LOWNDES COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
LARGEST SLAVEHOLDERS FROM 1860 SLAVE CENSUS SCHEDULES
and
SURNAME MATCHES FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS ON 1870 CENSUS
Transcribed by Tom Blake, October 2001
PURPOSE. Published information giving names of slaveholders and numbers of slaves held in Lowndes County, Mississippi, in 1860, is either non-existent or not readily available. It is possible to locate a free person on the Lowndes County, Mississippi census for 1860 and not know whether that person was also listed as a slaveholder on the slave census, because published indexes almost always do not include the slave census.
Those who have found a free ancestor on the 1860 Lowndes County, Mississippi census can check this list to learn if their ancestor was one of the larger slaveholders in the County. If the ancestor is not on this list, the 1860 slave census microfilm can be viewed to find out whether the ancestor was a holder of a fewer number of slaves or not a slaveholder at all. Whether or not the ancestor is found to have been a slaveholder, a viewing of the slave census will provide an informed sense of the extent of slavery in the ancestral County, particularly for those who have never viewed a slave census. An ancestor not shown to hold slaves on the 1860 slave census could have held slaves on an earlier census, so those films can be checked also. In 1850, the slave census was also separate from the free census, but in earlier years it was a part of the free census.
African American descendants of persons who were enslaved in Lowndes County, Mississippi in 1860, if they have an idea of the surname of the slaveholder, can check this list for the surname. If the surname is found, they can then view the microfilm for the details listed regarding the sex, age and color of the slaves. If the surname is not on this list, the microfilm can be viewed to see if there were smaller slaveholders with that surname. To check a master surname list for other States and Counties, return to Home and Links Page.
The information on surname matches of 1870 African Americans and 1860 slaveholders is intended merely to provide data for consideration by those seeking to make connections between slaveholders and former slaves. Particularly in the case of these larger slaveholders, the data seems to show in general not many freed slaves in 1870 were using the surname of their 1860 slaveholder. However, the data should be checked for the particular surname to see the extent of the matching.
The last U.S. census slave schedules were enumerated by County in 1860 and included 393,975 named persons holding 3,950,546 unnamed slaves, or an average of about ten slaves per holder. The actual number of slaveholders may be slightly lower because some large holders held slaves in more than one County and they would have been counted as a separate slaveholder in each County. Excluding slaves, the 1860 U.S. population was 27,167,529, with about 1 in 70 being a slaveholder. It is estimated by this transcriber that in 1860, slaveholders of 200 or more slaves, while constituting less than 1 % of the total number of U.S. slaveholders, or 1 out of 7,000 free persons, held 20-30% of the total number of slaves in the U.S. The process of publication of slaveholder names beginning with larger slaveholders will enable naming of the holders of the most slaves with the least amount of transcription work.
SOURCES. The 1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedules for Lowndes County, Mississippi (NARA microfilm series M653, Roll 600) reportedly includes a total of 16,730 slaves. This transcription includes 130 slaveholders who held 40 or more slaves in Lowndes County, accounting for 8,960 slaves, or 53% of the County total. The rest of the slaves in the County were held by a total of 876 slaveholders, and those slaveholders have not been included here. Due to variable film quality, handwriting interpretation questions and inconsistent counting and page numbering methods used by the census enumerators, interested researchers should view the source film personally to verify or modify the information in this transcription for their own purposes. Census data for 1860 was obtained from the Historical United States Census Data Browser, which is a very detailed, searchable and highly recommended database that can found at http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/census/ . Census data on African Americans in the 1870 census was obtained using Heritage Quest's CD "African-Americans in the 1870 U.S. Federal Census", available through Heritage Quest at http://www.heritagequest.com/ .
FORMAT. This transcription lists the names of those largest slaveholders in the County, the number of slaves they held in the County and the first census page on which they were listed. The page numbers used are the rubber stamped numbers in the upper right corner of every set of two pages, with the previous stamped number and a "B" being used to designate the pages without a stamped number. Following the holder list is a separate list of the surnames of the holders with information on numbers of African Americans on the 1870 census who were enumerated with the same surname. The term "County" is used to describe the main subdivisions of the State by which the census was enumerated.
TERMINOLOGY. 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. Racially related terms such as African American, black, mulatto and colored are used as in the source or at the time of the source, with African American being used otherwise. The term "County" is used to describe the main subdivisions of the State by which the census was enumerated.
PLANTATION NAMES. Plantation names were not shown on the census. Using plantation names to locate ancestors can be difficult because the name of a plantation may have been changed through the years and because the sizeable number of large farms must have resulted in lots of duplication of plantation names. In Mississippi in 1860 there were 481 farms of 1,000 acres or more, the largest size category enumerated in the census, and another 1,868 farms of 500-999 acres. Linking names of plantations in this County with the names of the large holders on this list should not be a difficult research task, but it is beyond the scope of this transcription.
FORMER SLAVES. The 1860 U.S. Census was the last U.S. census showing slaves and slaveholders. Slaves were enumerated in 1860 without giving their names, only their sex and age and indication of any handicaps, such as deaf or blind Slaves 100 years of age or older were supposed to be named on the 1860 slave schedule, but there were only 1,570 slaves of such age enumerated, out of a total of 3,950,546 slaves, and the transcriber did not find any such information on the enumeration of the transcribed slaveholders, but did notice a 104 year old female slave named Easter held by Sophia Lashley on page 320B. Freed slaves, if listed in the next census, in 1870, would have been reported with their full name, including surname. Some of these former slaves may have been using the surname of their 1860 slaveholder at the time of the 1870 census and they may have still been living in the same State or County. Before presuming an African American was a slave on the 1860 census, the free census for 1860 should be checked, as almost 11% of African Americans were enumerated as free in 1860, with about half of those living in the southern States. Estimates of the number of former slaves who used the surname of a former owner in 1870, vary widely and from region to region. If an African American ancestor with one of these surnames is found on the 1870 census, then making the link to finding that ancestor as a slave requires advanced research techniques involving all obtainable records of the holder.
MIGRATION OF FORMER SLAVES: According to U.S. Census data, the 1860 Lowndes County population included 6,891 whites, 4 "free colored" and 16,730 slaves. By the 1870 census, the white population had increased about 8% to 7,480, and the "colored" population had increased more than 37% to 23,022. (As a side note, by 1960, 100 years later, the County was listed as having 28,871 whites, more than a four fold increase, but the 1960 total of 17,743 "Negroes"was only about 6% more than what the colored population had been 100 years before and 23% less than what it had been in 1870.) It should be noted however, that in comparing census data for 1870 and 1960, the transcriber did not take into consideration any relevant changes in county boundaries.
Where did the Lowndes County freed slaves go if they did not stay in the County? Orleans County in Louisiana saw an increase in colored population of almost double between 1860 and 1870, growing to over 50,000, so likely that is where some went. Lowndes and Warren Counties in Mississippi saw increases of 6,000 and 8,000, but no other Mississippi County showed such a significant increase. Between 1860 and 1870, the Mississippi colored population only increased by 1%, about 6,000. States that saw more significant increases in colored population during that time, and were therefore more likely possible places of relocation for colored persons from Lowndes County, included the following: Georgia, up 80,000 (17%); Texas, up 70,000 (38%); Alabama, up 37,000 (8%); North Carolina, up 31,000 (8%); Florida, up 27,000 (41%); Ohio, up 26,000 (70%); Indiana, up 25,000 (127%); and Kansas up from 265 to 17,000 (6,400%).
SLAVEHOLDER LIST:
ALEXANDER, Mark owner, R. D. Powel agent, 51 slaves, page 374
ALLISON, J. S.? & CARSON, Jane, 87 slaves, page 368B
BANKS, D. of Columbus proprietor, Wm. Ladd manager, 70 slaves, page 312B
BANKS, James D.?, 128 slaves, page 375
BARRY, Richard, 96 slaves, page 352
BELL, Thomas, 42 slaves, page 334B
BILLUPS, Joseph P., 75 slaves, page 346
BILLUPS, Thomas C., 240 slaves, page 374B
BLEVINS, John, 46 slaves, page 302
BLEWETT, Thomas G. Senr., 65 slaves, page 356
BLEWETT, Thomas J. Jr.? Owner, Robert Eattis manager, 75 slaves, page 330
BLEWETT, Thomas J. Senr.? Owner, Mr. Stowell manager, 45 slaves, page 330
BORDERS, John H., 45 slaves, page 357B
BRADFORD, John D. owner, S. A. Pritchard manager, 59 slaves, page 356B
BROOKS, Allen, 81 slaves, page 318
BROOKS, Asa, 76 slaves, page 357
BROTHERS, Elijah, 49 slaves, page 307
BURT, Wm. Of Mobile owner, F. M. Lary manager, 71 slaves, page 337B
CALDWELL, Charles W., 59 slaves, page 336
CARSON (see Allison & Carson)
COBB, Joseph B. Estate, 101 slaves, page 311B
COCKE, Philip St. George of Vir. Owner, R. D. Powel agent, 259 slaves, page 372B
CONNELL, John T., 43 slaves, page 366
COX, A. J., 49 slaves, page 376B
COX, Albert G., 54 slaves, page 332
COX, John C., 91 slaves, page 333
COX, Wm. S., 114 slaves, page 308
CRADDOCK, Wm. P., 74 slaves, page 289
CROMWELL, P. S. owner, Samuel R. Bunn manager, 85 slaves, page 315B
CRUMP, John W., 42 slaves, page 364
CRUSOE, C. R., 46 slaves, page 354
DEARING, A. B. of Ala. owner, E. J. Holmes manager, 49 slaves, page 332
DEARING, A. B. of Ala. owner, Gilliam Moody manager, 58 slaves, page 332B
DUKEMINIER, Jessee, 41 slaves, page 359
EGGLESTON, E. C., 61 slaves, page 297
ELLIS, R. R., 50 slaves, page 291B
ERVIN, E. A., 56 slaves, page 370
ERVIN, Wm. E., 41 slaves, page 295B
FIELD, Joseph W. owner, Archibald Davis manager, 90 slaves, page 353
GERDINE, W. L. C., 73 slaves, page 351B
GILMER, Charles S., 49 slaves, page 311B
GILMER, John, 45 slaves, page 327B
GILMER, N. J., 81 slaves, page 326B
GOLDING, Thos. W., 70 slaves, page 287B
GRAY, Wm. H., 71 slaves, page 327B
GRIFFIN, Lewis L. Sr., 46 slaves, page 361
HAIRSTON, George, 115 slaves, page 322B
HAIRSTON, Harden, 169 slaves, page 323B
HAIRSTON, N. E. owner, R. C. Mahan manager, 83 slaves, page 323
HAIRSTON, Peter C., 64 slaves, page 328B
HAIRSTON, Wm. E. Est., 75 slaves, page 329
HAMILTON, Alexander, 88 slaves, page 360B
HARGROVE, W. H., 71 slaves, page 331B
HARRIS, James W., 103 slaves, page 350
HARRIS, Jeptha? V., 91 slaves, page 369B
HARRIS, Thomas W. of Columbus owner, James P. Lovett manager, 53 slaves, page 322
HARRISON, Isham, 69 slaves, page 354
HARVEY, Joseph A., 41 slaves, page 288B
HEASON, Annaius, 54 slaves, page 301B
HEASON, Isaac, 46 slaves, page 315
HOLDERNESS, Elizabeth, 44 slaves, page 342B
HORNSBERGER, Amelia, 16 slaves, page 319
HUMPHRIES, A. S. owner, James M. Melton manager, 86 slaves, page 371B
HUMPHRIES, W. W. of Columbus owner, Wm. A. Hale manager, 75 slaves, page 313B
HUMPHRIES, W. D. owner, Patrick McCann manager, 51 slaves, page 372
JENNINGS, A. C., 94 slaves, page 333B
JORDAN, Moses, 41 slaves, page 338
KENDRICK, Anderson, 84 slaves, page 335
KIDD, John B., 40 slaves, page 299B
KIDD, William, 44 slaves, page 306
LANIER, James A. & John, 43 slaves, page 313
LAWRENCE, H. N., 54 slaves, page 320B
LEE, George H., 46 slaves, page 349B
LOCK, W. H., 47 slaves, page 351
LOCKHART, Joseph G. of N. C. owner, John Read agent, 52 slaves, page 311
MARTIN, Thomas of Tennessee owner, Mahlore? Stacy manager, 117 slaves, page 362B
MATHEWS, Beverly, 98 slaves, page 354B
MATHEWS, Kitty, 51 slaves, page 309
MATHEWS, Robert F., 73 slaves, page 343B
MATLEY, Allen, 51 slaves, page 350B
MATTEY, William, 42 slaves, page 330B
MCLARIN, Charles of St. Louis proprietor, Joel Sandlin manager, 85 slaves, page 304
MOODY, John M. owner, John Read manager, 98 slaves, page 310
MOODY, Wm. S., of N. C. owner, John Reid agent, 43 slaves, page 311
MOORE, R. E., 135 slaves, page 377
MORGAN, John M., 154 slaves, page 344B
MORTON, John, 74 slaves, page 370B
ODINEAL, E. P., Ben G. Norwood manager, 96 slaves, page 371
OLIVER, C. A., 48 slaves, page 365
PERKINS, Calim, 68 slaves, page 346B
PERKINS, John, 44 slaves, page 299B
POTTS, H. S., 54 slaves, page 328
POWEL, Upton, 54 slaves, page 319
PROWEL?, James W., 82 slaves, page 344
RANDLE, Henry, 43 slaves, page 314
RILEY, John H., 45 slaves, page 297
RYLAND, Joseph D., 60 slaves, page 336B
SCALES, N. F., 52 slaves, page 320
SEALE, Margarte H., 61 slaves, page 290
SHARP, T. J. & J. M., 62 slaves, page 353B
SHEROOD?, Charles F., 67 slaves, page 359
SHORT, Thos. H., 47 slaves, page 343
SHULAR, John, 54 slaves, page 316
SMITH, J. M. L., 67 slaves, page 325
STRONG, Elisha of Monroe owner, Jasper Millsapps manager, 85 slaves, page 358B
STRONG, Elisha H., 40 slaves, page 359B
STRONG, Elisha of Monroe owner, Mr. Cosby manager, 58 slaves, page 360
SYKES, James, 76 slaves, page 367B
SYKES, James W., 44 slaves, page 355B
SYKES, John H., 42 slaves, page 347
SYKES, Richard J. owner, Jessee T. Mitchell manager, 95 slaves, page 348
THOMPSON, C. M., 42 slaves, page 347
THOMPSON, Joseph G., 40 slaves, page 357B
TOPP, W. W., 65 slaves, page 355B
TOWNSEND, Thomas, 59 slaves, page 339
VAUGHAN, G. W., 47 slaves, page 331
WALKER, A. D. Guar. For 4 minor heirs, 71 slaves, page 326
WALKER, S. W. of Noxubee owner, Sandifer manager, 45 slaves, page 318
WESTBROOK, Lemuel, 56 slaves, page 340B
WHITFIELD, Gains of Ala. owner, Balus Eastis manager, 93 slaves, page 316
WHITFIELD, George, 48 slaves, page 313
WHITFIELD, John A. 55 slaves, page 367
WHITFIELD, W. W., 59 slaves, page 303B
WINSTON, Rebecca, 75 slaves, page 349
WITHERSPOON, John M., 40 slaves, page 368B
WRIGHT, Archibald of Tennessee owner, John W. Stone manager, 63 slaves, page 361B
YOUNG, A. F. owner, Elijah Redus manager, 75 slaves, page 316B
YOUNG, George H., 137 slaves, page 363B
YOUNG, George S., 73 slaves, page 341B
YOUNG, J. H., 79 slaves, page 362
SURNAME MATCHES AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS ON 1870 CENSUS:
(exact surname spellings only are reported, no spelling variations or soundex)
(SURNAME, # in US, in State, in County, born in State, born and living in State, born in State and living in County)
ALEXANDER, 3460, 313, 29, 250, 169, 11
ALLISON, 476, 13, 1, 7, 4, 0
BANKS, 3019, 322, 28, 232, 164, 13
BARRY, 177, 45, 29, 28, 23, 15
BELL, 4784, 432, 31, 275, 203, 14
BILLUPS, 238, 61, 43, 26, 23, 17
BLEVINS, 57, 5, 1, 2, 2, 0
BLEWETT, 21, 17, 14, 6, 6, 4
BORDERS, 69, 11, 7, 4, 2, 1
BRADFORD, 911, 123, 7, 84, 55, 1
BROOKS, 4486, 381, 28, 266, 189, 12
BROTHERS, 98, 23, 13, 12, 11, 6
BURT, 332, 43, 8, 23, 19, 2
CALDWELL, 1034, 56, 3, 42, 29, 0
CARSON, 617, 66, 11, 38, 26, 1
COBB, 978, 79, 24, 41, 29, 9
COCKE, 37, 8, 0, 5, 5, 0
CONNELL, 69, 9, 4, 6, 5, 2
COX, 2288, 265, 59, 172, 138, 24
CRADDOCK, 83, 12, 10, 7, 4, 4
CROMWELL, 206, 35, 10, 8, 7, 1
CRUMP, 515, 76, 8, 52, 45, 3
CRUSOE, 31, 23, 21, 7, 7, 7
DEARING, 71, 17, 3, 3, 3, 1
DUKEMINIER, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3m, 3
EGGLESTON, 88, 34, 8, 17, 16, 4
ELLIS, 2094, 281, 20, 212, 158, 4
ERVIN, 221, 59, 8, 35, 29, 2
FIELD, 471, 41, 0, 29, 19, 0
GERDINE, 23, 23, 23, 2, 2, 2
GILMER, 230, 30, 11, 16, 16, 8
GOLDING, 113, 30, 19, 13, 11, 7
GRAY, 3207, 338, 24, 222, 159, 7
GRIFFIN, 2464, 335, 17, 256, 190, 3
HAIRSTON, 608, 111, 95, 32, 31, 23
HARGROVE, 272, 27, 16, 13, 7, 3
HARRIS, 11315, 1074, 104, 736, 547, 50
HARRISON, 3639, 348, 31, 252, 162, 8
HARVEY, 934, 107, 14, 79, 58, 7
HEASON, 4, 3, 2, 0, 0, 0
HOLDERNESS, 4, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2
HORNSBERGER, 2, 2, 1
HUMPHRIES, 176, 47, 20, 26, 25, 12
JENNINGS, 848, 82, 23, 43, 36, 8
JORDAN, 2359, 248, 30, 154, 115, 14
KENDRICK, 260, 20, 9, 7, 0
KIDD, 264, 60, 35, 36, 33, 22
LANIER, 260, 32, 22, 15, 11, 8
LAWRENCE, 950, 42, 15, 29, 22, 9
LEE, 6357, 598, 49, 450, 328, 9
LOCK, 188, 25, 3, 13, 11, 2
LOCKHART, 261, 20, 3, 13, 8, 0
MARTIN, 5318, 573, 24, 399, 323, 10
MATHEWS, 1877, 185, 37, 117, 101, 11
MATLEY, 7, 4, 3, 1, 1, 1
MATTEY, 4, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
MCLARIN, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
MOODY, 716, 79, 31, 36, 26, 5
MOORE, 8698, 1061, 70, 660, 483, 19
MORGAN, 2507, 239, 11, 183, 133, 5
MORTON, 1174, 94, 15, 52, 39, 6
ODINEAL, 8, 2, 2, 0, 0, 0
OLIVER, 1482, 142, 9, 82, 59, 4
PERKINS, 18997, 263, 25, 181, 130, 5
POTTS, 317, 55, 4, 35, 29, 1
POWEL, 277, 25, 0, 18, 15, 0
PROWEL?, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
RANDLE, 212, 53, 3, 17, 13, 0
RILEY, 1050, 126, 2, 94, 75, 1
RYLAND, 26, 5, 5, 0, 0, 0
SCALES, 335, 68, 9, 39, 30, 5
SEALE, 39, 26, 8, 15, 15, 5
SHARP, 759, 47, 9, 24, 18, 3
SHEROOD?, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
SHORT, 500, 55, 14, 29, 25, 6
SHULAR, 19, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0
SMITH, 29087, 2581, 60, 1912, 1396, 20
STRONG, 573, 135, 41, 70, 61, 11
SYKES, 412, 204, 59, 82, 68, 21
THOMPSON, 8826, 916, 35, 640, 469, 16
TOPP, 44, 29, 14, 13, 12, 7
TOWNSEND, 656, 68, 5, 42, 35, 1
VAUGHAN, 480, 43, 18, 22, 19, 11
WALKER, 8492, 814, 39, 576, 405, 15
WESTBROOK, 205, 62, 29, 41, 34, 14
WHITFIELD, 689, 165, 43, 70, 62, 24
WINSTON, 853, 80, 14, 42, 30, 2
WITHERSPOON, 315, 42, 21, 21, 18, 8
WRIGHT, 5428, 355, 4, 235, 158, 1
YOUNG, 6185, 690, 71, 468, 348, 31
Lowndes County, MS GenWeb (County genealogical resources)
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