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DOCUMENTS41FREE NEGROOWNERSOF SLAVESIN THE UNITED STATESIN 1830Taking up the study of the Free Negro in the United States, theResearch Department of the Association for the Study of NegroLife and History decided to make this statistical report as to theheads of families, their ownership of slaves and social relations withthe whites. The aim was to facilitate the further study of thisneglected group. Most of these people have been forgotten, forpersons supposedly well informed in history are surprised to learntoday that about a half million, almost one-seventh of the Negroesof this country, were free prior to the emancipation in 1865. Thesenames will, therefore, serve as a link between the past and presentand will thereby lessen the labor of research in this field.There were several reasons for selecting the census records of1830. In the first place, the earlier reports do not give as muchinformation as the census of 1830. At that time, moreover, the freeNegroes had about reached their highest mark as a distinct class.The reaction which set in earlier in the century restricted theirfreedom and in many cases expelled them from the South. Thiscensus, then, evidently reports the names of a larger number of representative free Negroes than any other census prior to their debasement to a lower status or their migration from the South. This trekreached its highest point between 1830 and 1835. Most of the freeNegroes in the North in 1830, had been there for some years.The census records show that the majority of the Negro ownersof slaves were such from the point of view of philanthropy. Inmany instances the husband purchased the wife or vice versa. Theslaves belonging to such families were few compared with the largenumbers found among the whites on the well developed plantations.Slaves of Negroes were in some cases the children of a free fatherwho had purchased his wife. If he did not thereafter emancipatethe mother, as so many such husbands failed to do, his own childrenwere born his slaves and were thus reported by the enumerators.Some of these husbands were not anxious to liberate their wivesimmediately. They considered it advisable to put them on probation for a few years, and if they did not find them satisfactory theywould sell their wives as other slave holders disposed of Negroes.For example, a Negro shoemaker in Charleston, South Carolina,

42JOURNALOF NEGROHISTORYpurchased his wife for 700; but, on finding her hard to please,he sold her a few months thereafter for 750, gaining 50 by thetransaction. The writer personally knew a man in CumberlandCounty, Virginia, whose mother was purchased by his father whohad first bought himself. Becoming enamored of a man slave, shegave him her husband's manumission papers that they might escapetogether to free soil. Upon detecting this plot, the officers of thelaw got the impression that her husband had turned over the papersto the slave and arrested the freedman for the supposed offense. Hehad such difficulty in extricating himself from this complicationthat his attorney's fees amounted to 500. To pay them he disposed of his faithless wife for that amount.Benevolent Negroes often purchased slaves to make their loteasier by granting them their freedom for a nominal sum, or bypermitting them to work it out on liberal terms. John BarryMeachum, a Negro Baptist minister in St. Louis, thus came intopossession of as many as 20 slaves by 1836. The exploitation typeof Negro slaveholder, moreover, sometimes feeling the sting of conscience, liberated his slaves. Thus did Samuel Gibson, a Negro ofMississippi, in 1844, when he brought his six slaves to Cincinnati,Ohio, and settled them on free territory.Practically all of these Negro slaveholders were in the South.,1 These facts were extracted from the manuscript returns of those whotook the census of the United States in 1830. After C. G. Woodson, the editor,had first copied the records of one state to acquaint himself in detail with theinformation given in these census reports, the statistics were then copied underhis direction by three persons. One of them has had the advantage of twoyears' niormal training, after finishing high School and two of whom havefinished college courses at Howard University and at the University of Michigan.The matter thus collected was then verified by Mr. Alrutheus A. Taylor, analumnus of Michigan and a Harvard Master of Arts in History and Economics,now employed as Associate Investigator of the Association for the Study ofNegro Life and History. Further verification was made by C. G. Woodson.These records were copied just as those who took the census returned theirfindings. The only change made in the case of Negro Owners of slaves was towrite the family name first, a rule which these enumerators did not all follow.Some enumerators made no distinction as to race in recording the names,but merely indicated the status of the head of the family under free personsof color. Other enumerators wrote Negro or Colored or used F. of C. for freeperson of color, F. M. C. for free man of color, or F. W. C. for freewoman of color, directly after the name.The question mark after a name or a figure or in a column indicatesthat the record is such that the fact could not be accurately determined.

DOCUMENTS43Slavery, however,at that time had not been exterminatedaltogetherin the North, and even there the Negro was following in the footsteps of the white man, as this report will show.In the South where almost all of the Negro slaveholderswerefound, moreover,we find some of them competing with the largeplanters in the numberof slaves they owned. Most of such Negroproprietors lived in Louisiana, South Carolina, Maryland andVirginia, as did the majority of all such slave owners. There are,moreover, a few instances of confusing absentee ownership withNegro ownership. Sometimesa free Negro had charge of a plantation, but did not own the slaves himself, and the enumeratorreturned him as the ownerof the slaves.Excepting those of Louisiana, one may say that most of theNegro ownersof slaves lived in urban communities. In those partsof the South wherethe influenceof the kind planter near the coastwas not felt the Negro owner of slaves did not frequently appear.The free Negroes themselves,moreover,encounteredsuch difficulties in the lower South and Southwest that they had to seek morehospitable communitiesin free States.By 1840 the trend toward degrading the free Negro to a lowerstatus had becomeevident even in the apparently benevolentslaveholding States. Just before the outbreakof the Civil War the freeNegro was receiving practically no considerationin the South andvery little in the North. History here repeats itself, then, in showing the varying attitude of the whites toward the blacks in thecycles of national development.The column giving the AGE does not every time give .the age of the headof the family. In some instances the age of the head of the family cannotbe actually figured out. The age here given is that of the oldest person in thefamily of the sex indicated as the head of the family. The record as to sex,moreover, is often confusing. The name of a male is sometimes given as thehead of the family while the sex is indicated as female and vice versa. Ineighty per cent of the cases which the investigator has tested, however, it canbe shown that this is the actual age of the head of the family."10-24" means between the ages of 10 and 24 and "24-36" means between the ages 24 and 36 etc.The column entitled SLAVESgives the number of slaves owned by thehead of the family.TOTALmeans the number of persons in the family together with all of theslaves. This enables the student to figure out for himself whether the slaveholding was an act of exploitation or of benevolence. -The small number ofslaves, however, does not always signify benevolence on the part of the owner.

44JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORYALABAMANameNameAge 'o AgeCLARKECOUNTY1 2Meggs, James.24 25Harris, P. T . 2 3Hatcher, William .1 2Stapleton, Joseph .27 28Monack, David .Chastang, Basil .36-55 Chastang, Bastiste.55-100 Chastang, Zane.36-55 Chastang, Zeno.36-55 Chastang, Louisa .55-100 Nicholas, Jasma .1 101 31 35 1514 193 h, Tom .4 14LAWRENCECOUNTYRoyall, Lewis . .13MADISONCOUNTYFirst and Second Rangesof Townships1Davis, Betsey .2Stewart, James F.73City of MobileRutgeron, Frances . . 1 24 6Ferer, Clara.1 7Laurendine, Benjamin.55-100 Rozieste, Burnadoz . . 14 3210Guile, Mad. 0 .41 7.Chastang, Frances .2 8Gregg, Frances .6 8Mary, Mad.6 1436-55 Rozieste, Peir .36-55 Boshong, Madam .16 6-55MONROECOUNTYSizemore (?), ArthurSizemore (?), Susanna .8755-10036-551 32 1155-10055-100155-100Third and Fourth Rangesof TownshipsRobinson, John .Blanks, Paschal .Hunt, Lewis.1Hunster, Nancy .Findley, Jenny .Evans, John .Winn, COUNTY36-55 Fowler (de), Oxey.24-36 Lanton Joseph (F. of C.)36-55PERRYCOUNTY55-100Thomas, Frederick VMOBILECOUNTYSHELBY COUNTY1 6 36-55Minnie . 4 11 24-36 Hadsen, Isah .Key, Lawrence .Chastang, Theresa . . 2 3 1001 10 55-100 WASHINGTON COUNTYSimore, Felix .3 8 24-36 Saunsha, John .Colderen, Simore.2 10 36-55Andre, Sylvester .WILCOXCOUNTYAndre, Mademitian . . 6 15 36-5510 13 36-55 ,Martin, John .1Simore, Jane .ARKANSAS3281 1236-552336-55336-55636-55TERRITORYLAFAYETTE COUNTYFree Bob .3436-55CONNECTICUTFAIRFIELDCOUNTYDemosat, Amos .1655-100DELAWARENEWCASTLE COUNTYDavis, Samuel B.Millis, Charles .Porter, Jessee .Dale, Hannah .Tibut, Daniel.,Delahow,. 31. NTYMosley, Peter .Sirmon, Caleb .Richards, Robert .6 7 1001 8 36-551 3 36-55.

45DOCUMEBTSDISTRICTName0Smiler, M. .Butter, J.Mann, Ths.Simms, A. .Bowen, H .4Jackson, A.6Colored, Jenkins, F .Dexter, S.1Colored, Cooper, J.Brown."Rivers .Liverpool ."Gates .Turner.Hatton, Ricd. .Neale, S. .Manning, Amelia.Sims, Richard .Blue, Samuel.Smith, John.Neale, Kitty .Ashley, Martha .Dorsey, Kitty. .Norris, Kitty .Grant, Titus .Lewis, James .Mann, Eliza .Chambers, Ellen .AgeName0Age. 4-3636-5510-2424-3636-5536-55East of Rock Creek andWest of 7th StreetTurnpike1Brooke, Robert .1Coats, Nancy . .9236-5555-100Georgetown2 3Moore, Mordecai .2 3Murphy, Nathan .5 8Hawkins, Walter.1 6Cole, Horace .1 5Brown, David .1 7Tolson, Francis .5Wilson, Jeffry.11 2Freeman, Ignatius.1 4Dyson, Jno .3Smith, Elizh .11 7Bivens, Richd.Chew, Saml. (principal) . 8 165Johnson, Fredk .12 3Littemon, Richd.1 2Eglan, Saml.1 2Chapman, Benjn .5Key, Ann .21 6Williams, Susan.3Allen, Nathan .21 5Woodward. Lamber 2410-24Netter, Sarah .WashingtonFourth WardColored, Robinson.Clark ."Hanson, H.Joice .Johnson .Brown .Dubbon .9Tillman .Bell .Dyson .Colored, Jones, J.Sims, Benj.Brooks, P."Allison, WmiHicks, SandyMcKenzie, JSimpson, E .Jackson .Reed, J.Adams, W.Thompson, J. .Colored, Bonnell, Benj.Campbell, Wm.Allen, N.Dyer, HWest, P.Leatherberry, L.OF COLUMBIA377445954634623273379527425Matthews, Luke .36-55 Baltimore, James .24-36 Sewell, Rd.24-36 Gordon, Wm.24-36 Proctor, Os.36-55 Glasgow, John .124-36 Brooke, Betsy .136-55 Jenifer, Mary.24-36 Shaw, Simon .655-100 Curtis, Samuel.24-36 Gant, Catharine .36-55 Fowler, Mary .36-55 Eglin, Harry .55-100 Moore, John .236-55 Ambush, Edward .36-55 Bowman, Eliza .110-24 Lowry, Scilla .124-36 Doyne, Benedict .10-24 Henderson, Godfrey.24-36 Myers, Charles.24-36 Edwards, Griffin.36-55 Shorter, Luke .24-36 Bowen, Nancy.36-55 Digs, Frank.236-55 Diggs, Anthony .136-55 Peters, Nancy .110-24 Patterson, Robert GTON COUNTY