PA County Index

Feature Articles

Tips on Using This Site

PA Enslavement FAQs

A series of pages exploring
various aspects of enslavement in Pennsylvania

Adams County, Pennsylvania

1800 Septennial Census of Enslaved Persons

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania took an enumeration of taxable inhabitants every seven years. Known as the Septennial Census, this enumeration also listed slaves in each county, by township, for some of the years. The amount of information on the slaves varies greatly. Some Adams County townships list slaveholder names, others list the slave's name. None of them list both together. Some of the slaveholders in this list were also listed in the county slave registration (A-Z) lists, and we have added links to those listings for those persons.

Few slaves younger than 20 are listed, indicating that only the slaves born before November 1780 were enumerated, they being considered "Slaves for Life." Children of slaves born after that date were to be freed upon their 28th birthday, according to the Gradual Emancipation Act of 1780. These children, although held in bondage for 28 years, were officially called "servants," and often not counted in tax and census listings as slaves. There are some exceptions.

Townships Listed

Berwick | Germany | Hamilton Bann & Liberty
Heidelberg & Manheim | Reading | Mount Joy
Cumberland | Franklin | Straban
Mount Pleasant
Statistics | Source

Extracted Enslavement Data

Berwick Township

• Slaveholders
  • Bettinger, Nicholas
    1. Male slave, aged 28
  • Brugle, Peter
    1. Male slave, aged 33
  • Slagle, David
    1. Male slave, aged 23
  • German, John
    1. Female slave, aged 36
• Free Negroes
  1. Butler, Charles, aged 40
  2. Joseph, aged 23

Germany Township

• Slaveholders
  • McSherry, James
    1. Male Slave, aged 23
    2. Female Slave, aged 20
    3. Female Slave, aged 48
  • Sherman, Jacob
    1. Female Slave, aged 50
  • Sherman, George  (see listing for George Sherman in the A-Z listings)
    1. Male Slave, aged 22
    2. Female Slave, aged 50

"List of Slaves in Hamilton Bann & Liberty Twps."

• Males:
  1. Benn, aged 22
  2. Charley, aged 22
  3. Charley, aged 30
  4. Darby, aged 21
  5. Dick, aged 45
  6. Jacob, aged 28
  7. T__, aged 49
  8. Tom, aged 30
  9. Peter, aged 40
  10. Tom, aged 35
  11. Phillip, aged 30
  12. Danne, aged 21
  13. Seth, aged 31
• Females:
  1. Beck, aged 28
  2. Ester, aged 22
  3. Mask, aged 45
  4. Dinah, aged 40
  5. Jinne, aged 50
  6. Phebe, aged 24
  7. Debb, aged 41
  8. Jude, aged 28
  9. Pegg, aged 22
  10. Dinah, aged 21
  11. Kate, aged 35
  12. Phebe, aged 22
  13. Doll, aged 35
  14. Lette, aged 26
  15. Rose, aged 22
  16. Doll, aged 38
  17. Mint, aged 44
  18. Rachel, aged 22

Heidleberg & Manheim Townships

• Slaveholders
  • Leitzmiller, George
    1. Female Slave, aged 48
    2. Male Slave, aged 28
    3. Male Slave, aged 21
  • Shriver, Widow
    1. Female Slave, aged 40

Reading Township

• Slaveholders
  • Obleanis, John
    1. Male Slave, aged 24
    2. Male Slave, aged 20
  • Weakly, William  (see listing for William Weakly in the A-Z list)
    1. Female Slave, aged 40
    2. Female Slave, aged 20

Mount Joy Township

• Enslaved Persons
  1. Dick, male, aged 50
  2. Isaac, male, aged 25
  3. Lilly, female, aged 34
  4. Judah, female, aged 52

Cumberland Township

• Enslaved Persons
  1. Brookins, male, aged 24
  2. Till, male, aged 38
  3. Jack, male, aged 27
  4. Micky, male, aged 36
  5. Tom, male, aged 25
  6. Doll, female, aged 45
  7. Dina, female, aged 21
  8. Lemon, female, aged 57
  9. Fety, female, aged 30
  10. Nancy, female, aged 49
  11. Rachel, female, aged 29
  12. Saff, female, aged 27
  13. Sall, female, aged 28
  14. Vilet, female, aged 30

Franklin Township

• Slaveholders
  • Cobean, Samuel  (see listing for Samuel Cobean in the A-Z list)
    1. Male Slave, above age 45
    2. Female Slave, aged 30
  • McMurdie, Robert
    1. Female Slave, above age 45  (note:  McMurdie is not assessed for a slave in 1799)
  • Fletcher, John
    1. Female Slave, aged 35
  • Russel, Joshua
    1. Female Slave, above age 45  (note:  Russell is not assessed for a slave in 1799)
  • Cross, Samuel
    1. Female Slave, above age 45

Straban Township

• Enslaved Persons
  1. Sambo, male, aged 47
  2. Nicholas, male, aged 45
  3. Poll, female, aged 43
  4. Jean, female, aged 50
  5. Febe, female, aged 25
  6. Tab, female, aged 70
  7. Jack, male, aged 50
  8. Dinah, female, aged 26
  9. Grace, female, aged 36
  10. Peet, male, aged 23
  11. Sam, male, aged 26
  12. Barbara, female, aged 60
  13. Ann, female, aged 26
  14. Forton, male, aged 44
  15. Lid, female, aged 26
  16. Rue, female, aged 24

Mount Pleasant Township

• Slaveholders
  • Brinkerhoff, Gilbert
    1. Male Slave, aged 30
  • Degrofs, Margaret
    1. Male Slave, aged 30
  • Lochtalen, Hezekiah
    1. Male Slave, aged 50
  • Lilly, Samuel  (see listing for Samuel Lilly in the A-Z listings)
    1. Female Slave, aged 19
  • Molfort, Peter
    1. Male Slave, aged 20

Statistics and Source