If you’ve been watching the new NBC show, Who Do You Think You Are?, you may have seen a recent episode where slavery in America was discussed. Researchers with slave ancestors often have trouble because there just aren’t a lot of federal records which list slaves by name.
One type of federal record that researchers often use to trace their slave ancestors are the U.S. slave schedules. Taken in 1850 and 1860 with the regular population schedules, primarily in the slave states, the slave schedules list slave owners by name, with a statistical count of their slaves. Slaves are not enumerated by name, except in rare instances. The slave schedules can still be useful for research, however, as many slaves took their former owners’ names when they were emancipated. Because of the limitations inherent in these records, they should be used in conjunction with other sources which do list names – for example, later census records and county level records such as wills and probate records.
Here we see an 1860 Monroe County, Alabama slave schedule. William Peary has three slaves – a thirty-five year old female, a nine year old female, and a three year old male. Because the slave schedule doesn’t provide their names, we can’t tell if they are related. But as I mentioned above, if you use this with other records, you may be able to find more information and prove that they are related.
The slave schedules are organized by state and county. They are available on microfilm and online at Ancestry.com.
For more information on Who Do You Think You Are?, check out the official NBC website and our companion webpage.
I have been a member of ancesty for several months and has yet to find anything about my ancestors. I recently joined a site called archives.com and they seem to be no help either. My family is of Black decendent from North Carolina and South Carolina. I know up to my 4th generation and than im stuck…slavery is where i get stuck…help
Hi Rose,
You don’t mention what you’ve been able to find so far, but it sounds like you are having trouble locating records from when your ancestors were slaves. This is a common problem when researching African American ancestors. Since federal records didn’t typically list slaves by name, it can be difficult to use our records to trace your family. You may want to try more local sources, such as the state archives for both North Carolina and South Carolina. You may also need to go to the county courthouse level, to see if they have anything.
Our website also has some tips for researching African American genealogy.
Good luck!
– Katherine
The Europeans travelling to the “New World” stopped in Africa and kidnap young, seemingly healthy teens both male and female. They were pulled from their homes, their family, their life as they knew it. This breaks my heart. Some if these original slave owners may have ancestors alive today. They must know who they are. This isn’t the fault of the USA. It’s the fault of the original wealthy Europeans who had servants in Europe. Sadly, while the kidnapping hopefully has ceased the family memories and psychological affects can live on. Yet some owners treated their servants as family. I believe we don’t know enough of the truth and probably never will.
People need to respect each other and get along. The past is history. Let’s do better to become unified and to absorb some of the pain others carry to help them moved forward. It would be amazing if the ancestors of slaves who lost a family member to this awful treatment could talk about the experience to school children and other interested people. I can’t imagine the pain these families have gone through. We were brought up yo be kind and respectful to all. Just a smile and saying, “How are you-?” can brighten someone’s day. We are of One human race and people need to act like it. Let’s support those who need help and teach them how to help make their lives better. Was it the movie called, “Roots” that I just couldn’t watch because it made me feel awful. Yet, many are “servants” to very rich elite who are paid very well and treated as family. Still, the original act of kidnapping was dreadfully wrong to benefit the extremely wealthy.
God Bless Us All-!!!