COLLETON COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA
LARGEST SLAVEHOLDERS FROM 1860 SLAVE CENSUS SCHEDULES
and
SURNAME MATCHES FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS ON 1870 CENSUS
Transcribed by Tom Blake, August 2001
PURPOSE. Published information giving names of slaveholders and numbers of slaves held in Colleton County, South Carolina, in 1860, is either non-existent or not readily available. It is possible to locate a free person on the Colleton County, South Carolina 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 Colleton County, South Carolina 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 Colleton County, South Carolina 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 Colleton County, South Carolina (NARA microfilm series M653, Roll 1234) reportedly includes a total of 32,307 slaves, the third highest County total in the U.S. This transcription includes 113 slaveholders who held 80 or more slaves in Colleton County, accounting for 17,127 slaves, or 53 % of the County total. The rest of the slaves in the County were held by a total of 855 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 Parish where the slaves were enumerated and the first census page of that Parish on which they were listed. The handwritten page numbers used for each Parish were used here because they appear more consistently and were generally easier to follow than the rubber stamped NARA page numbers. 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. The transcriber has chosen to use the term "holder" rather than "owner", in the belief that practically everyone will agree that slaves were in fact held in slavery, but some people (including the transcriber) have difficulty agreeing that one human could actually ever "own" another human. 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 South Carolina 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, and the transcriber did not find any such information on the enumeration of the transcribed slaveholders, except for a 100 year old male black slave named Amos, reported as held by holder Townsend on page 84 of Wadisalaw (?) Island Parish. 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 Colleton County population included 9,255 whites, 354 "free colored" and 32,307 slaves. By the 1870 census, the white population had dropped only slightly to 8,909, but the "colored" population had dropped almost in half to 16,492. (As a side note, by 1960, 100 years later, the County was listed as having 13,589 whites and 14,214 "Negroes", for a total of 27,816. This total is almost 5,000 less than the number of slaves in the County 100 years earlier.) Where did all these freed slaves go? From the available information, it appears that Colleton County slaves left in larger numbers than those from any other County in South Carolina. Charleston County saw an increase in colored population of almost two thirds between 1860 and 1870, so likely that is where many went. No other South Carolina County showed a significant increase. Between 1860 and 1870, the South Carolina colored population only increased by 4,000, to 416,000, a 1% increase. States that saw significant increases in colored population during that time, and were therefore more likely possible places of relocation for colored persons from Colleton 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:
AIKEN, Wm., 700 slaves, Wadisalaw? Island, 1
BAILEY, Anna, 133 slaves, Wadmalaw Island, page 92
BAILEY, Constantine, 115 slaves, Edisto Island, page 18
BAILEY, E. C., 102 slaves, Edisto Island, page 37
BAILEY, William C., 82 slaves, Wadmalaw Island, page 89
BAILEY, Wm. M., 206 slaves, Edisto Island, 52
BAKER, R. L., 157 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 61
BARING, Charles, 101 slaves, St. Paul's, page 24
BARNWELL, Edward, 245 slaves, St. Paul's, 47
BAYNARD, Ed. M., 81 slaves, Edisto Island, page 46
BAYNARD, Eph. M., 370 slaves, Edisto Island, 61
BAYNARD, T. A. in trust for 2 minor heirs, 120 slaves, Edisto Island, page 24
BAYNARD, Wm. G., 220 slaves, Edisto Island, 61
BECKETT, M. B., 85 slaves, Edisto Island, page 38
BEDON, R. S., 80 slaves, St. George's, page 15
BEDON, R. S., 83 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 97
BELLINGER, Est. E., 123 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 119
BLAKE, Daniel, 527 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, 103
BROWNLEE, S. C., 80 slaves, St. George's, page 4
BURNET, A. W., 175 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 68
CHISOLM, A. R., 95 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 138
CHISOLM, Robert, 93 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 56
CLIFFORD, L. C., 147 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 98
DAVIS, Susan G., 105 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 24
EDINGS, Hess.? M. F., in trust for 3 minor heirs, 131 slaves, Edisto Island, page 10&11(out of sequence)
EDINGS, J. E., 200 slaves, Edisto Island, 25
ELLIOTT, William, 114 slaves, St. Paul's, page 41
FERGUSON, Est. H. T., 119 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 47
FISHBURNE, Robert, 86 slaves, St. Paul's, page 38
FRIPP, L. A., 80 slaves, St. John's , page 102 (out of sequence - at the very end of the roll)
GERVAIS, J. L., 90 slaves, John's Island, page 117
GODFREY, William, 86 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 39
GRIMBALL, T. M., 131 slaves, St. Paul's, page 20
HEYWARD, Charles, 491 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, 78
HEYWARD, Estate of A. and M. L., 303 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, 49
HEYWARD, James B., 339 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, 73
HEYWARD, N., 216 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, 111
HEYWARD, W. H., 133 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 43
HILL, John M. W., 98 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 29
HOPKINSON, James in trust for 2 minor heirs, 120 slaves, Edisto Island, page 57
HOPKINSON, James, 137 slaves, Edisto Island, page 56
HUDD, Augustus, 177 slaves, St. George's, page 38
JENKINS, D. F., 82 slaves, Wadmalaw Island, page 77
JENKINS, Joseph, 99 slaves, St. Paul's, page 25
JENKINS, R. H., 129 slaves, Wadmalaw Island, page 74
JENKINS, Robert B., 128 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 12
KING, H. S., 120 slaves, St. Paul's, page 56
KING, James, 96 slaves, St. Paul's, page 26
KIRKLAND, William, 96 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 45
LAROCHE, John J., 83 slaves, St. Paul's, page 29
LEGARE, James, 230 slaves, St. Paul's, 16
LEGARE, L. B., 110 slaves, John's Island, page 112
LEGARE, Solomon, 230 slaves, John's Island, 122
LEWIS, J. W., 155 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 57
LOWNDES, C. T., 370 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, 63
LOWNDES, Thonmas C.?, 116 slaves, St. Paul's, page 51
MANIGAULT, Henry H., 83 slaves, St. Paul's, page 46
MARCH Mary P. (additional writing illegible), 228 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, 70
MARSHAL, Estate of J. T. 206 slaves, St. Paul's, 14
MATHEWS, J. R., 270 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, 154
MEANS, Edward B., 94 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 53
MEANS, Wm. B., 85 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 114
MEGGOTT, J. C., 105 slaves, St. Paul's, page 22
MIDDLETON, D.? H., 122 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 150
MIDDLETON, O. H., 138 slaves, Edisto Island, page 47
MIKELL, J. J., 265 slaves, Edisto Island, 28
MORRIS, Lewis, 107 slaves, St. Paul's, page 52
MURRAY, Isaac, 98 slaves, St. George's, page 32
MURRAY, William M., 147 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 148
OBRYAN, Lewis, 123 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 6
OSWALD, F. W., 106 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 10
PAUL, Sampson L., 105 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 14
PERRONEAU?, Edward C., 91 slaves, St. Paul's, page 58
PERRY, Est. E. F., 89 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 152
PERRY, J. B., 90 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 40
PRENTISS, Revd. W. A., 172 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 100
RHETT, J. M.?, 83 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 116
ROPER, S.? E., 96 slaves, John's Island, page 115
ROPER, Thomas, 95 slaves, John's Island, page 125
SANDERS, Burrell, 124 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 36
SEABROOK, E. N.?, 103 slaves, Edisto Island, page 60
SEABROOK, E. A., 178 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 160
SEABROOK, Rev. Joseph D., 95 slaves, St. Paul's, page 36
SEABROOK, Wm., 177 slaves, Edisto Island, page 44
SHIEDER?, J. D., 89 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 130
SIMMONS, William E., 90 slaves, St. Paul's, page 10
SMITH, Est. Wm. M., 85 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 110
SMITH, Mrs. B. P., 143 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 54
SOVER?, Dr. F. J., 106 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 41
TOWNSEND, D. J., 140 slaves, Wadmalaw Island, page 84
TOWNSEND, John, 272 slaves, Edisto Island, 49
VANDERHORST, Elas, 211 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, 163
VARN, Aaron, 100 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 85
VERDIER, Catherine B., 321 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, 32
WALPOLE, J. B. L., 135 slaves, John's Island, page 110
WARING, J. H., 1008 slaves, St. George's, page 40
WARREN, Jno. D., 88 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 134
WESTCOTT, William, 92 slaves, St. Paul's, page 33
WHALEY, B. S., 111 slaves, Wadmalaw Island, page 78
WHALEY, B. F., 80 slaves, Edisto Island, page 22
WHALEY, Dr. W. S. Jr., 105 slaves, John's Island, page 118
WHALEY, E. M., 113 slaves, Edisto Island, page 21
WHALEY, J. S., 95 slaves, Wadmalaw Island, page 82
WHALEY, John C., 100 slaves, St. Paul's, page 32
WHALEY, Joseph Sr., 140 slaves, Edisto Island, page 14
WHALEY, M. James, 96 slaves, Edisto Island, page 12
WHALEY, W. S., 95 slaves, John's Island, page 104
WHITRIDGE, J. B., 184 slaves, Wadmalaw Island, page 94
WILSON, Hugh Sr., 300 slaves, Wadmalaw Island, page 97
WILSON, Hugh Jr., 107 slaves, Wadmalaw Island, page 86
WILSON, Issac R., 86 slaves, St. Paul's, page 12
WILSON, John R., 82 slaves, John's Island, page 130 (pages out of sequence)
WORLEY, Charles, 134 slaves, St. Bartholomew's, page 141
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)
AIKEN, 206, 118, 8, 130, 117, 8
BAILEY, 2281, 162, 15, 210, 152, 15
BAKER, 3314, 154, 6, 227, 141, 6
BARING, 4, 1, 0, 4, 1, 0
BARNWELL, 149, 116, 20, 117, 107, 20
BAYNARD, 90, 12, 2, 13, 12, 2
BECKETT, 69, 16, 0, 18, 18, 0
BEDON, 4, 4, 2, 4, 4, 2
BELLINGER, 53, 26, 6, 30, 26, 6
BLAKE, 889, 154, 19, 198, 152, 19
BROWNLEE, 105, 18, 0, 31, 18, 0
BURNET, 123, 9, 3, 15, 9, 3
CHISOLM, 226, 176, 14, 184, 174, 14
CLIFFORD, 60, 2, 1, 7, 2, 1
DAVIS, 13725, 1065, 21, 1500, 1019, 21
EDINGS, 14, 2, 0, 3, 2, 0
ELLIOTT, 807, 35, 7, 55, 34, 7
FERGUSON, 675, 105, 2, 132, 100, 2
FISHBURNE, 8, 7, 0, 7, 7, 0
FRIPP, 35, 30, 2, 31, 30, 2
GERVAIS, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
GODFREY, 193, 23, 1, 31, 23, 1
GRIMBALL, 6, 3, 0, 2, 2, 0
HEYWARD, 211, 202, 23, 203, 202, 23
HILL, 6675, 272, 2, 489, 256, 2
HOPKINSON, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
HUDD, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
JENKINS, 3848, 881, 90, 1080, 857, 88
KING, 4979, 201, 6, 346, 190, 6
KIRKLAND, 173, 51, 0, 61, 51, 0
LAROCHE, 7, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0
LEGARE, 31, 30, 0, 28, 28, 0
LEWIS, 8707, 285, 4, 470, 269, 4
LOWNDES, 18, 13, 4, 13, 12, 4
MANIGAULT, 123, 121, 19, 123, 121, 19
MARCH, 125, 8, 0, 12, 8, 0
MARSHAL 816, 25, 0, 43, 19, 1
MATHEWS, 1877, 78, 4, 131, 71, 4
MEANS, 238, 62, 0, 84, 57, 0
MEGGOTT, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
MIDDLETON, 916, 373, 52, 431, 369, 52
MIKELL, 32, 18, 0, 19, 18, 0
MORRIS, 3112, 126, 2, 209, 118, 2
MURRAY, 1154, 74, 10, 103, 74, 10
OBRYAN, 21, 9, 3, 9, 9, 3
OSWALD, 4, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0
PAUL, 291, 29, 1, 41, 27, 1
PERRONEAU?, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
PERRY, 2432, 235, 19, 335, 227, 19
PRENTISS, 17, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0
RHETT, 20, 13, 5, 16, 12, 4
ROPER, 217, 57, 3, 60, 53, 3
SANDERS, 3090, 319, 21, 430, 311, 21
SEABROOK, 154, 102, 8, 115, 97, 8
SHIEDER?, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
SIMMONS, 2845, 605, 76, 755, 587, 75
SMITH, 29082106, 1457, 597, 1487, 59,
SOVER?, 2, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0
TOWNSEND, 656, 46, 0, 59, 45, 0
VANDERHORST, 33, 33, 1, 32, 32, 1
VARN, 8, 7, 6, 7, 7, 6
VERDIER, 11, 6, 1, 6, 6, 1
WALPOLE, 6, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0
WARING, 90, 55, 4, 58, 54, 4
WARREN, 1697, 86, 19, 136, 84, 19
WESTCOTT, 13, 2, 0, 4, 2, 0
WHALEY, 167, 36, 2, 39, 35, 2
WHITRIDGE, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
WILSON, 10819, 844, 17, 1210, 819, 17
WORLEY, 40, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0
Colleton County, SC GenWeb (Great resources)
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