United States Census, Slave Schedule, 1850 - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of an index and images of slave schedules listing slave owners and only age and gender of the slaves in 1850. This was the first time that slave information was captured as a separate schedule. Census enumerators created slave schedules at the same time as population schedules. The slave schedules were microfilmed along with the population schedules are and part of NARA microfilm publication M432 Seventh Census of the United States, 1850 in Record Group 29 Records of the Bureau of the Census.Slave schedules for 1850 exist for the following:


 * Alabama, rolls 17-24
 * Arkansas, roll 32
 * Delaware, roll 55
 * District of Columbia, roll 57
 * Florida, roll 60
 * Georgia, rolls 88-96
 * Kentucky, rolls 223-228
 * Louisiana, rolls 242-247
 * Maryland, rolls 300-302
 * Mississippi, rolls 383-390
 * Missouri, rolls 422-424
 * North Carolina, rolls 650-656
 * South Carolina, rolls 861-868
 * Tennessee, rolls 902-907
 * Texas, rolls 917--918
 * Utah Territory
 * Virginia, rolls 983-993

Slave schedules are not available for other states.

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).

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Slave schedules include the following information:


 * Name of slave owner
 * Number of slaves owned
 * Age, gender, and color of slave
 * If slave is a fugitive, from what state
 * Has slave been emancipated
 * Very few schedules list the names of the slaves

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The name of the slave owner
 * The age of the slave
 * The state where the slave may have lived

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the slave owner's name in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about those in the list to what you already know about your own ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the "State" category ⇒Select the "County" category ⇒Select the "Township or other division of county" category, which takes you to the images

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

With either search keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your possible ancestor on the slave schedule, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. The slave schedule could possibly provide clues to other records.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use slave schedules to identify the slave holdings of owners
 * Use the slave schedules with other sources to identify individuals and families who were slaves.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry): Image Citation: