CONCORDIA PARISH, LOUISIANA
LARGEST SLAVEHOLDERS FROM 1860 SLAVE CENSUS SCHEDULES
and
SURNAME MATCHES FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS ON 1870 CENSUS
Transcribed by Tom Blake, April 2001
PURPOSE. Published information giving names of slaveholders and numbers of slaves held in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, in 1860, is either non-existent or not readily available. It is possible to locate a free person on the Concordia Parish, Louisiana 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 Concordia Parish, Louisiana census can check this list to learn if their ancestor was one of the larger slaveholders in the Parish. 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 Parish, 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 Concordia Parish, Louisiana 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 Concordia Parish, Louisiana (NARA microfilm series M653, Roll 428) reportedly includes a total of 12,542 slaves, ranking it the fourth highest Parish total in Louisiana. This transcription includes 65 slaveholders who held 80 or more slaves in Concordia Parish, accounting for 8,600 slaves, or 68% of the Parish total. The rest of the slaves in the Parish were held by a total of 185 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/ . In comparing census data for different years, the transcriber was not aware of any relevant changes to Parish boundaries.
FORMAT. This transcription lists the names of those largest slaveholders in the Parish, the name of any plantation that was named in the census, the number of slaves they held in the Parish on the plantation where the slaves were enumerated 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 "Parish" 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 Louisiana in 1860 there were 371 farms of 1,000 acres or more, the largest size category enumerated in the census, and another 1,161 farms of 500-999 acres. Linking names of plantations in this Parish 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. The census for this Parish included a significant number of plantation names, which are included in this list, with the names of the holders and in a separate alphabetical list of plantations.
The census enumerator wrote comments on the census in regard to three of the plantations, which indicated his method of enumeration was to have the slaves all gather at their houses, where he proceed to enumerate them, apparently by house, which would be quite helpful in trying to identify family units. On the Rifle Point count he wrote, "On this place are 70 Negro cabins 19x23 feet. There are 271 Negroes from 100 down to one month, which will give about four Negroes to each cabin." On White Hall he wrote, "On this plantation the manager or owners afforded me very little service and I could only get the list of Negroes as kept on the Plantation book and count the houses and apportion them on the schedule as is seen." For holder Boyan, he wrote, "This man was also indisposed to assist in arranging the Negroes as they dwell in the cabins and would only give me his list off his Plantation book and the number of houses, which I have distributed as seen. He has bought mainly all his slaves within a few years past, [illegible word] their ages are as seen; he has not raised any."
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, except for these five: Rifle Point Plantation at page 75, which mentioned 100 year old females Rose and Elsy and said Elsy was African: Windemere Plantation on page 85B, which mentions 102 year old female Dilsey; White Hall Plantation on 95B, which mentions Sophia, a 100 year old female African; and holder Sparrow on 123B, which mentions 100 year old female Patience. 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 Parish. 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 Concordia Parish population included 1,242 whites, 21 "free colored" and 12,542 slaves. By the 1870 census, the white population had dropped 42% to 720, and the "colored" population had dropped 26 % to 9,257. (As a side note, by 1960, 100 years later, the Parish was listed as having 10,993 whites, almost a nine fold increase, but the 1960 total of 9,462 "Negroes"was actually almost 25% less than what the colored population had been 100 years before.) Where did all these freed slaves go? Orleans Parish saw an increase in colored population of almost double between 1860 and 1870, growing to over 50,000, so likely that is where many went. No other Louisiana Parish showed such a significant increase. Between 1860 and 1870, the Louisiana colored population only increased by 4%, about 13,000. 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 Concordia Parish, 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:
BOYAN, V. A.?, 95 slaves, page 99B
BRANDON, CANEBRAKE, 113 slaves, page 72
CARTER, Robert, VIDALIA PLACE, 116 slaves, page 93B
CHOTARD, H., MINORCA, 154 slaves, page 91B
CONNER, F. B., KILLARNEY, 97 slaves, page 73B
CONNER, L. P., SPOKAN PLACE, 122 slaves, page 70
CONNER, L. P., INNISFAIL PLACE, 134 slaves, page 70B
CONNER, W. B., RIFLE POINT, 271 slaves, page 75
DAVIS, A. V., SYCAMORE, 228 slaves, page 90B
DAVIS, A. V., TAKONEY PLACE, 124 slaves, page 92B
DAVIS, Alfred V., PATALOOMUT PLACE, 178 slaves, page 83
DAVIS, Alfred V., SAHARA PLACE, 107 slaves, page 82B
DAVIS, G. M., VANCLUSE, 145 slaves, page 74B
DAVIS, S. M., PITTSFIELD PLACE, 217 slaves, page 84
DAVIS, S. M., MORVEN, 169 slaves, page 81B
DEVALLE, A. Yznaga, RAVENSWOOD PLACE, 145 slaves, page 68
DUNBAR, A. W., 80 slaves, page 65
ELLIOTT, Anna F., BLACK HAWK PLACE, 129 slaves, page 114
ELLIOTT, Anna F., BALLYMEEGAN, 148 slaves, page 115
FERRIDAY & MCDONALD, 149 slaves, page 89B
GAITHER, Horace, ARNAUDLIA, 127 slaves, page 94B
GILLESPIE, J. A., INDIAN VILLAGE, 100 slaves, page 67
GILLISPIE, W. C., 159 slaves, page 55B
HENDERSON, A. C., ASHLEY PLACE, 135 slaves, page 102
HENDERSON, A. C., SANGHY, 125 slaves, page 99
HOLMES, J., 109 slaves, page 56B
HOOVER & YORK, 216 slaves, page 109B
HOOVER, E. J., BEACH PLACE, 236 slaves, page 111B
HUNT, D., HOLE IN THE WALL, 99 slaves, page 73
JOHNSON, John, 997 slaves, page 108
KEMP, Jane, PLASSY PLACE, 80 slaves, page 66B
LAMDIN, S. H., 155 slaves, page 97B
MARSHALL, L. R., HERMITAGE, 87 slaves, page 79B
MARSHALL, L. R., GOOD HOPE, 161 slaves, page 80
MERRILL, A. P., ST. GENEVIEVE, 91 slaves, page 98
MERRILL, A. P., SCOTLAND PLACE, 111 slaves, page 96B
METCALF, Volney, 87 slaves, page 61B
MILLER, D. F., 86 slaves, page 108B
MINOR, John, PALO ALTO, 95 slaves, page 78
PAGE, W. B., WEECAMA PLACE, 155 slaves, page 86
PAGE, W. B., WINDEMERE, 90 slaves, page 85B
PERCY, R. D., 126 slaves, page 129
RALSTON, Geo., WAVERLY, 82 slaves, page 77B
RIVERS?, D. L., 104 slaves, page 105
SANDERSON, G. F., PANOLA, 158 slaves, page 87
SANDERSON, S. W. W., DEER PLACE, 179 slaves, page 104
SARGENT, G. W., COOSA PLACE, 120 slaves, page 69
SESSIONS, J. W., TEKOA, 96 slaves, page 59
SHIELDS, G. B., CLERMONT, 171 slaves, page 88B
SHIELDS, G. B., FOREST HOME, 89 slaves, page 106
SHIELDS, G. B., HORSESHOE LAKE, 93 slaves, page 122
SPARROW, E., 115 slaves, page 123B
STACY, Est. D.? S., Tutorship of J. Nesby 4 heirs, 140 slaves, page 54B
STANTON, Est. Fred. 4 heirs, BELINA, 128 slaves, page 62B
STANTON, Est. Fred. 4 heirs, LAMARQUE PLACE, 153 slaves, page 60B
STANTON, Thos., CRITON PLACE, 105 slaves, page 58B
SURGET, Eustis, MORVILLE, 115 slaves, page 101
SURGET, F., CHERIPA PLACE, 109 slaves, page 57B
SURGET, James, 180 slaves, page 78B
SURGET, James, ASHLEY PLACE, 169 slaves, page 106B
VARDEMAN, A. M., 127 slaves, page 100
WELCH, A. T., GRAND CUT OFF, 168 slaves, page 113
WILLIAMS, D. P., CYPRESS GROVE, 89 slaves, page 63
YORK & HOOVER, WHITE HALL, 163 slaves, page 95B
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 Parish, born in State, born and living in State, born in State and living in Parish)
BOYAN, 8, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0
BRANDON, 308, 33, 0, 9, 8, 0
CARTER, 7164, 617, 36, 329, 281, 14
CHOTARD, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
CONNER, 503, 25, 2, 16, 12, 1
DAVIS, 13725, 1216, 43, 707, 98, 14
DEVALLE, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
DUNBAR, 291, 31, 2, 20, 14, 1
ELLIOTT, 807, 22, 2, 11, 10, 0
FERRIDAY, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
GAITHER, 195, 3, 3, 0, 0, 0
GILLISPIE, 248, 4, 1, 3, 2, 0
HENDERSON, 3706, 476, 18
HOLMES, 2804, 219, 17, 115, 98, 5
HOOVER, 124, 4, 0, 7, 4, 0
HUNT, 1517, 81, 0, 44, 36, 0
JOHNSON, 33402, 3848, 1272306, 1998, 59
KEMP, 411, 36, 1, 16, 13, 0
LAMDIN, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
MARSHALL, 1756, 136, 9, 75, 58, 3
MCDONALD, 899, 46, 2, 31, 21, 2
MERRILL, 85, 4, 1, 1, 1, 0
METCALF, 89, 4, 1, 1, 1, 0
MILLER, 6577, 415, 28, 237, 195, 9
MINOR, 660, 52, 10, 23, 18, 2
PAGE, 1503, 125, 2, 63, 58, 0
PERCY, 38, 6, 3, 6, 3, 0
RALSTON, 37, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
RIVERS?, 820, 30, 2, 17, 14, 0
SANDERSON, 132, 3, 0, 2, 2, 0
SARGENT, 73, 5, 1, 3, 2, 0
SESSIONS, 85, 5, 0, 4, 3, 0
SHIELDS, 471, 43, 2, 20, 17, 1
SPARROW, 137, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0
STACY, 72, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0
STANTON, 252, 17, 0, 13, 10, 0
SURGET, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
VARDEMAN, 5, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
WELCH, 385, 25, 0, 11, 9, 0
WILLIAMS, 28865, 3171, 119, 1987, 1686, 52
YORK, 290, 27, 0, 17, 16, 0
PLANTATION NAME, SURNAME OF ASSOCIATED HOLDER FROM ABOVE SLAVE LIST:
ARNAUDLIA, GAITHER
ASHLEY PLACE, HENDERSON
ASHLEY PLACE, SURGET
BALLYMEEGAN, ELLIOTT
BEACH PLACE, HOOVER
BELINA, STANTON
BLACK HAWK PLACE, ELLIOTT
CANEBRAKE, BRANDON
CHERIPA PLACE, SURGET
CLERMONT, SHIELDS
COOSA PLACE, SARGENT
CRITON PLACE, STANTON
CYPRESS GROVE, WILLIAMS
DEER PLACE, SANDERSON
FOREST HOME, SHIELDS
GOOD HOPE, MARSHALL
GRAND CUT OFF, WELCH
HERMITAGE, MARSHALL
HOLE IN THE WALL, HUNT
HORSESHOE LAKE, SHIELDS
INDIAN VILLAGE, GILLESPIE
INNISFAIL PLACE, CONNER
KILLARNEY, CONNER
LAMARQUE PLACE, STANTON
MINORCA, CHOTARD
MORVEN, DAVIS
MORVILLE, SURGET
PALO ALTO, MINOR
PANOLA, SANDERSON
PATALOOMUT PLACE, DAVIS
PITTSFIELD PLACE, DAVIS
PLASSY PLACE, KEMP
RAVENSWOOD PLACE, DEVALLE
RIFLE POINT, CONNER
SAHARA PLACE, DAVIS
SANGHY, HENDERSON
SCOTLAND PLACE, MERRILL
SPOKAN PLACE, CONNER
ST. GENEVIEVE, MERRILL
SYCAMORE, DAVIS
TAKONEY PLACE, DAVIS
TEKOA, SESSIONS
VANCLUSE, DAVIS
VIDALIA PLACE, CARTER
WAVERLY, RALSTON
WEECAMA PLACE, PAGE
WHITE HALL, YORK & HOOVER
WINDEMERE, PAGE
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