Multiple Entries for one Enslaver on 1850 U.S. Census Slave Schedule

Question

I am wondering if anyone knows why a person would have multiple slave schedule entries.  To me it looks as if he had slaves at multiple locations who were counted separately and that sometimes an agent (agt on census page) acted for him in providing the census numbers. His business partner also appears to have a couple of entries, but this guy, Forsyth, has a total of about 132 unnamed humans owned in his name.  Is this accurate?  I am reasonably sure that there was only one Joseph Forsyth in Florida (he possibly had a son named Joseph born 1830, but he doesn't appear in records found as of yet).

The links for each of the census entries is on his profile.

Answer 1

You are correct.  Some slave owners have more than one property.  Some also have a count done at their residence which might be off the property where most of their slaves are counted, so they would have at least two entries.

Are you a member of the US Black Heritage Project here on Wikitree?  If  not, we would love to have you join us.  I am the Team Leader for the State of Florida, and we could really use some help. Check out our Welcome mat here: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:US_Black_Heritage:_Welcome_Mat

Comments

Thank you, Carolyn.  I have been contributing to the project for a few years.  I usually work on a family from Massachusetts who descended from the son (Zadock Freeman) of a freed slave of the Philips family whose descendant married into my line in 1851.  And the Texas family of a Harlem Renaissance notable who married into my family line in 1940.

I came to the South when I chose a notable from the November birthdays challenge.  Robert Sengstacke Abbott's family is far reaching!  The Great Migration brought so many people from so many places together in Chicago, it really is amazing.  Robert's 2nd wife was first married to the son of a former slave who was likely owned by the Forsyth family of the Florida mill.  He is likely the biological son of that slave and an owner's brother.

Answer 2

Dear Leah,

    I don't know about Florida, specifically, but I have seen multiple schedules in other states when one person owned multiple locations where enslaved people were counted.  You may be able to match the locations with land records in Joseph Forsyth's name.

    Also, check for a long list of enslaved people which might break over a page.  That would likely generate two page entries in the index.

   Hope this helps. -NGP

Comments

Thank you.  This mill was a huge operation.  I had never run into something like it.

Answer 3

On the Bagdadliving.com link (https://www.bagdadliving.com/introduction-to-historic-district ) it mentions that the mill expanded by adding a bucket factory, a silk worm filature operation, and a textile mill producing cotton cloth.  I'm thinking there is a schedule for each of these.

Comments

good spot. thanks.

Answer 4

I have seen this in my research.  One case I am familiar with was where one entry was for the person's own slaves, and the second were several slaves held in trust for his deceased brother where he was the trustee. 

See the 1860 Slave Schedule for this profile.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Tyus-134