MONROE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
LARGEST SLAVEHOLDERS FROM 1860 SLAVE CENSUS SCHEDULES
and
SURNAME MATCHES FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS ON 1870 CENSUS
Transcribed by Tom Blake, February, 2002
PURPOSE. Published information giving names of slaveholders and numbers of slaves held in Monroe County, Mississippi, in 1860, is either non-existent or not readily available. It is possible to locate a free person on the Monroe 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 Monroe 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County, Mississippi (NARA microfilm series M653, Roll 601) reportedly includes a total of 12,729 slaves. This transcription includes 125 slaveholders who held 30 or more slaves in Monroe County, accounting for 6,008 slaves, or 47% of the County total. The rest of the slaves in the County were held by a total of 685 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. Holders on page numbers through 147 were listed as in the Eastern Division of the County, while those on pages 150 and above were listed as in the Western Division. 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 notice any such information on the enumeration of the transcribed slaveholders. 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 Monroe County population included 8,545 whites, 9 "free colored" and 12,729 slaves. By the 1870 census, the white population had increased about 1% to 8,631, while the "colored" population had increased about 10% to 14,000. (As a side note, by 1960, 100 years later, the County was listed as having 21,932 whites, about two and one half times more than 100 years before, while the 1960 total of 12,012 "Negroes"was slightly less than what the colored population had been 100 years before.) 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 Monroe 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 Monroe 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, A. M., 85 slaves, page 143B
ANDERSON, Jno. H., 45 slaves, page 147
BARKER, B. R., 47 slaves, page 181B
BIBB, Henry, 52 slaves, page 166B
BLANCHARD, R., 50 slaves, page 205
BLANCHARD, W. A., 89 slaves, page 200
BRANDON, Sarah, 34 slaves, page 194
BUCHANAN, M. B., 30 slaves, page 150
BURNETT, B. C., 37 slaves, page 189B
BURNETT, Greenville, 42 slaves, page 203
BURNETT, Phoebe, 45 slaves, page 170B
CARUTHERS, Tyree, 49 slaves, page 201
CHAMBERS, M. J., 50 slaves, page 152
CLAPTON, John H., 89 slaves, page 181
CLAPTON, Wm. H., 125 slaves, page 174
CLARK, R. C., 57 slaves, page 153
COLLINS, Jas. M., 34 slaves, page 186
COOPWOOD, Thomas, 37 slaves, page 150B
COX, John Est., 87 slaves, page 161B
COX, John B., 59 slaves, page 190
COZART, Wm., 127 slaves, page 172
CRAWFORD, Wilton, 121 slaves, page 159B
CRUMP, J. J., 42 slaves, page 135
CRUMP, John, 80 slaves, page 1 34B
CUNNINGHAM, J. & W. R., 113 slaves, page 197
DARDEN, James L., 34 slaves, page 192B
DAVIS, Reuben, 45 slaves, page 205B
DAWKINS, Peter, 39 slaves, page 160B
DEARING, James H. Sr., 66 slaves, page 199B
DONALDSON, A. C., 35 slaves, page 193
ECKFORD, M. B., 31 slaves, page 182B
ENGLISH, John G., 50 slaves, page 162
EVANS, W. B., 41 slaves, page 201B
EVANS, W. G., 73 slaves, page 183B
EWING, Stephen, 106 slaves, page 173
FOOSHER?, F. M., 50 slaves, page 154
FORTSON, John T. Est., 81 slaves, page 198
GATHINGS , Lampson, 56 slaves, page 198B
GATHINGS, George W., 35 slaves, page 196B
GAY, J. D., 31 slaves, page 142B
GHOLSON?, S. J., 92 slaves, page 147
GORDON, James, 71 slaves, page 156B
GORDON, Robert, 66 slaves, page 156
GOREE, G. M., 61 slaves, page 155
GUNN, R. B., 50 slaves, page 196
HADLEY, John, 30 slaves, page 146
HARRIS, Overton, 92 slaves, page 178
HATCH, B. L., 97 slaves, page 181B
HAUGHTON, J. H., 79 slaves, page 197B
HAUGHTON, J. P., 44 slaves, page 204
HEARD, J. M. agent, 32 slaves, page 200
HERNDON, Edward, 36 slaves, page 176B
HOGAN, W. B., 66 slaves, page 165
HOLLIDAY, T. & J., 108 slaves, page 177B
HONBURGER, E., 47 slaves, page 150B
JAMISON, John T., 55 slaves, page 201B
JARMAN, J. H., 73 slaves, page 193
JONES, N. B., 57 slaves, page 183
LAGRONE, Adam, 32 slaves, page 151B
LENORE, W. T., 71 slaves, page 207B
LOVE, Columbus, 66 slaves, page 171
LOYD, James M., 65 slaves, page 186
LYLE, R.? H., 70 slaves, page 155B
MCALLISTER, J. D., 58 slaves, page 206
MCALLISTER, U. L., 34 slaves, page 195
MCCLENDON, Charles, 38 slaves, page 195
MCMILLAN, Mary, 71 slaves, page 175
MCMILLAN, W. A., 36 slaves, page 177C (handwritten 61)
MCNAIRY, B. Y.?, 42 slaves, page 177D (handwritten 62)
MCNAIRY, John C., 39 slaves, page 196
MCNAIRY, P. J., 45 slaves, page 173
MCQUISTON, S. S., 44 slaves, page 163 (handwritten as 162)
MERIWETHER, W. P., 45 slaves, page 157
MINNIS, James, 30 slaves, page 166B
MOORE, James, 137 slaves, page 187
MOORE, Lucian R., 43 slaves, page 140
MORGAN, N. L., 32 slaves, page 146B
OGBURN, Wm. M., 58 slaves, page 142
PAINE, James G., 52 slaves, page 192
PAINE, Robert, 80 slaves, page 171
PETERS, Mary A. F., 92 slaves, page 191B
PREWETT, Abner, 32 slaves, page 145B
PREWETT, Brantley, 39 slaves, page 135B
PREWETT, Kirk, 53 slaves, page 182
RANDLE, J. G., 160 slaves, page 184
ROBERTS, Mary, 41 slaves, page 142B
ROGERS, F. M., 65 slaves, page 175B
SAUNDERS, H. M., 31 slaves, page 187
SHEPPARD, B. H., 86 slaves, page 155
SIMS, Mary L., 70 slaves, page 169B
SMITH, C., 46 slaves, page 153B
SPARKS, E. A., 34 slaves, page 157B
STRONG, Elisha, 85 slaves, page 176
STRONG, M. L., 35 slaves, page 180
SYKES, George A., 85 slaves, page 167B
SYKES, Simon B., 118 slaves, page 163 (handwritten as 162)
SYKES, W. A., 217 slaves, page 1168
TAYLOR, Wm., 39 slaves, page 188
TERRILL, R. M., 59 slaves, page 130B
THOMPSON, W. J., 39 slaves, page 136
TROTTER, W. E., 33 slaves, page 186B
TROUP, W. W., 47 slaves, page 143B
TROUP, W. A., 66 slaves, page 143
TRUDALL, John L., 30 slaves, page 206B
WALKER, James, 41 slaves, page 179
WALKER, John A., 147 [enumerator coounted as 151] slaves, page 2007
WALTON, W. L., 40 slaves, page 183B
WARD, Amos, 122 slaves, page 204B
WARE, N. O., 53 slaves, page 170
WATKINS, S. G., 52 slaves, page 200B
WATSON, Asa, 48 slaves, page 202
WHITE, P. H., 50 slaves, page 185B
WHITE, William, 41 slaves, page 133
WHITFIELD, Edward, 40 slaves, page 176B
WHITFIELD, Hatah, 40 slaves, page 161
WHITFIELD, Keeshaw, 81 slaves, page 180
WHITFIELD, N. J. Jr., 47 slaves, page 167
WHITFIELD, Robt. D., 51 slaves, page 195B
WILLIAMS, Ben, 32 slaves, page 188B
WILLIS, Austin, 38 slaves, page 140B
WILLIS, Evalina, 45 slaves, page 141B
WILLIS, L., 41 slaves, page 141B
WORD, Saml., 70 slaves, page 158
WORD, Thomas, 32 slaves, page 192
YOUNG, S. W., 54 slaves, page 203B
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, 6, 250, 169, 6
ANDERSON, 8173, 838, 18, 621, 455, 8
BARKER, 549, 33, 14, 29, 20, 12
BIBB, 353, 22, 6, 18, 14, 3
BLANCHARD, 199, 38, 32, 30, 28, 25
BRANDON, 308, 33, 6, 19, 12, 1
BUCHANAN, 437, 60, 0, 30, 24, 0
BURNETT, 638, 56, 17, 44, 30, 9
CARUTHERS, 117, 24, 8, 12, 11, 2
CHAMBERS, 1237, 139, 4, 98, 69, 1
CLAPTON, 7, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2
CLARK, 5807, 505, 10, 369, 258, 6
COLLINS, 3004, 406, 3, 339, 263, 2
COOPWOOD, 33, 33, 6, 15, 15, 4
COX, 2288, 265, 14, 172, 138, 13
COZART, 35, 20, 19, 10, 10, 10
CRAWFORD, 1876, 125, 27, 112, 84, 11
CRUMP, 515, 76, 24, 52, 45, 14
CUNNINGHAM, 1016, 87, 7, 30, 23, 2
DARDEN, 294, 31, 4, 29, 19, 3
DAVIS, 13725, 1397, 26, 1038, 743, 16
DAWKINS, 191, 13, 6, 6, 6, 4
DEARING, 71, 17, 11, 3, 3, 1
DONALDSON, 191, 23, 0, 14, 8, 0
ECKFORD, 28, 20, 9, 15, 13, 7
ENGLISH, 466, 29, 8, 22, 19, 7
EVANS, 3275, 339, 29, 255, 184, 9
EWING, 432, 37, 21, 20, 13, 8
FOOSHER?, 3, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
FORTSON, 77, 7, 2, 8, 6, 2
GATHINGS, 25, 21, 18, 9, 9, 7
GAY, 433, 38, 1, 27, 22, 1
GHOLSON?, 49, 9, 2, 4, 2, 0
GORDON, 1952, 230, 2, 150, 122, 1
GOREE, 50, 8, 7, 4, 3, 2
GUNN, 367, 41, 5, 15, 14, 3
HADLEY, 147, 14, 3, 6, 5, 2
HARRIS, 11315, 1074, 31, 736, 547, 18
HATCH, 187, 33, 23, 22, 16, 11
HAUGHTON, 79, 34, 25, 12, 12, 10
HEARD, 357, 37, 6, 17, 14, 2
HERNDON, 246, 17, 7, 5, 3, 1
HOGAN, 516, 50, 15, 38, 28, 6
HOLLIDAY, 237, 41, 19, 32, 22, 12
HONBURGER, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
JAMISON, 217, 39, 0, 16, 11, 0
JARMAN, 80, 20, 11, 12, 12, 6
JONES, 27193, 2500, 37, 1785, 1318, 26
LAGRONE, 16, 13, 7, 8, 8, 5
LENORE, 22, 16, 12, 10, 10, 6
LOVE, 1109, 230, 24, 128, 102, 8
LOYD, 355, 38, 0, 37, 22, 0
LYLE, 142, 14, 0, 13, 8, 0
MCALLISTER, 107, 14, 9, 8, 6, 4
MCCLENDON, 109, 35, 21, 8, 6, 5
MCMILLAN, 367, 56, 29, 36, 31, 16
MCNAIRY, 48, 12, 11, 3, 3, 3
MCQUISTON, 9, 6, 3, 5, 5, 3
MERIWETHER, 80, 9, 1, 2, 2, 1
MINNIS, 43, 5, 5, 3, 3, 3
MOORE, 8698, 1061, 51, 660, 483, 27
MORGAN, 2507, 239, 15, 183, 133, 10
OGBURN, 56, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
PAINE, 507, 98, 22, 49, 41, 9
PETERS, 936, 68, 14, 40, 26, 4
PREWETT, 54, 33, 20, 18, 17, 12
RANDLE, 212, 53, 12, 17, 13, 1
ROBERTS, 3309, 208, 10, 162, 105, 9
ROGERS, 2129, 270, 19, 199, 149, 7
SAUNDERS, 1072, 62, 0, 41, 30, 0
SHEPPARD, 480, 28, 2, 23, 13, 1
SIMS, 1411, 187, 22, 111, 83, 13
SMITH, 29087, 2581, 29, 1912, 1396, 17
SPARKS, 375, 22, 0, 21, 9, 0
STRONG, 573, 135, 33, 70, 61, 15
SYKES, 412, 204, 75, 82, 68, 29
TAYLOR, 11696, 1028, 7, 684, 488, 2
TERRILL, 99, 5, 0, 5, 1, 0
THOMPSON, 8826, 916, 17, 640, 469, 13
TROTTER, 200, 51, 4, 39, 35, 3
TROUP, 87, 15, 7, 9, 9, 5
TRUDALL, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
WALKER, 8492, 814, 51, 576, 405, 21
WALTON, 1110, 182, 19, 113, 86, 11
WARD, 2525, 236, 29, 144, 109, 11
WARE, 998, 96, 3, 65, 51, 1
WATKINS, 2226, 149, 1, 95, 74, 0
WATSON, 3567, 410, 24, 294, 218, 8
WHITE, 9567, 883, 41, 623, 456, 19
WHITFIELD, 689, 165, 81, 70, 62, 22
WILLIAMS, 28865, 2889, 21, 2255, 1616, 9
WILLIS, 2042, 223, 35, 176, 132, 31
WORD, 195, 37, 24, 24, 20, 13
YOUNG, 6185, 690, 51, 468, 348, 16
Monroe County, MS GenWeb (County genealogical resources)
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