Black slave owners -1830
There are pieces of history that often escape our attention. Schools tend to focus on a very narrow portion of history which is unfortunate as it does not provide us with an accurate picture of the times.
In a much earlier post I talked about slaves still being held in New Jersey as late as the 1860’s. While I found that to be incredible what I am reporting today seems almost unthinkable. Throughout early American history there were incidents of Free blacks who purchased and owned slaves. Most often this was a case of one person gaining their freedom and then purchasing family members, a wife, children, parents, etc. The idea was then to emancipate them. In 1830 The US undertook a census to determine how many black slave owners there were in the U.S.
For a more in-depth look at this interesting portion of history you can consult the Ancestry.com Database Free Negro owners of slaves in the united states in 1830…together with absentee ownership of slaves in the united states. In many cases, it appears that a free black man would purchase his wife, but not emancipate her until she completed a probationary period during which, if she did not please him, he would sell her for a profit.
In many states in 1830 black slave owners enjoyed the same social status as their white counterparts, attending the same churches, sending their children to the same private schools and gathering together in places of amusement and entertainment. Inter-racial marriage was not uncommon among slave owners in the south.
While slavery was still in practice in the north in 1830, black slave ownership appears to have been unique to the south, with Louisiana having by far the largest population of black slave owners. In several states there were cases of Black slave owners holding many slaves and owning large plantations but this was far more prevalent in Louisiana than anywhere else in the United States.
The following is a list of Free Black slave owners with 20 or more slaves in 1830 pulled from the above mentioned document.
ALABAMA
NAME #SLAVES OWNED
P.T. Harris 24
David Moneck 27
FLORIDA
Gabriel Perpall 39
GEORGIA
Betsey Perry 25
LOUISIANA
Augustin Bory 20
Georges De Landre 46
Widow Zacharie Honore’ 21
Madame Antoine Dubuclet 44
Madame Ciprien Riccard 35
Sophie Delhonde 38
LeFroix DeCuiel 59
Joseph Curiel 40
Antoine DeCuire 70
Leandre Severin 60
Domnick Maytoier 25
Louis Meytoier 54
Augustin Meytoier 25
Susan Meytoier 20
Ve Rai Rillieux 49
Victolce Deslonds 52
C&S Dusman Ferrand 38
Martin Lenormand 44
Martin Donatto 75
Francis Jerod 33
Valarien Osame 27
Jean B. Muillion 52
Fils Honore’ 30
Verret Polen 69
Maryland
Richard Harwood 39
John Hungerford 29
North Carolina
Charles Mallett 36
John Walker 44
South Carolina
Robert Venning 30
Samuel Walker 24
Thomas F. Capers 47
Daniel J. Waring 41
Lydia Burnie 41
John See 22
Hannah Solomon 20
Virginia
Joseph Bragg 23
William Daniel 32
William Brocken Brough 46
Curtis Carter 22
Benjamin Taylor 71
There are pieces of history that often escape our attention. Schools tend to focus on a very narrow portion of history which is unfortunate as it does not provide us with an accurate picture of the times.
In a much earlier post I talked about slaves still being held in New Jersey as late as the 1860’s. While I found that to be incredible what I am reporting today seems almost unthinkable. Throughout early American history there were incidents of Free blacks who purchased and owned slaves. Most often this was a case of one person gaining their freedom and then purchasing family members, a wife, children, parents, etc. The idea was then to emancipate them. In 1830 The US undertook a census to determine how many black slave owners there were in the U.S.
For a more in-depth look at this interesting portion of history you can consult the Ancestry.com Database Free Negro owners of slaves in the united states in 1830…together with absentee ownership of slaves in the united states. In many cases, it appears that a free black man would purchase his wife, but not emancipate her until she completed a probationary period during which, if she did not please him, he would sell her for a profit.
In many states in 1830 black slave owners enjoyed the same social status as their white counterparts, attending the same churches, sending their children to the same private schools and gathering together in places of amusement and entertainment. Inter-racial marriage was not uncommon among slave owners in the south.
While slavery was still in practice in the north in 1830, black slave ownership appears to have been unique to the south, with Louisiana having by far the largest population of black slave owners. In several states there were cases of Black slave owners holding many slaves and owning large plantations but this was far more prevalent in Louisiana than anywhere else in the United States.
The following is a list of Free Black slave owners with 20 or more slaves in 1830 pulled from the above mentioned document.
ALABAMA
NAME #SLAVES OWNED
P.T. Harris 24
David Moneck 27
FLORIDA
Gabriel Perpall 39
GEORGIA
Betsey Perry 25
LOUISIANA
Augustin Bory 20
Georges De Landre 46
Widow Zacharie Honore’ 21
Madame Antoine Dubuclet 44
Madame Ciprien Riccard 35
Sophie Delhonde 38
LeFroix DeCuiel 59
Joseph Curiel 40
Antoine DeCuire 70
Leandre Severin 60
Domnick Maytoier 25
Louis Meytoier 54
Augustin Meytoier 25
Susan Meytoier 20
Ve Rai Rillieux 49
Victolce Deslonds 52
C&S Dusman Ferrand 38
Martin Lenormand 44
Martin Donatto 75
Francis Jerod 33
Valarien Osame 27
Jean B. Muillion 52
Fils Honore’ 30
Verret Polen 69
Maryland
Richard Harwood 39
John Hungerford 29
North Carolina
Charles Mallett 36
John Walker 44
South Carolina
Robert Venning 30
Samuel Walker 24
Thomas F. Capers 47
Daniel J. Waring 41
Lydia Burnie 41
John See 22
Hannah Solomon 20
Virginia
Joseph Bragg 23
William Daniel 32
William Brocken Brough 46
Curtis Carter 22
Benjamin Taylor 71
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