Warren County Mississippi 1860 slaveholders and 1870 African Americans

WARREN COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

LARGEST SLAVEHOLDERS FROM 1860 SLAVE CENSUS SCHEDULES

and

SURNAME MATCHES FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS ON 1870 CENSUS

Transcribed by Tom Blake, February, 2002

PURPOSE. Published information giving names of slaveholders and numbers of slaves held in Warren County, Mississippi, in 1860, is either non-existent or not readily available. It is possible to locate a free person on the Warren County, Mississippi 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 Warren County, Mississippi 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 Warren County, Mississippi 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 Warren County, Mississippi (NARA microfilm series M653, Roll 603) reportedly includes a total of 13,763 slaves, ranking it the eleventh highest County in the State and the forty second in the United States. This transcription includes 120 slaveholders who held 35 or more slaves in Warren County, accounting for 8,341 slaves, or 60% of the County total. The rest of the slaves in the County were held by a total of 699 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. 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. The term "County" is used to describe the main subdivisions of the State by which the census was enumerated.

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 Mississippi in 1860 there were 481 farms of 1,000 acres or more, the largest size category enumerated in the census, and another 1,868 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, and though not specifically looking for such slaves, the transcriber did notice the following: Hannah, age 120, "the mother of 23 children", held by Sarah Cowan on page 263B; Alcy, female 100, held by Bay & Ballard on 268; Flora, female 100, held by C. S. Carpenter on 276; John, male 100, held by Howell Goodsum on 277B; Robert, male 104, held by Geo Barnes on 304; and Betty, female 100, held by J. E. Davis on 306. 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 6,896 whites, 37 "free colored" and 13,763 slaves. By the 1870 census, the white population had increased about 15% to 7,907, while the "colored" population had increased about 42% to 19,660. (As a side note, by 1960, 100 years later, the County was listed as having 22,447 whites, about three times more than 100 years before, while the 1960 total of 19,660 "Negroes"was about 42% more 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.

Where did the Warren County freed slaves go if they did not stay in the County? Orleans County in Louisiana saw an increase in colored population of almost double between 1860 and 1870, growing to over 50,000, so likely that is where some went. Lowndes County in Mississippi saw an increase of 6,000, but no other Mississippi County, except Warren, showed such a significant increase. Between 1860 and 1870, the Mississippi colored population only increased by 1%, about 6,000. 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 Warren County, 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:

ADAMS, John, 94 slaves, page 271

ADAMS, W. J., 45 slaves, page 261B

ALLEN, James, 115 slaves, page 292

BACHELOR, E., 110 slaves, page 298B

BAKER, Chas., 49 slaves, page 258D

BALLARD (SEE Bay & Ballard)

BARFIELD, John, 43 slaves, page 253B

BARFIELD, Stephen, 93 slaves, page 245

BARNES, Geo., 39 slaves, page 304

BAY & BALLARD, 37 slaves, page 268

BILLINGLY, Sarah, 40 slaves, page 241B

BLAKE, B., 92 slaves, page 238

BLAKE, [B.?], Third Place, 40 slaves, page 238B

BLAKE, [B.?], Second Place, 41 slaves, page 238B

BOLLS, F., 38 slaves, page 300B

BOLLS, Martha, 36 slaves, page 275B

BRAXTON?, A. A., 71 slaves, page 286

BRAXTON?, James, 55 slaves, page 297B

BRAXTON?, John, 52 slaves, page 275

BROOKS, M., 87 slaves, page 296

CAMERON, C., 35 slaves, page 288B

CARTER, Mary, 50 slaves, page 264B

COOK, A. B., 91 slaves, page 285B

COOPER, Wm., 49 slaves, page 242

COVINGTON, S., 65 slaves, page 268B

COWAN, John, 43 slaves, page 280

COWAN, Sarah, 88 slaves, page 263B

DARDEN, A., 53 slaves, page 265B

DAVIS, Hampton, 51 slaves, page 255B

DAVIS, J. E., 365 slaves, page 306

DAVIS, Jeff, 113 slaves, page 305 [President of the Confederacy, I believe]

DOWNS, Mary, 108 slaves, page 297B

FERGUSON, J., 45 slaves, page 301

FINNEY, T. J., 49 slaves, page 248

FLOWERS, J______?, 40 slaves, page 250B

FOWLER, Col. Gabe, 67 slaves, page 287

FOX, E., 47 slaves, page 259

FOX, James, 40 slaves, page 295B

FOX, S., 82 slaves, page 296B

FREELAND, Mrs., 80 slaves, page 309

GEE, Mary, 44 slaves, page 269

GEE, P., 48 slaves, page 269

GIBSON, D., 59 slaves, page 270B

GIBSON, Francis, 52 slaves, page 266

GIBSON, J. M., 78 slaves, page 235B

GIBSON, Randall, 60 slaves, page 273

GIBSON, Thos., 48 slaves, page 266

GIBSON, W. E., 89 slaves, page 256B

GLASS, James, 64 slaves, page 291

GOODRUM, H., 53 slaves, page 294

GREEN, H. Estate, 49 slaves, page 240B

GREEN, W. E., 61 slaves, page 248B

HARDAWAY, Susan, 86 slaves, page 279B

HARPER (See McKee & Harper)

HARRIS, J. C., 40 slaves, page 251B

HARRIS, J. C., 57 slaves, page 242B

HARRIS, R. P., 49 slaves, page 283B

HEBRON, John, 65 slaves, page 285

HENDERSON, J., 144 slaves, page 303

HILAND, W. S., 59 slaves, page 277

HILDEBRAND, J., 35 slaves, page 289

HILL, W., 46 slaves, page 283B

HINES, John, 95 slaves, page 269B

HOLMES?, Benj., 51 slaves, page 288

HOLMES?, Jacob, 48 slaves, page 252B

HUBBARD, & Bro., 92 slaves, page 267B

HUNT, J. W., 77 slaves, page 254

HYLAND, Wm., 57 slaves, page 293

JOHNSON, Wm. H., 93 slaves, page 257

KIBBE?, Geo., 45 slaves, page 284

KIGER, B. G., 142 slaves, page 256

KLINE, J. A., 49 slaves, page 232B

LAKE, W. A., 145 slaves, page 246

LANIER, M. B., 61 slaves, page 267

LAUGHLIN, E., 92 slaves, page 302B

MABIN, J. W., 75 slaves, page 262

MARLEY, Saml., 142 slaves, page 282

MATHEWS, R. Estate, 68 slaves, page 278

MCKEE & HARPER, 63 slaves, page 275B

MESSENGER, Geo., 93 slaves, page 295

MORGAN, Thomas, 35 slaves, page 308B

NAILOR, D. B., 55 slaves, page 272

NAILOR, Jeff, 91 slaves, page 272B

NEELY, W. W., 60 slaves, page 263

NEWMAN, A., 52 slaves, page 249

NEWMAN, J. C., 44 slaves, page 258

NEWMAN, John, 43 slaves, page 236B

NOLAND, Henry & V., 146 slaves, page 299B

NOLAND, P., 49 slaves, page 299

OATS, J., 51 slaves, page 300B

PACE, E., 36 slaves, page 290

PAXTON, A., 37 slaves, page 277B

PENDER, D., 40 slaves, page 278

PETIT, A., 45 slaves, page 301B

PRICE, L., 38 slaves, page 288B

PRINCE, O. E., 44 slaves, page 308B

PURVIS, Estate, 152 slaves, page 260B

PURVIS, Wm., 53 slaves, page 254B

QUITMAN (see Turner & Quitman)

READING, A. B., 50 slaves, page 290B

ROACH, B., 176 slaves, page 259B

ROBERTS, H. 48 slaves, page 276

RUSSELL, A., 36 slaves, page 293

SADLER, W., 69 slaves, page 291B

SESSIONS, M., 67 slaves, page 290

SEXTON, Rebecca, 47 slaves, page 271

SHARKEY, W. L., 65 slaves, page 293B

SMEDES, W. C., 68 slaves, page 249B

SMITH, G., 40 slaves, page 258C

SPROUTLEY, John, 44 slaves, page 280B

STOWERS, Mary, 69 slaves, page 241B

TEMPLETON, Joseph, 51 slaves, page 258C

TOWNSEND, John, 66 slaves, page 286B

TURNER & QUITMAN, 298 slaves, page 309B

WAILES, Estate, 61 slaves, page 302B

WHATLEY, T., 35 slaves, page 276B

WHITAKER, A., 94 slaves, page 251

WHITAKER, James, 43 slaves, page 276B

WHITAKER, Robert, 36 slaves, page 269B

WILLIS, E. B., 51 slaves, page 234B

WILLIS, Joseph, 73 slaves, page 256B

WOOD, R. Y., 132 slaves, page 304B

YOUNG, J. B., 39 slaves, page 240

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)

ADAMS, 4295, 371, 19, 268, 188, 13

ALLEN, 6198, 560, 27, 400, 307, 14

BACHELOR, 27, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0

BAKER, 3314, 297, 17, 217, 164, 8

BALLARD, 633, 49, 3, 35, 26, 2

BARFIELD, 113, 18, 1, 8, 7, 0

BARNES, 2155, 253, 25, 194, 162, 12

BAY, 24, 2, 0, 1, 0, 0

BILLINGLY, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0

BLAKE, 889, 65, 4, 46, 33, 2

BOLLS, 26, 9, 0, 6, 6, 0

BRAXTON,?, 601, 31, 5, 20, 16, 2

BROOKS, 4486, 381, 24, 266, 189, 16

CAMERON, 345, 33, 2, 26, 22, 0

CARTER, 7164, 606, 42, 439, 323, 22

COOK, 3149, 283, 39, 182, 146, 16

COOPER, 3459, 292, 10, 210, 138, 5

COVINGTON, 447, 62, 0, 36, 30, 0

COWAN, 368, 47, 2, 32, 26, 2

DARDEN, 294, 31, 4, 29, 19, 4

DAVIS, 13725, 1397, 86, 1038, 743, 50

DOWNS, 257, 24, 5, 21, 15, 5

FERGUSON, 675, 33, 4, 29, 17, 2

FINNEY, 299, 14, 4, 14, 9, 3

FLOWERS, 470, 119, 8, 84, 78, 3

FOWLER, 630, 43, 1, 30, 22, 0

FOX, 820, 145, 1, 84, 73, 0

FREELAND, 91, 4, 2, 5, 4, 2

GEE, 296, 14, 0, 10, 8, 0

GIBSON, 2529, 270, 57, 235, 167, 47

GLASS, 380, 21, 5, 16, 12, 3

GOODRUM, 32, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0

GREEN, 11070, 896, 84, 683, 491, 39

HARDAWAY, 124, 14, 4, 10, 9, 3

HARPER, 1363, 223, 4, 132, 113, 2

HARRIS, 11315, 1074, 60, 736, 547, 30

HEBRON, 28, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0

HENDERSON, 3706, 352, 21, 285, 180, 10

HILAND, 6, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0

HILDEBRAND, 3, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0

HILL, 6675, 484, 31, 313, 211, 20

HINES, 929, 45, 4, 24, 13, 2

HOLMES?, 2804, 271, 24, 204, 155, 16

HUBBARD, 708, 90, 5, 70, 53, 3

HUNT, 1517, 194, 15, 140, 105, 8

HYLAND, 22, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0

JOHNSON, 33402, 2900, 233, 2220, 1541, 137

KIBBE?, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0

KIGER, 8, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0

KLINE, 57, 3, 0, 2, 0, 0

LAKE, 190, 29, 4, 19, 15, 3

LANIER, 260, 32, 0, 15, 11, 0

LAUGHLIN, 25, 5, 1, 4, 4, 1

MABIN, 32, 4, 2, 4, 2, 1

MARLEY, 43, 5, 4, 5, 3, 2

MATHEWS, 1877, 185, 2, 117, 101, 2

MCKEE, 232, 31, 0, 25, 16, 0

MESSENGER, 18, 4, 0, 3, 3, 0

MORGAN, 2507, 239, 10, 183, 133, 2

NAILOR, 38, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3

NEELY, 274, 40, 0, 23, 18, 0

NEWMAN, 649, 65, 5, 53, 41, 4

NOLAND, 98, 18, 2, 13, 10, 2

OATS, 118, 5, 0, 8, 3, 0

PACE, 280, 24, 0, 11, 11, 0

PAXTON, 120, 15, 3, 10, 10, 2

PENDER, 101, 6, 0, 0, 0, 0

PETIT, 25, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0

PRICE, 2888, 225, 16, 152, 114, 10

PRINCE, 619, 10, 0, 33, 20, 0

PURVIS, 69, 3, 0, 4, 3, 0

QUITMAN, 8, 4, 0, 4, 3, 0

READING, 49, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0

ROACH, 375, 33, 1, 22, 16, 1

ROBERTS, 3309, 208, 9, 162, 105, 1

RUSSELL, 1487, 136, 14, 113, 85, 11

SADLER, 209, 21, 0, 10, 10, 0

SESSIONS, 85, 11, 0, 10, 7, 0

SEXTON, 85, 6, 0, 7, 5, 0

SHARKEY, 22, 15, 2, 14, 12, 2

SMEDES, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0

SMITH, 29087, 2581, 166, 1912, 1396, 103

SPROUTLEY, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0

STOWERS, 60, 11, 0, 0, 0, 0

TEMPLETON, 66, 5, 2, 2, 2, 0

TOWNSEND, 656, 68, 0, 42, 35, 0

TURNER, 5742, 585, 40, 411, 290, 25

WAILES, 9, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0

WHATLEY, 66, 6, 0, 2, 2, 0

WHITAKER, 513, 30, 2, 18, 10, 1

WILLIS, 2042, 223, 14, 176, 132, 6

WOOD, 2672, 179, 4, 133, 97, 3

YOUNG, 6185, 690, 57, 468, 348, 36

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