HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA LARGEST SLAVEHOLDERS FROM 1860 SLAVE CENSUS SCHEDULES and SURNAME MATCHES FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS ON 1870 CENSUS Transcribed by Tom Blake, October 2001 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm The information in this Archive file is also part of Tom Blake’s web site, "Large Slaveholders of 1860 and African American Surname Matches from 1870". As of May, 2002, that site contains the names of 7,250 large slaveholders (as well as the name of every slaveholder in Charleston, SC), accounting for approximately 1 out of 6 of all the slaves held in the United states in 1860, listed in 5,676 alphabetized County/surname combinations. The Large Slaveholder site is at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ajac/ [you can cut and paste this address into your browser file open box to link to the site]. PURPOSE. Published information giving names of slaveholders and numbers of slaves held in Houston County, Georgia, in 1860, is either non-existent or not readily available. It is possible to locate a free person on the Houston County, Georgia 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 Houston County, Georgia 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 Houston County, Georgia 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 Houston County, Georgia (NARA microfilm series M653, Roll 147) reportedly includes a total of 10,755 slaves. This transcription includes 68 slaveholders who held 40 or more slaves in Houston County, accounting for 4,807 slaves, or 44% of the County total. The rest of the slaves in the County were held by a total of 492 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 District where counted, the name of the District 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 "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 Georgia 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, and the transcriber found none in this County. 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 Houston County population included 4,828 whites, 28 "free colored" and 10,755 slaves. By the 1870 census, the white population had increased about 5% to 5,071, while the "colored" population increased over 42% to 15,332. (As a side note, by 1960, 100 years later, the County was listed as having 30,339 whites, about six times as many as in 1860, but the 1960 total of 8,761 "Negroes"was about 19% 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. Chatham County saw an increase in colored population of almost two thirds between 1860 and 1870, so obviously that is where many freed slaves went. Other Georgia Counties showing significant increases include Fulton, Houston and Richmond. Between 1860 and 1870, the Georgia colored population increased by 80,000, to 545,000, a 17% increase. Where did freed Georgia slaves go if they did not stay in Georgia? States that saw significant increases in colored population during that time, and were therefore more likely possible places of relocation for colored persons from Houston County, included the following: 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: ALDEN, Augustus A., 64 slaves, Henderson Dist., page 301 ALLEN, Hugh, 45 slaves, Dist 11, page 340B ALLEN, Wm. D., 40 slaves, Fort Valley Dist., page 281 AMAKER, A., Wm. F. Sandel Agt. For, 52 slaves, Dist. 14, page 347 BASKINS, R. W., 43 slaves, Town Dist., page 318 BASS, J. B., A. H. Pratt Agt. For, 44 slaves, Dist. 14, page 347B BASS, J. B., M. H. Taylor for, 131 slaves, Dist. 13., page 308 BELVIN, James W., 99 slaves, Dist. 14, page 345B BROWN, Dempsey, 111 slaves, Henderson Dist., page 300 BROWN, Stephen, 56 slaves, Henderson Dist., page 292 BRYANT, Benjamin Estate of, M. L. Bryant Administrator, 76 slaves, Dist 11, page 337 BRYANT, J. A.? Estate of, R. C. Bryan Admr., 56 slaves, Dist 11, page 330B BRYANT, John, 43 slaves, Dist. 5, page 320B BURNHAM, Abner, 87 slaves, Town Dist., page 317 CARDEN?, Charles F. Est of, Marcus Bun Executor, 46 slaves, Henderson Dist., page 301B CATES, Thos., Thomas Lary agt. For, 61 slaves, Dist. 13., page 304 CHASTINE, John M., 50 slaves, Dist. 14, page 342 COALSON, W. L., Lunsford Pitts admr., 55 slaves, Henderson Dist., page 296 DAVIS, Wm. M., 95 slaves, Henderson Dist., page 298 DAY, Joseph, James Daley Agt. For, 73 slaves, Dist. 14, page 344 DENNARD, Hugh L., 77 slaves, Dist 11, page 340 EVERETTE?, Estate of, Myles L. Green Executor of, 343 slaves, Fort Valley Dist., page 278B FAULL, John, 87 slaves, Dist 11, page 334 FELDER, Samuel, 85 slaves, Town Dist., page 311B GILL, Henry, 40 slaves, Dist. 14, page 350 GREEN, Myles L., 60 slaves, Fort Valley Dist., page 278 GRISHAM, Jno. J., Kindred Kemp Agt for, 43 slaves, Dist 11, page 331 GRISHAM, John J., J. R. Hill Agt. For, 50 slaves, Dist 11, page 334 HALIBURTON, D., B. H. Chambers Agt. For, 52 slaves, Town Dist., page 316B HARRIS, 57 slaves, Fort Valley Dist., page 278 HASLUM, George S., 53 slaves, Dist. 14, page 342B HASLUM, Wm. M., 44 slaves, Dist. 14, page 346 HILL, Whitman C., 43 slaves, Town Dist., page 311 HODGES, Josiah, 51 slaves, Dist. 14, page 348B HOLMES, Isaac, 67 slaves, Henderson Dist., page 294 HOLOMAN, Barrett, 57 slaves, Dist 11, page 332 HOLT, P. S., Leroy Williams agt for, 43 slaves, Henderson Dist., page 293B HOLT, Wad., Humphrey Marshall agt for, 49 slaves, Henderson Dist., page 296B HOUSER, David H., 55 slaves, Fort Valley Dist., page 289B HOUSER, L. M., 42 slaves, Dist 11, page 336B IVEY?, H. V.?, 50 slaves, Town Dist., page 314 JACKSON, Henry, Gilbert Lumkin Agt. For, 58 slaves, Town Dist., page 318B JAMISON, David, S. H. Lary for, 119 slaves, Henderson Dist., page 297B KILLEN, John, 68 slaves, Dist. 14, page 344B KING, John R., 118 slaves, Town Dist., page 315B LAWSON, George Estate of, Bryant W. Brown for, 84 slaves, Henderson Dist., page 291B LOCKE?, Joseph, 77 slaves, Henderson Dist., page 297 MATHEWS, William A., 84 slaves, Fort Valley Dist., page 287 MCGEHEE?, Edmund, 57 slaves, Dist 11, page 341 MIMS, Williamson, 81 slaves, Fort Valley Dist., page 286B NAPIER, Shelton?, W. C. Garner? Agt. For, 70 slaves, Henderson Dist., page 302B PERRY, Terrel?, 42 slaves, Henderson Dist., page 295 PERSONS, Geo. V.?, 70 slaves, Fort Valley Dist., page 284B PERSONS, George V.?, 78 slaves, Fort Valley Dist., page 285B POWERS?, Virgil, 71 slaves, Fort Valley Dist., page 288 REAGAN, J.? H., Mary E. Reagan Administratrix, 92 slaves, Dist. 14, page 349 RICE, Geo. L. D., 71 slaves, Dist. 14, page 346B RUMPH, Lewis, 97 slaves, Dist. 14, page 343 RUTHERFORD, Benjamin, William Johnson? For, 47 slaves, Dist. 5, page 3229 RUTHERFORD?, John H., 64 slaves, Dist 11, page 339 STILES, B. E., Robt. Lane Agt. For, 74 slaves, Dist 11, page 339 THWEATT, Wm. Moore agt for, 47 slaves, Fort Valley Dist., page 282 TOOMER, Henry, 115 slaves, Dist. 14, page 349B TOOMER, Henry, Richard Lane Agt. For, 43 slaves, Dist. 14, page 345B WALKER, Joel. Dec., Executor of Est of, 56 slaves, Dist 11, page 331B WASPE, B. F., 60 slaves, Town Dist., page 317B WILLIS, Jno. B., Jno. Logan Agt. For, 90 slaves, Dist 11, page 335 WOOLFOLK, John W.?, 102 slaves, Dist. 5, page 328 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) ALDEN, 17, 2, 0, 2, 2, 0 ALLEN, 6198, 615, 38, 729, 513, 329, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 AMAKER, 329, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 BASKINS, 39, 5, 4, 4, 4, 3 BASS, 764, 113, 14, 113, 93, 9 BELVIN, 26, 19, 17, 11, 10, 8 BROWN, 27013, 2419, 108, 2547, 1930, 74 BRYANT, 2129, 437, 41, 447, 359, 30 BURNHAM, 55, 1`3, 12, 13, 11, 10 CARDEN?, 41, 7, 1, 6, 6, 1 CATES, 67, 1, 0, 2, 1, 0 CHASTINE, 11, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0 COALSON, 4, 3, 0, 3, 3, 0 DAVIS, 13725, 1379, 24, 1532, 1081, 26 DAY, 1002, 75, 8, 84, 60, 5 DENNARD, 37, 28, 6, 26, 24, 5 EVERETTE?, 24, 6, 6, 6, 5, 5 FAULL, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 FELDER, 346, 76, 56, 51, 47, 32 GILL, 591, 21, 0, 26, 17, 0 GREEN, 11070, 1053, 41, 1190, 860, 29 GRISHAM, 105, 41, 1, 47, 30, 1 HALIBURTON, 7, 5, 4, 5, 5, 4 HARRIS, 11315, 1232, 41, 1401, 1039, 31 HASLUM, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0 HILL, 6675, 825, 34, 951, 671, 27 HODGES, 648, 75, 5 HOLMES, 2804, 327, 26, 309, 246, 15 HOLOMAN, 27, 10, 0, 11, 10, 0 HOLT, 816, 156, 21, 160, 134, 19 HOUSER, 89, 17, 13, 11, 6, 4 IVEY?, 212, 50, 0, 57, 39, 0 JACKSON, 19100, 2029, 48, 2326, 1700, 38 JAMISON, 217, 12, 2, 17, 10, 2 KILLEN, 41, 27, 22, 18, 17, 13 KING, 4979, 623, 43, 662, 509, 24 LAWSON, 1047, 179, 20, 193, 156, 16 LOCKE?, 105, 7, 3, 6, 4, 0 MATHEWS, 1877, 250, 17, 281, 209, 10 MCGEHEE?, 185, 14, 0, 28, 11, 0 MIMS, 267, 71, 0, 71, 62, 0 NAPIER, 191, 70, 35, 72, 56, 26 PERRY, 2432, 248, 16, 292, 204, 11 PERSONS, 211, 44, 0, 57, 38, 0 POWERS?, 516, 61, 7, 68, 51, 3 REAGAN, 40, 20, 4, 18, 15, 2 RICE, 1528, 11, 19, 98, 75, 8 RUMPH, 67, 38, 28, 18, 17, 12 RUTHERFORD, 271, 73, 40, 69, 57, 31 STILES, 122, 36, 0, 35, 32, 0 THWEATT, 49, 19, 1, 22, 18, 1 TOOMER, 106, 37, 30, 18, 17, 13 WALKER, 8492, 1199, 33, 1317, 997, 23, WASPE, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 WILLIS, 2042, 275, 5, 314, 227, 3 WOOLFOLK, 120, 19, 0, 21, 16, 0