How do you find out who owned slaves?
Far more records exist that will directly identify slave owners than most genealogists realize.
- Newspapers.
- Freedmen’s Bureau Records.
- Freedman’s Bank Records.
- Southern Claims Commission Records.
- Compensated Emancipation Records.
- Civil War Pension Files.
- Church Records.
- 1850 U.S. Census – Slave Schedule.
Who brought slaves to Louisiana?
The French
The French introduced African chattel slaves to the territory in 1710, after capturing a number as plunder during the War of the Spanish Succession. Trying to develop the new territory, the French transported more than 2,000 Africans to New Orleans between 1717–1721, on at least eight ships.
Who owns the Whitney plantation?
John Cummings
It is the first of its kind in the US. John Cummings, a 77-year-old white New Orleans trial lawyer owns the property and site of the museum. He spent $8 million of his personal fortune on artifacts, research, and restoration.
How many slaves in Louisiana were of African descent?
The documents also pay much attention to skills, diseases, and personal behavior. In the Louisiana Slave Database, the vast majority of the slaves whose birthplaces were identified were Africans. Among 38,019 slaves whose birthplaces were recorded, 24,349 (64 percent) were of African birth.
What does the Louisiana slave database tell us?
It is a good indicator of the volume of the slave trade from different regions of West Africa since ethnic designations listed in Louisiana documents overwhelmingly involved self-identification by Africans. Reference: Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, Louisiana Slave Database (2000), online at www.ibiblio.org/laslave
Was there a slaveholder in Copiah County in 1860?
It is possible to locate a free person on the Copiah County, Mississippi census for 1860 and not know whether that person was also listed as a slaveholder on the slave census, because published indexes almost always do not include the slave census.
What happened to the Louisiana slave trade after the Louisiana Purchase?
After the Louisiana Purchase, an influx of slaves and free blacks from the United States occurred. Secondly, Louisiana’s slave trade was governed by the French Code Noir, and later by its Spanish equivalent the Código Negro, As written, the Code Noir gave specific rights to slaves, including the right to marry.