WARREN 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 Warren County, North Carolina (NARA microfilm series M653, Roll 927) reportedly includes a total of 10.401 slaves. This transcription includes 162 slaveholders who held 20 or more slaves in Warren County, accounting for 7,710 slaves, or about 74% of the County total. The rest of the slaves in the County were held by a total of 402 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. In addition to the usually difficult letters to distinguish, on this Warren County census, the capital letters T and J were also hard to distinguish. 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 Warren County, the number of slaves they held in the County and the first page number on which they were listed. 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. Pages 333 through 341 and page 345 had Warrenton written at the top, while the other pages had no local district indicated. 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 Warren County population included 4,923 whites, 402 “free colored” and 10,401 slaves. By the 1870 census, the white population had increased about 7% to 5,276, while the “colored” population had increased about 15% to 12,492. (As a side note, by 1960, 100 years later, the County was listed as having 6,939 whites, about a 1.4 times increase, while the 1960 total of 12,306 “Negroes”was about 1.1 times more than what the colored population had been 100 years before.) In comparing census data for different years, the transcriber did not consider any changes to County boundaries, such as the taking of part of Warren County in 1881 for formation of Vance County. 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 and Wayne. States that saw significant increases in colored population during that time, and were therefore possible places of relocation for colored persons from Warren 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, Ed, 25 slaves, page 343
ALSTON, A. D., 81 slaves, page 375
ALSTON, Alfred, 39 slaves, page 352B
ALSTON, B. N. F., 29 slaves, page 339
ALSTON, Ed, 30 slaves, page 376
ALSTON, Eliz. C., 48 slaves, page 375
ALSTON, G. B., 25 slaves, page 380
ALSTON, George, 40 slaves, page 380
ALSTON, K. P., 60 slaves, page 354
ALSTON, M. H., 58 slaves, page 375B
ALSTON, M. P., 67 slaves, page 356B
ALSTON, P. G., 44 slaves, page 357
ALSTON, S. F. Sr., 83 slaves, page 376
ALSTON, T. N. F., 45 slaves, page 362
ALSTON, W. T., 32 slaves, page 364
BALL, James, 25 slaves, page 344
BOBBITT, Miles, 20 slaves, page 366B
BOBBITT, Saml., 36 slaves, page 371
BOYD, J. C., 42 slaves, page 360B
BOYD, R., 62 slaves, page 381B
BRAME, A. F., 25 slaves, page 359
BRODIE, W. L.?, 47 slaves, page 350B
BROWN, J. E., 20 slaves, page 392
BROWN, William, 27 slaves, page 343
BROWNE, Ida, 36 slaves, page 372
BROWNE, J. F., 42 slaves, page 371B
BROWNE, L. E., 29 slaves, page 371B
BROWNE, M. L., 32 slaves, page 371
BROWNE, Mary C., 59 slaves, page 372
BROWNE, R., 22 slaves, page 371
BULLOCK, J. H., 66 slaves, page 395
BULLOCK, L. H., 50 slaves, page 393B
BULLOCK, R. Sr., 183 slaves, page 363
BULLOCK, Rich. Sr., 35 slaves, page 364
BURGESS, John, 88 slaves, page 374B
BURT, Emily, 27 slaves, page 374
BURWELL, W. A., 46 slaves, page 395B
CARR, W. B., 47 slaves, page 349B
CARROLL, Thomas, 65 slaves, page 393
CASTER, L., 26 slaves, page 368
CAWTHORN, J. V., 63 slaves, page 340
CHEATHAM, J. A., 23 slaves, page 394B
CHEEK, E. A., 81 slaves, page 346
CHEEK, J. S., 80 slaves, page 350
CHEEK, M. H., 25 slaves, page 354
CLANTON, R. K., 20 slaves, page 368B
CLANTON, W. C., 98 slaves, page 369
CLEMENTS?, G. R., 38 slaves, page 385B
COOK, B. E., Sr., 32 slaves, page 336
COOK, L. M., 29 slaves, page 349
CROPON?, J.? M., 64 slaves, page 337B
DAVIS, , Edward, 39 slaves, page 378
DAVIS, H. J., 119 slaves, page 336B
DAVIS, J. S.?, 27 slaves, page 337
DAVIS, P. R., 53 slaves, page 347
DAVIS, Saml., 43 slaves, page 378B
DOWNEY, James, 43 slaves, page 389
DOWTON, W. A., 26 slaves, page 341B
DRAKE, M. M., 38 slaves, page 392B
EATON, Buckner, 34 slaves, page 392
EATON, S. W., 27 slaves, page 351
EATON, W. Jr., 30 slaves, page 342
EATON, William Sr., 154 slaves, page 339
EDWARDS, W. N., 73 slaves, page 368
ELTON, Eliz., 21 slaves, page 380
FALKNER, A. M., 71 slaves, page 334B
FALKNER, W. A. K., 21 slaves, page 334
FIELDS, George, 39 slaves, page 367
FITTS, H. E., M. M. Drake Adm. Of, 20 slaves, page 382B
FLEMING, S., 29 slaves, page 341B
FOOTE, H. A., 33 slaves, page 358B
GERMAN, T. P., 32 slaves, page 394B
GREEN, J.? E., 70 slaves, page 338
GREEN, S. T., 3 slaves, page 380B
GREEN, T.? J. & W. J., 95 slaves, page 352
HARRIS, Henry, 21 slaves, page 373B
HARRIS, J. H., 26 slaves, page 342
HAWKINS, M. E., 25 slaves, page 349
HAWKINS, Mary F., 41 slaves, page 347
HAWKINS, W. J., 66 slaves, page 388B
HAWKINS, W. W., 29 slaves, page 348B
HAYES, Eliz. J., 23 slaves, page 348
HENDERSON, Len?, 97 slaves, page 396
HOOPER, J. Deb., 22 slaves, page 373
HUNT, W., 49 slaves, page 382
HUNTER, H. B., 33 slaves, page 341
JOHNSON, A. M., 37 slaves, page 373
JOHNSON, J. P., 35 slaves, page 373B
JONES, A. S., 72 slaves, page 353B
JONES, HG. J., 20 slaves, page 346
JONES, J. S., 51 slaves, page 390
JONES, J. W., 50 slaves, page 353
JONES, J. E., 69 slaves, page 384
JONES, Mary C., 53 slaves, page 347B
JONES, W. D., 171 slaves, page 383
KEARNEY, Edward, 44 slaves, page 373
KEARNEY, Richard, 28 slaves, page 343B
KEARNEY, W. K., 140 slaves, page 351
KEARNEY, W. H. A., 76 slaves, page 354B
LITTLE, George, 80 slaves, page 397
MAYFIELD, J. O. K., 59 slaves, page 385
MAYFIELD, J. W., 27 slaves, page 385B
MAYFIELD, J. H., 23 slaves, page 385
MILAM, N., 44 slaves, page 370
MITCHELL, P., 59 slaves, page 348
MONTGOMERY, T. A., 34 slaves, page 334B
MOSEBY, R. E., 33 slaves, page 370B
NEWELL, Mary, 50 slaves, page 369B
PACK, W. H., 31 slaves, page 339
PALMER, Horace, 53 slaves, page 361
PALMER, J. M.?, 29 slaves, page 391B
PARKER, Jacob, 26 slaves, page 335B
PATTILLO, J. W., 30 slaves, page 361B
PERRY, M. P., 29 slaves, page 374
PITCHFORD, T. J., 36 slaves, page 3799B
PLUMMER, Alfred, 38 slaves, page 395B
PLUMMER, E., 101 slaves, page 333
PLUMMER, H. L., 53 slaves, page 388
PLUMMER, T.? G., 29 slaves, page 340B
POWELL, Benj., 28 slaves, page 377B
POWELL, J. B., 27 slaves, page 366
POWELL, Peter D., 78 slaves, page 377B
POWELL, W. M., 52 slaves, page 376
REAVIS, Charity, 22 slaves, page 344
ROBERSON, J. C., 32 slaves, page 344B
ROBERSON, R. B., 36 slaves, page 341
ROBERTSON, L.?, 28 slaves, page 377
RODWELL, Eliz., 34 slaves, page 360
ROGERS, A. J., 20 slaves, page 345
RUPELL, James T., 66 slaves, page 387
RUPELL, R., J. T. Rupell Guard. For, 70 slaves, page 387
SHEARIN, J. R., 27 slaves, page 359
SKINNER, C., 44 slaves, page 386B
SLEDGE, G. R., 32 slaves, page 364B
SOMERVILLE, children, Jas. S. Jones Guard for, 75 slaves, page 384B
SOMERVILLE, E. M., 104 slaves, page 390
SOUTHERLAND, S. Guard., 20 slaves, page 345
SOUTHERLAND, S., 21 slaves, page 345
STALLINGS, Sol?, 28 slaves, page 349B
STEED, Abner, 34 slaves, page 346
TAYLOR, J. T., 42 slaves, page 387B
THORNTON, F. A., 62 slaves, page 365B
THROWER, H. E., 32 slaves, page 360
WARD, T. For eward, 24 slaves, page 393B
WATKINS, E. W., 20 slaves, page 365
WATSON, J., 59 slaves, page 353
WATSON, W. Sr., 29 slaves, page 342B
WATSON, W. Jr., 29 slaves, page 335B
WILLIAMS, J. B., 123 slaves, page 356
WILLIAMS, J. A., 94 slaves, page 357B
WILLIAMS, J. T., 84 slaves, page 389
WILLIAMS, M. K., 36 slaves, page 338B
WILLIAMS, R. E., 38 slaves, page 355B
WILLIAMS, S. A., 83 slaves, page 397B
WILLIAMS, Sol, 75 slaves, page 355
WILLIAMS, Sol, 52 slaves, page 357B
WILLIAMS, W. C., 54 slaves, page 362B
WILSON, T.? E., 38 slaves, page 336B
WORTHAM, John, 36 slaves, page 366
WRIGHT, Henry, 20 slaves, page 381
YANCEY, J. G., 60 slaves, page 386
YOUNG, D. E., 25 slaves, page 345
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, 20, 628, 420, 20
ALSTON, 960, 479, 165, 543, 474, 163
BALL, 797, 17, 5, 24, 15, 4
BOBBITT, 37, 23, 14, 21, 21, 13
BOYD, 1905, 131, 18, 175, 117, 17
BRAME, 81, 30, 8, 32, 30, 8
BRODIE, 53, 30, 1, 30, 28, 1
BROWN, 27013, 1089, 85, 1613, 1005, 70
BROWNE, 85, 24, 0, 23, 23, 0
BULLOCK, 531, 270, 63, 289, 263, 62
BURGESS, 425, 35, 9, 40, 33, 8
BURT, 332, 37, 2, 63, 36, 2
BURWELL, 238, 55, 11, 56, 47, 7
CARR, 1316, 124, 1, 187, 123, 1
CARROLL, 676, 68, 23, 64, 53, 9
CASTER, 80, 3, 0, 4, 3, 0
CAWTHORN, 15, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
CHEATHAM, 384, 29, 1, 33, 27, 1
CHEEK, 140, 39, 2, 51, 39, 2
CLANTON, 152, 34, 12, 47, 34, 12
CLEMANTS?, 364, 35, 2, 47, 34, 2
COOK, 3149, 124, 10, 228, 118, 10
CROPON?, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
DAVIS, 13725, 1116, 143, 1515, 1051, 139
DOWNEY, 91, 17, 0, 25, 17, 0
DOWTON, 5, 3, 2, 3, 3, 2
DRAKE, 647, 77, 19, 126, 76, 19
EATON, 222, 80, 24, 101, 73, 22
EDWARDS, 3741, 339, 23, 480, 329, 19
ELTON, 3, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
FALKNER, 119, 18, 7, 22, 17, 7
FIELDS, 1794, 72, 13, 98, 58, 5
FITTS, 64, 15, 15, 15, 14, 14
FLEMING, 722, 49, 8, 71, 46, 6
FOOTE, 105, 6, 3, 10, 6, 3
GERMAN, 70, 11, 9, 3, 3, 1
GREEN, 11070, 540, 50, 783, 509, 47
HARRIS, 11315, 729, 43, 1074, 704, 40
HAWKINS, 2816, 208, 52, 308, 192, 47
HAYES, 561, 77, 1, 91, 74, 1
HENDERSON, 3706, 260, 32, 397, 246, 32
HOOPER, 423, 64, 0, 72, 62, 0
HUNT, 157, 194, 20, 228, 161, 9
HUNTER, 2838, 245, 9, 364, 236, 7
JOHNSON, 33402, 1230, 63, 1962, 1144, 54
JONES, 27193, 1868, 98, 2779, 1760, 68
KEARNEY, 118, 87, 57, 88, 86, 56
LITTLE, 984, 244, 13, 340, 241, 13
MAYFIELD, 316, 51, 35, 55, 50, 34
MILAM, 84, 9, 9, 12, 9, 9
MITCHELL, 4089, 304, 8, 449, 294, 7
MONTGOMERY, 1303, 66, 7, 87, 60, 7
MOSEBY, 101, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0
NEWELL, 174, 28, 19, 33, 28, 19
PACK, 77, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0
PALMER, 1211, 90, 3, 111, 84, 2
PARKER, 4448, 438, 7, 582, 426, 7
PATTILLO, 17, 0, 0, 5, 0, 0
PERRY, 2432, 399, 17, 512, 393, 16
PITCHFORD, 25, 8, 7, 8, 8, 7
PLUMMER, 230, 67, 53, 66, 60, 46
POWELL, 2420, 362, 47, 474, 355, 47
REAVIS, 29, 17, 0, 18, 17, 0
ROBERSON, 1638, 94, 1, 133, 86, 1
ROBERTSON, 2878, 93, 0, 143, 81, 0
RODWELL, 26, 19, 14, 21, 19, 14
ROGERS, 2129, 243, 5, 325, 240, 5
RUPELL, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
SHEARIN, 19, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14
SKINNER, 550, 150, 7, 188, 148, 6
SLEDGE, 240, 30, 9, 55, 28, 9
SOMERVILLE, 155, 33, 28, 38, 29, 24
SOUTHERLAND, 88, 51, 14, 52, 49, 13
STALLINGS, 137, 39, 7, 44, 39, 7
STEED, 80, 26, 12, 30, 25, 11
TAYLOR, 11696, 678, 19, 1003, 637, 13
THORNTON, 1504, 55, 22, 76, 52, 21
THROWER, 53, 9, 7, 11, 8, 6
WARD, 2525, 2373, 7, 387, 269, 6
WATKINS, 2226, 163, 21, 186, 133, 12
WATSON, 3567, 312, 35, 428, 304, 34
WILLIAMS, 28865, 2061, 209, 2969, 1967, 205
WILSON, 10819, 560, 7, 836, 524, 6
WORTHAM, 149, 50, 8, 61, 48, 8
WRIGHT, 5428, 305, 28, 448, 280, 20
YANCEY, 192, 52, 19, 54, 49, 17
YOUNG, 6185, 305, 6, 471, 295, 5
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