Lowndes County Mississippi 1860 slaveholders and 1870 African Americans

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

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