U.S. Census Slave Schedule, 1860
Contents
U.S. Census Slave Schedule, 1860[edit | edit source]
Collection Time Period[edit | edit source]
Slave schedules exist for the census year 1860.
Collection History[edit | edit source]
Census enumerators created slave schedules at the same time as population schedules. Slave schedules exist for the following states:
1860: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia
While nearly one-third of Southern families owned slaves, the number of slave owners named in the slave schedules is 1.7 percent of the total population (in 1860). Depending on the state, slaves numbered less than one to nearly 50 percent of the population (12.5 percent of the total population in 1860).
Collection Reliability[edit | edit source]
Census slave schedules are usually reliable, depending on the knowledge of the informant and the care of the census enumerator.
Collection Description[edit | edit source]
The schedules consist of large preprinted forms with two columns on each page.
How To Use The Collection[edit | edit source]
Use slave schedules to identify the slave holdings of owners. Since they do not provide the slaves’ names, they can be used only in conjunction with other sources to identify individuals and families who were slaves.
Collection Content[edit | edit source]
Slave schedules include the following genealogical information:
- Name of slave owner
- Age, color, and sex of slave
- Very few schedules list the names of the slaves
