BARBOUR COUNTY, ALABAMA
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 Barbour County, Alabama, in 1860, is either non-existent or not readily available. It is possible to locate a free person on the Barbour County, Alabama 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 Barbour County, Alabama 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 Barbour County, Alabama 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.
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 Barbour County, Alabama (NARA microfilm series M653, Roll 27) reportedly includes a total of 16,150 slaves. This transcription includes 98 slaveholders who held 40 or more slaves in Barbour County, accounting for 6,860 slaves, or 42% of the County total. The rest of the slaves in the County were held by a total of 1,045 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. Pages numbers under 150 were shown as in the Eastern Division, and those over 150 in the Western Division. 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.
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 Alabama in 1860 there were 482 farms of 1,000 acres or more, the largest size category enumerated in the census, and another 1,359 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 nationwide. The transcriber did not notice any such slaves named in this county, except for 102 year old female Carolina, an African, held by Henry Lockhart and shown on page 102B. 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 Barbour County population included 14,629 whites, 33 "free colored" and 16,150 slaves. By the 1870 census, the white population of Barbour County had decreased 17% to 12,143, while the "colored" population increased 6% to 17,165. (As a side note, by 1960, 100 years later, the County was listed as having 11,850 whites, 19% less than 100 years earlier, while the 1960 total of 12,840 "Negroes"was about 20% less than what the colored population had been 100 years before.) Where did the freed slaves go who did not stay in this county? Dallas, Montgomery and Mobile counties in Alabama all saw increases in the colored population between 1860 and 1870, so that could be where some of these Alabama freed slaves went. Between 1860 and 1870, the Alabama colored population increased by 37,000, to 475,000, a 17% increase. 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 freed Alabama slaves go if they did not stay in Alabama? States that saw significant increases in colored population during that time, and were therefore more likely possible places of relocation for colored persons from Barbour County, included the following: Georgia, up 80,000 to 545,000 (17%); Texas, up 70,000 (38%); 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:
AVERITT, William, 51 slaves page 102
BATES, W. M., 108 slaves page 115
BATTLE, A. J. & C. A., 114127
BEAUCHAMP, Green, 48 slaves page 118
BOWEN, William B., 89 slaves page 171
BOYKIN, Francis, 66 slaves page 111
BROWDER, Est. Mary A., 43 slaves page 109
BROWDER, Isham C., 71 slaves page 87
BRUNSON, M. A., 52 slaves page 139B
BULLOCH, Edward C., 40 slaves page 96
CALDWELL, G?, 40 slaves page 180
CATO, Lewis L., 47 slaves page 106
CHAMBERS, Wm. H., 84 slaves page 87B
COCHRAN , John, Jack Amen? Agent, 50 slaves page 147
COCHRAN, John, James Cole agent, 64 slaves page 147
COLBERT, John L.?, 42 slaves page 181B
COLEMAN, Thos. R., 44 slaves page 135
COMER, C. L., 61 slaves page 122
COMER, Geo. D., 48 slaves page 131
COWMAN, Est. J. J., 81 slaves page 117B
COX, Wm. J., 48 slaves page 110B
CRAWFORD, C. A., 40 slaves page 149B
CREWS, Arthur, 57 slaves page 142
DALE, Robert O., 53 slaves page 107B
DAVIS, Gardner H., 53 slaves page 110B
DAWSON, E. G., 76 slaves page 100
DAWSON, Hugh B., 62 slaves page 172
DENT, John H., 96 slaves page 148
EBERHART, Samuel Sr., 52 slaves page 109B
FAY, Wm. H., 61 slaves page 115V
FLIWELLIN?, E. R., 104 slaves page 130B
FLORENCE, Obediah, 56 slaves page 131B
GLENN, M. H., 57 slaves page 137B
GREGG, James, 43 slaves page 101
GRIFFETH, Archer, 91 slaves page 135
HAMETER?, Joel?, 78 slaves page 119B
HARGRAVES, Geo. 151, slaves page 123
HART, John, 40 slaves page 85
HENRY, J. B., 44 slaves page 138B
HERRON, E. M., 40 slaves page 160
HILL, A. S., 140 slaves page 139B
HILL, Est. B. M., 89 slaves page 140B
HUNTER, Sarah E., 42 slaves page 98B
IVEY, Wm., 58 slaves page 132
JOHNS, Francis, 42 slaves page 164
JONES, Samuel, 63 slaves page 111B
KING, Sarah, 40 slaves page 181
LANG, N. W., 178 slaves page 124
LEONARD (see Marshall & Leonard)
LOCKHART, Henry, 50 slaves page 102
MARSHALL & LEONARD, 51 slaves page 126
MARTIN, J. J. & B. Y., 53 slaves page 177B
MCGEHEE, Abner, 60 slaves page 91
MCGOUGH, Johhn, 84 slaves page 108
MCKENZIE, Daniel, 45 slaves page 159B
MCLENDON, John G., 46 slaves page 90B
MCNAB, John, 74 slaves page 145
MCRAE, John C., 40 slaves page 89
MCTYNE, Est. of Henry, 49 slaves page 172B
MCTYNE, Robt. A., 107 slaves page 96B
MILLER, John H., 96 slaves page 151
MITCHELL, A. C., 220 slaves page 133
MITCHELL, Martha, 67 slaves page 134B
OTT, Edward S., 46 slaves page 103B
PARKER, J. D., 42 slaves page 138B
POLL, Joseph, 73 slaves page 128B
POU, Joseph, 50 slaves page 179B
PRUETT, J. M., 65 slaves page 173B
PUGH, James L., 60 slaves page 105B
RAIFORD, John M., 62 slaves page 132B
RICHARDSON, James W., 42 slaves page 146
RICHARDSON, Walker, 55 slaves page 136B
RIVERS, John F., 43 slaves page 130
RIVERS, T. H. B., 99 slaves page 146
RODGERS, Fletcher, 46 slaves page 178B
ROGERS, O. T., 48 slaves page 99
ROQUEMORE, Thos. J., 61 slaves page 108B
ROQUEMORE, Zach, 50 slaves page 103
RUMPH, James D., 51 slaves page 167B
SANFORD, Est. A. M., 145 slaves page 135B
SEALS, C. M., 44 slaves page 152B
SHORTER, Eli S., 80 slaves page 105
STARKE, A. B., 44 slaves page 128B
STEWART, John D., 46 slaves page 179
STREATER, M. P., 53 slaves page 121
THOMPSON, Asa E., 179 slaves page 89B
THOMPSON, Geo. H., 61 slaves page 129B
THORNTON, Wm.? H., 70 slaves page 93
TISON, James G., 90 slaves page 137
TONEY, Washington 52 slaves page 99
TREADWELL, B. F., 97 slaves page 144B
TREADWELL, Mary M., 41 slaves page 149
TULLIS, T. C., 55 slaves page 181
UPSHAW, Leroy, 84 slaves page 129
WALKER, L. W., 104 slaves page 157
WILEY, J. B., 187 slaves page 112
WILEY, L. M., Silas Jones agent, 190 slaves page 95
WILLIAMS, G. E., 63 slaves page 101B
WILLIAMS, Gazanay? D., 43 slaves page 101
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)
AVERITT, 15, 1, 0, 2, 1, 0
BATES, 960, 169, 12, 138, 101, 3
BATTLE, 900, 196, 44, 129, 112, 23
BEAUCHAMP, 86, 12, 12, 11, 10, 10
BOWEN, 713, 46, 9, 37, 27, 4
BOYKIN, 399, 146, 12, 92, 78, 7
BROWDER, 105, 24, 20, 15, 15, 13
BRUNSON, 184, 20, 7, 15, 12, 5
BULLOCH, 11, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0
CALDWELL, 1034, 104, 2, 66, 60, 2
CATO, 172, 13, 3, 15, 11, 3
CHAMBERS, 1237, 136, 13, 118, 84, 7
COCHRAN , 252, 51, 11, 36, 30, 4
COLBERT, 293, 17, 1, 15, 8, 0
COLEMAN, 4329, 483, 14, 414, 291, 6
COMER, 96, 29, 18, 13, 13, 10
COWMAN, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
COX, 2288, 238, 13, 180, 134, 7
CRAWFORD, 1876, 236, 11, 191, 146, 7
CREWS, 221, 28, 11, 17, 15, 8
DALE, 167, 21, 10, 19, 12, 3
DAVIS, 13725, 1122, 48, 1004, 698, 25
DAWSON, 1079, 189, 22, 108, 78, 4
DENT, 399, 36, 5, 34, 15, 3
EBERHART, 54, 7, 5, 3, 2, 1
FAY, 43, 10, 0, 12, 10, 0
FLIWELLIN?, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
FLORENCE, 84, 24, 15, 11, 9, 5
GLENN, 614, 62, 5, 42, 29, 4
GREGG, 224, 28, 0, 20, 15, 0
GRIFFETH, 32, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
HAMETER?, 8, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0
HARGRAVES, 86, 22, 7, 7, 6, 0
HART, 1129, 98, 12, 86, 59, 5
HENRY, 2782, 263, 15, 236, 151, 6
HERRON, 159, 13, 1, 12, 8, 1
HILL, 6675, 646, 39, 541, 373, 12
HUNTER, 2838, 378, 9, 306, 230, 2
IVEY, 212, 55, 0, 42, 30, 0
JOHNS, 827, 39, 2, 42, 27, 2
JONES, 27193, 2497, 74, 2125, 1451, 20
KING, 4979, 681, 40, 545, 406, 19
LANG, 282, 55, 1, 49, 30, 0
LEONARD, 415, 50, 3, 39, 22, 0
LOCKHART, 261, 63, 1, 40, 35, 1
MARSHALL, 1756, 135, 5, 113, 85, 2
MARTIN, 5318, 457, 19, 377, 270, 8
MCGEHEE, 185, 24, 0, 16, 14, 0
MCGOUGH, 27, 5, 4, 3, 2, 2
MCKENZIE, 216, 25, 18, 27, 20, 15
MCLENDON, 188, 27, 17, 13, 11, 6
MCNAB, 28, 25, 24, 6, 6, 6
MCRAE, 300, 34, 18, 20, 15, 8
MCTYNE, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
MILLER, 6577, 346, 17, 292, 190, 5
MITCHELL, 4089, 512, 37, 400, 320, 22
OTT, 17, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0
PARKER, 4448, 353, 6, 287, 203, 2
POLL, 4, 2, 0, 2, 2, 0
POU, 14, 13, 0, 3, 3, 0
PRUETT, 89, 43, 1, 28, 24, 1
PUGH, 343, 73, 11, 50, 46, 2
RAIFORD, 112, 19, 3, 14, 10, 2
RICHARDSON, 3741, 341, 27, 301, 201, 7
RIVERS, 820, 118, 24, 74, 66, 11
RODGERS, 778, 102, 6, 81, 55, 1
ROGERS, 2129, 198, 4, 184, 123, 1
ROQUEMORE, 23, 14, 13, 6, 6, 6
RUMPH, 67, 23, 4, 10, 10, 1
SANFORD, 378, 65, 12, 44, 33, 1
SEALS, 192, 39, 11, 22, 20, 3
SHORTER, 317, 64, 33, 37, 28, 15
STARKE, 100, 37, 9, 24, 23, 6
STEWART, 3648, 285, 9, 222, 154, 7
STREATER, 23, 21, 21, 11, 11, 11
THOMPSON, 8826, 783, 20, 757, 494, 6
THORNTON, 1504, 204, 20, 144, 105, 11
TISON, 94, 18, 12, 12, 10, 8
TONEY, 259, 87, 3, 62, 57, 1
TREADWELL, 115, 21, 12, 10, 9, 3
TULLIS, 34, 16, 2, 11, 10, 1
UPSHAW, 91, 10, 4, 8, 7, 3
WALKER, 8492, 827, 59, 727, 424, 15
WILEY, 580, 70, 16, 61, 38, 6
WILLIAMS, 28865, 2335, 102, 2095, 1417, 51
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