 28 percent of the free black population in new orleans at the time owned slaves, with at least six owning 65 or more.
Nov 30, 1985 it would not surprise me if this booktopic was considered controversial. This is a book for those who wish to be enlightened. Though the census schedules speak in terms of slave owners, the transcriber has chosen to use the term slaveholder rather than slave owner, so that questions of justice and legality of claims of ownership need not be addressed in this transcription. Also, census enumerators were instructed to include the names of slaves who were 100 years old or older. The united states census of 1860 was the eighth census conducted in the united states. Score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Jan 10, 20 it has been documented that there were a lot of black slaves owners in the south moors. National archives microcopy t655, roll 8, the 1860 census of persons dying between june 1, 1859 and june 1, 1860, includes an index to deceased persons. Because slave information is only available from their former owners records, you will. However, it also includes a supplementary list of owners of deceased slaves. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading black slaveowners. What your history books dont tell you is that 3,000 blacks owned a total of.
Jul, 2008 furnished several examples of black slave owners in the usa. By 1830 there were 3,775 black families living in the south who owned black slaves. Adair county ky slaves, free blacks, and free mulattoes, 18501870 adair county, named for general john adair, is located near the tennessee border in southcentral kentucky. This was the first effort to gently repatriate free blacks back to africa.
Slave population of the southern state s of the united states compiled from the census of 1860. There are overviews of census research, county records, private records, and a. Most americans, both black and white, believe that slavery was a system maintained by whites to exploit blacks, but this authoritative study reveals the extent to which african americans played a significant role as slave masters. Additionally, some social categories made their first appearance. Black slave owners civil war history discussion american. Federal records that help identify former slaves and slave owners. The following is a list of slave owners, for which there is a consensus of historical evidence of slave ownership, in alphabetical order by last name.
A list of fiction and nonfiction books dealing with slavery in the us over the years. A genealogists guide to federal census facts, schedules. Free negro owners of slaves in the united states in 1830 taking up the study of the free negro in the united states, the research department of the association for the study of negro life and history decided to make this statistical report as to the heads of families, their ownership of slaves and social relations with. The census records show that the majority of the negro owners of slaves were such from the point of view of philanthropy. Much rarer were sexual relations between white women and black slave men, yet they too occurred.
Only about half of those over 100 actually included names. The records are sometimes unclear as to whether a person is black, white or mixed race, whether they are free or slave, whether a person is a slave owner or merely resides in a household that includes slaves. Sexual relations between elite white women and enslaved men. One of the most vexing questions in africanamerican history is whether free african americans. Yet there were only 4169 total slave owners in orleans parish. There is ample evidence of sexual relations, from rapes to what appear to be relatively symbiotic romantic partnerships, between white slave masters and black women in the antebellum south.
Selected statistics on slavery in the united states. It is concerned with the fact that in the years before the civil war, there were in the states that made up the confederacy a small. It is a well researched, well cited work that opens a door. In the rare instances when the ownership of slaves by free negroes is acknowledged in the history books, justification centers on the claim that black slave masters were simply. In the rare instances when the ownership of slaves by free negroes is acknowledged in the history books, justification centers on the claim that black slave masters were simply individuals who purchased the freedom of a spouse or child from a white slaveholder and had been unable to legally manumit them. In 1860, the total free population of the united states and its territories was 27,489,561. Jul 07, 2015 in 1860 only a small minority of whites owned slaves. Sep 19, 20 you claim there were 3000 black slave owners in new orleans in 1860. Some eight million of them lived in the slaveholding states. What percentage of people in america owned slaves at the peak. Viral post gets it wrong about extent of slavery in 1860 politifact. In 1860, slave owners, white or black, owned around one to five slaves on average.
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