HALIFAX COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
LARGEST SLAVEHOLDERS FROM 1860 SLAVE CENSUS SCHEDULES
and
SURNAME MATCHES FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS ON 1870 CENSUS
Transcribed by Tom Blake, June 2003
PURPOSE. Published information giving names of slaveholders and numbers of slaves held is almost non-existent. It is possible to locate an ancestor on a U.S. census for 1860 or earlier and not realize that ancestor was also listed as a slaveholder on the slave schedules, because published indexes almost always do not include the slave census. 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 would have been counted 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 the largest holders will enable naming of the holders of the most slaves with the least amount of transcription work. Surname matching of slaveholders with 1870 African Americans is intended merely as suggesting another possibility for further research by those seeking to make connections between slaves and holders.
SOURCES. The 1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedules for Halifax County, North Carolina (NARA microfilm series M653, Roll 923) reportedly includes a total of 10,349 slaves. This transcription includes 149 slaveholders who held 20 or more slaves in Halifax County, accounting for 6,803 slaves, or about 65.7% of the County total. The rest of the slaves in the County were held by a total of 546 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 Halifax County, the number of slaves they held in the County and the first page number on which they were listed. The holders up to and including page 429 were reported as in the Eastern Division and those page 430 and above as in the Western Division. The page numbers used are the numbers rubber stamped in the upper right corner of every other page of the census, with the intervening pages being reported here with a B added to the number of the preceding page. 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.
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.
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 North Carolina in 1860 there were 311 farms of 1,000 acres or more, the largest size category enumerated in the census, and another 1,184 farms of 500-999 acres. Linking names of plantations in this County with the names of the large holders on this list 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, though not specifically looking for such named slaves, did not notice any such information while doing this transcription. 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 Halifax County population included 6,641 whites, 2,452 “free colored” and 10,349 slaves. By the 1870 census, the white population had decreased about 3% to 6,418, while the “colored” population had increased about 9 % to 13,990. (As a side note, by 1960, 100 years later, the County was listed as having 26,492 whites, about a four times increase, while the 1960 total of 31,926 “Negroes”was about 2.5 times more than what the colored population had been 100 years before.) In comparing census data for different years, the transcriber was not aware of any relevant changes to County boundaries. Where did the freed slaves go if they did not stay in the same County? Charleston County, South Carolina saw an increase in colored population of about 24,000 between 1860 and 1870, so possibly that is where some went, even though the overall colored population in South Carolina remained about the same in 1870 as it was in 1860. Between 1860 and 1870, the North Carolina colored population increased by about 31,000, to approximately 392,000, an 8% increase, with these Counties being some that showed significant increases (from around 10% to 50%): Craven; Edgecombe; Granville, Mecklenberg; New Hanover, Wake, Warren and Wayne. States that saw significant increases in colored population during that time, and were therefore possible places of relocation for colored persons from Halifax County, included the following: Georgia, up 80,000 (17%); Texas, up 70,000 (38%); Alabama, up 37,000 (8%); Florida, up 29,000 (46%); Ohio, up 26,000 (70%); Indiana, up 25,000 (127%); and Kansas up from 265 to 17,000 (6,400%).
SLAVEHOLDER LIST:
ALLEN, Marcus A., 21 slaves, page 433
ALSTON, Amarellas, 31 slaves, page 428
ALSTON, Charles J. P., 62 slaves, page 436B
ANTHONY, John H., 34 slaves, page 411
ANTHONY, John, 35 slaves, page 414
ARRINGTON, Jas. C., Agt. For above? [unnamed] minors, 32 slaves, page 452
ARRINGTON, Louis, 35 slaves, page 443B
BAILY, Valentine, 22 slaves, page 427B
BARNES, G. N.?, 25 slaves, page 422
BASS, Turner, 50 slaves, page 404
BATCHELOR, L.? W., 33 slaves, page 455B
BELL, D.? B., 36 slaves, page 424
BELL, Hudson, 20 slaves, page 404B
BEVINS, John, 20 slaves, page 400
BISHOP, Heshman, 37 slaves, page 405
BOWENS, James B., 42 slaves, page 435
BRADLEY, James guardian for 3 minor heirs, 25 slaves, page 394
BRANCH, John, 77 slaves, page 425
BRANCH, S. W., 39 slaves, page 393
BRICKELL, William W., 33 slaves, page 447B
BRYANT, Joseph, 29 slaves, page 403
BURGES, Thomas L., 35 slaves, page 440
BURNEY, Jno. R., 20 slaves, page 432B
BUSTIAN, Wm., 51 slaves, page 427B
CLARK, David C., 23 slaves, page 437B
CLARK, David, 192 slaves, page 457
CLARK, Wm. R., 20 slaves, page 405B
CONIGLAND, Edward, 22 slaves, page 396B
CROWELL, T. M., 31 slaves, page 392
DANIEL, A. M., 30 slaves, page 424
DANIEL, J. R. P., 51 slaves, page 423
DANIEL, Joseph J., 20 slaves, page 445B
DANIEL, W. W. Trustee for seven minors, 68 slaves, page 446
DANIEL, W. A. Gua. For 3 minor heirs, 72 slaves, page 396
DAVIS, Archibald H., 36 slaves, page 439
DAVIS, John H., 27 slaves, page 413B
DAVIS, M. W., 25 slaves, page 411
DAVIS, Thaddeus and two other minor heirs, 37 slaves, page 445
DAY, Mary B. & eight other minor heirs, 81 slaves, page 450
DEVERAUX, Thomas R.?, 221 slaves, page 414
DRAUGHAN, Will, G. W. Buson? Agt., 32 slaves, page 401B
EDMONDS, A. T.?, 48 slaves, page 411B
EDMONDSTON, P. M., 98 slaves, page 415B
EDMUNDS, Benja. C., 20 slaves, page 442
EDMUNDS, Virginia E., 25 slaves, page 412
EPPS, Martha B., 115 slaves, page 451
EPPS, Wiley J., 34 slaves, page 450B
FAULCON, Isaac N., 103 slaves, page 433B
FAULCON, Jessee M., 33 slaves, page 434B
FAULCON, John, 24 slaves, page 434
FENNER, John H., 100 slaves, page 398B
FENNER, W. E., 46 slaves, page 422
FENNER, Wm. Guar. For 2 minor heirs, 21 slaves, page 413B
FERRALE?, M. Guar. For one minor heor, 21 slaves, page 421B
GARY, G. G., 24 slaves, page 396
GARY, J. M.?, 26 slaves, page 446B
GUNTER, Andrew, 29 slaves, page 425B
HALE, Lewis, 53 slaves, page 392B
HARRIS, Thos. W., 97 slaves, page 437
HARRISON, John H.?, 35 slaves, page 452B
HARRISON, Martha, 20 slaves, page 430B
HENRY, G. R., H. J. Henry Admr., 22 slaves, page 429
HIGGS, Jacob, 42 slaves, page 410
HIGGS, Jacob Guar. For 3 minor heirs, 23 slaves, page 410
HILL, W. J., 27 slaves, page 416
HINES, Peter R., 37 slaves, page 443B
HOOD, Sarah, 25 slaves, page 393B
HUNTER, Benja., 20 slaves, page 453
HUNTER, Thomas, 24 slaves, page 428B
HUNTER, William, 23 slaves, page 428
HUNTER, Wm. Guar for one minor heir, 27 slaves, page 428
HYMAN, John H., 43 slaves, page 416
HYMAN, P.? B., 25 slaves, page 407
HYMAN, Samuel, 20 slaves, page 407
IVEY, Benj. W., 30 slaves, page 431B
IVEY, John, 32 slaves, page 431
JOHNSON, Benja., 74 slaves, page 442
JOHNSTON, James C., 271 slaves, page 397
JOHNSTON, Margaret M., 46 slaves, page 448B
JOHNSTON, Wade, 30 slaves, page 432B
JONES, Mariah, 46 slaves, page 436
JONES, Rebecca J., 39 slaves, page 436B
JOYNER, Henry, 28 slaves, page 429
JOYNER, Sarah W., 41 slaves, page 444B
LANE, Sarah, 22 slaves, page 399B
LAWRENCE, James T., 22 slaves, page 405B
LAWRENCE, T. D., 28 slaves, page 407B
LAWRENCE, W. T., 34 slaves, page 402
LINTER?, Jas. M., 34 slaves, page 411B
LONG , W. L., 40 slaves, page 395
LONG, N. M. Sen., 133 slaves, page 426
LONG, N. M. Jun., 31 slaves, page 427
LOWE, Thomas G., 37 slaves, page 422B
MARTIN, Thomas, 24 slaves, page 431B
MOORE, John R., 27 slaves, page 434B
MOSELEY, Richard, 31 slaves, page 430
NICHOLSON, Thomas W., 51 slaves, page 443
OUSBY, James S., 27 slaves, page 392
PARKER, Frank M., 22 slaves, page 451B
PARKER, James H., 24 slaves, page 410B
PARKER, Richd. D., 21 slaves, page 448B
PERRY, Elijah B., 23 slaves, page 438B
PIERCE, R. B., 52 slaves, page 447
PONTON, A.? M. T., 41 slaves, page 458B
PONTON, Emily R., 47 slaves, page 458B
PONTON, William H., 62 slaves, page 449B
POPE, W. B., 41 slaves, page 423
POWELL, J. W., 71 slaves, page 403B
POWELL, Rebecca J. & three other minors, W. L. Johnston Guardian for, 31 slaves, page 448
PRICE, J. L.?, 24 slaves, page 435B
PURNELL, Mungo? P., 24 slaves, page 446B
ROPER, William C., 21 slaves, page 439B
SAVAGE, L. L., 34 slaves, page 404B
SHIELDS, Charles C., 23 slaves, page 407B
SHIELDS, Wm. H., 35 slaves, page 408
SHINE, Mary W., 37 slaves, page 449
SIMMONS, A.W., 35 slaves, page 448
SIMS?, Eli, 28 slaves, page 395
SMALLWOOD, R., 24 slaves, page 402B
SMITH, George A., 40 slaves, page 421
SMITH, James M., 165 slaves, page 418B
SMITH, Moses, 64 slaves, page 409B
SMITH, Peter E., 58 slaves, page 419B
SMITH, R. H. Guar. For 3 minor heirs, 54 slaves, page 418
SMITH, Richard H., 207 slaves, page 416B
SMITH, W. H., 59 slaves, page 421
SMITH, Wm. R., 155 slaves, page 420
SNOW, Jas. S., 39 slaves, page 438
SOLOMON, William D., 102 slaves, page 456
TAYLOR, W. W., 25 slaves, page 424B
TILLERY, J. B., 23 slaves, page 402B
TILLERY, John, 143 slaves, page 412B
TILLERY, Wm. H., 69 slaves, page 394
TILLMAN, O. T.?, 29 slaves, page 399B
WALKER, Richd. H., 22 slaves, page 447B
WEBB, R. H., 34 slaves, page 406
WHITAKER, F. H., 29 slaves, page 400B
WHITAKER, M. T., 39 slaves, page 401
WHITAKER, M. C., 34 slaves, page 429
WHITAKER, R. T., 35 slaves, page 399
WHITAKER, W. O.?, 26 slaves, page 401
WHITAKERL.? H., 26 slaves, page 400
WHITEHEAD, J. B., 20 slaves, page 396B
WHITFIELD, J. G., 39 slaves, page 424B
WIGGINS, Mason L., 58 slaves, page 455B
WILLIAMS, James M., 37 slaves, page 441
WILLIAMS, Solomon, James W. Browning agt. For, 25 slaves, page 426
WILLIAMS, Virginia, 63 slaves, page 456B
WILLS, William H., 32 slaves, page 442
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)
ALLEN, 6198, 435, 16, 628, 420, 16
ALSTON, 960, 479, 77, 543, 474, 76
ANTHONY, 660, 55, 31, 76, 55, 31
ARRINGTON, 270, 108, 21, 133, 107, 21
BAILY, 732, 41, 10, 59, 39, 10
BARNES, 2155, 310, 9, 399, 300, 9
BASS, 764, 112, 7, 171, 110, 7
BATCHELOR, 58, 25, 6, 26, 25, 6
BELL, 4784, 298, 11, 471, 290, 10
BEVINS, 48, 1, 0, 2, 1, 0
BISHOP, 605, 46, 6, 55, 43, 4
BOWENS, 59, 9, 0, 12, 9, 0
BRADLEY, 1305, 65, 15, 99, 64, 15
BRANCH, 976, 100, 32, 137, 97, 31
BRICKELL, 11, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9
BRYANT, 2129, 296, 7, 459, 287, 7
BURGES, 81, 10, 9, 13, 10, 9
BURNEY, 178, 23, 0, 29, 22, 0
BUSTIAN, 7, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
CLARK, 5807, 382, 55, 549, 358, 53
CONIGLAND, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
CROWELL, 108, 32, 16, 49, 32, 16
DANIEL, 1765, 229, 42, 287, 219, 41
DAVIS, 13725, 116, 40, 1515, 1031, 39
DAY, 1002, 115, 20, 144, 113, 20
DEVERAUX, 10, 7, 6, 8, 7, 6
DRAUGHAN, 20, 17, 13, 15, 15, 13
EDMONDSTON, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
EDMONDS, 279, 16, 7, 28, 16, 7
EDMUNDS, 203, 21, 19, 30, 20, 19
EPPS, 568, 44, 14, 47, 35, 13
FAULCON, 41, 30, 23, 30, 30, 23
FENNER, 76, 39, 27, 43, 39, 27
FERRALE?, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
GARY, 263, 35, 22, 44, 32, 20
GUNTER, 162, 34, 12, 40, 32, 12
HALE, 569, 19, 7, 33, 17, 7
HARRIS, 11315, 729, 39, 1074, 704, 39
HARRISON, 3639, 199, 17, 316, 189, 16
HENRY, 2782, 126, 3, 221, 122, 3
HIGGS, 79, 19, 12, 33, 19, 12
HILL, 6675, 635, 43, 867, 613, 40
HINES, 929, 174, 7, 211, 168, 7
HOOD, 561, 43, 0, 56, 40, 0
HUNTER, 2838, 245, 28, 364, 235, 26
HYMAN, 103, 79, 8, 82, 78, 8
IVEY, 212, 45, 24, 54, 45, 24
JOHNSON, 33402, 1230, 167, 1962, 1144, 161
JOHNSTON, 2186, 234, 17, 260, 218, 16
JONES, 27193, 1868. 131, 2779, 1760, 123
JOYNER, 364, 199, 16, 201, 196, 16
LANE, 1402, 194, 10, 265, 191, 10
LAWRENCE, 950, 105, 12, 142, 102, 12
LINTER?, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
LONG, 1828, 270, 46, 354, 237, 43
LOWE, 529, 35, 11, 51, 35, 11
MARTIN, 5318, 372, 13, 544, 359, 13
MOORE, 8698, 953, 10, 1342, 934, 10
MOSELEY, 490, 44, 0, 51, 43, 0
NICHOLSON, 453, 84, 25, 106, 81, 25
OUSBY, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7
PARKER, 4448, 438, 22, 582, 426, 20
PERRY, 2432, 399, 7, 512, 393, 7
PIERCE, 852, 70, 17, 92, 68, 17
PONTON, 33, 24, 22, 24, 24, 22
POPE, 989, 86, 12, 117, 81, 12
POWELL, 2420, 362, 28, 474, 355, 28
PRICE, 2888, 216, 12, 303, 196, 12
PURNELL, 405, 9, 7, 35, 9, 7
ROPER, 217, 24, 2, 31, 23, 2
SAVAGE, 484, 84, 16, 98, 81, 16
SHIELDS, 471, 18, 14, 23, 16, 14
SHINE, 49, 16, 7, 19, 16, 7
SIMMONS, 2845, 256, 18, 362, 242, 16
SIMS?, 1411, 23, 0, 67, 10, 0
SMALLWOOD, 359, 63, 6, 73, 62, 6
SMITH, 29087, 1805, 128, 2639, 1722, 125
SNOW, 239, 28, 16, 37, 28, 16
SOLOMON, 365, 27, 16, 42, 27, 16
TAYLOR, 11696, 678, 31, 1003, 637, 27
TILLERY, 88, 66, 52, 66, 66, 52
TILLMAN, 437, 20, 0, 29, 20, 0
WALKER, 8492, 451, 5, 665, 420, 3
WEBB, 1752, 159, 16, 248, 151, 16
WHITAKER, 513, 13161, 132, 743, 34,
WHITEHEAD, 614, 76, 23, 104, 73, 23
WHITFIELD, 689, 127, 1, 219, 124, 1
WIGGINS, 753, 159, 16, 206, 158, 16
WILLIAMS, 28865, 2061, 109, 2969, 1967, 105
WILLS, 409, 13, 3, 21, 13, 3
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