slavery in pennsylvania
Butler County Slaveholders, A-Z
Click on a slaveholder name to go to the first listing for that slaveholder.
- Cross, Samuel (Enslaved persons: Unnamed
girl)
- Galbraith, Widow (Enslaved persons: John)
-
Parker, John (Enslaved persons: Unnamed slave)
-
White, Matthew (Enslaved persons listed:
George Mitchell, Pompey, Eleanor Troy)
enslavement data
- Slaveholder Name: Cross, Samuel
City or Township:
Slippery Rock Township
County: Butler County
Occupation: Farmer
Notes: Passage from
History of Butler County, Pennsylvania, 1895, page 388: "Samuel Cross
came from Adams County, moving his family and goods in two wagons and a
carriage. These vehicles were among the first brought to the neighborhood. The
family also brought a negro girl as a slave, but gave her her freedom when she
became of age. In 1811-12, Samuel Cross erected the brick house now owned by his
grandson, Mr. Bovard. The house is two stories, 30x45 feet, and substantially
built. Besides being the first brick house in what is now Slippery Rock
Township, it was for years almost the only brick building in this part of the
county. In it Cross kept a tavern many years, and entertained many of the
travelers who once made the old Franklin road their thoroughfare. His son,
James, managed a distillery several years. Samuel Cross died in 1841."
Samuel Cross does not appear in the surviving Adams
County slave registrations.
- Slave Name:
Name not recorded
Slave Sex: Female
Slave Age:
not determined
Slave Date of Birth:
prior to 1807
Slave Status: Manumitted "when she became of age"
(probably age 28)
Slave Description:
"negro girl"
Slave Notes: Brought with the Cross family
from Adams County to Butler County in 1807.
Date of
Record: 1895 county history
Source: History of
Butler County, Pennsylvania. R. C. Brown Co. 1895, page 388.
- Slaveholder Name: Galbraith, ???
City or Township:
County: Butler County
Occupation: Widow
Notes: Passage from
History of Butler County, Pennsylvania, 1895, page 68: "In 1821 the
widow Galbraith was assessed as the owner of a slave named John, valued at
$100."
- Slave Name:
John
Slave Sex: Male
Slave Age:
not determined
Slave Date of Birth:
prior to 1821
Slave Status: Not determined
Slave Description:
"slave"
Slave Notes: Recorded in 1821 tax assessment
records, and valued at $100.00.
Date of
Record: 1895 county history
Source: History of
Butler County, Pennsylvania. R. C. Brown Co. 1895, page 68.
- Slaveholder Name: Parker, John
City or Township:
Parker Township
County: Butler County
Occupation: "Captain," Surveyor, Farmer
Notes: Passage from
History of Butler County, Pennsylvania, 1895, page 68: "In 1803 Captain
PARKER was assessed as the owner of one slave." On page 665, the same
source notes "In 1803 John PARKER had 400 acres of land, five cows, two horses
and one slave." John Parker came to Butler County from Westmoreland
County.
- Slave Name:
No name recorded
Slave Sex: Not determined
Slave Age:
not determined
Slave Date of Birth:
prior to 1803
Slave Status: Not determined
Slave Description:
"slave"
Slave Notes:
Date of
Record: 1895 county history
Source: History of
Butler County, Pennsylvania. R. C. Brown Co. 1895, page 68, 665.
- Slaveholder Name: White, Matthew
City or Township:
Whitestown
County: Butler County
Occupation: Farmer
Notes: Passage from
History of Butler County, Pennsylvania, 1895, page 68: "In 1799, when
Matthew White settled at Whitestown--where he had previously purchased 400 acres
of land--he brought with him three slaves named George Mitchell, Pompey and
Eleanor Troy, or "Black Nell." They were really the property of Alexander
White, of Franklin county, father of Matthew, who manumitted them prior to 1803,
in fulfillment of a promise made during a serious illness. In order, however,
that they might be cared for, he gave George Mitchell to his son, Matthew,
Pompey to his son, James, later of Waterford, Erie county, Pennsylvania, and
"Black Nell" to his daughter, Mrs. Anna Galbraith, the wife of Alexander
Galbraith, of Centre township. Eleanor Troy, or "Black Nell," who was listed in
the assessment of 1821, in Centre township, as a female slave forty-five years
old, died March 11, 1857. For over thirty years she was a member of the
Associate Reformed Church, of Butler. She was buried on the Moses Thompson farm
in Centre township, where a monument marks her grave."
- Slave Name:
George Mitchell
Slave Sex: Male
Slave Age:
not determined
Slave Date of Birth:
prior to 1799
Slave Status: Manumitted in or before 1803
Slave Description: "Mulatto"
Slave Notes:
Ownership of George Mitchell passed from Alexander White, of Franklin County, to
his son Matthew White, who settled in Butler County circa 1799. A county
history (see above) notes that Alexander White retained legal ownership of
Mitchell and other slaves, and manumitted them "prior to 1803."
Date of
Record: 1895 county history
Source: History of
Butler County, Pennsylvania. R. C. Brown Co. 1895, page 68.
- Slave
Name:
Pompey
Slave Sex: Male
Slave Age:
not determined
Slave Date of Birth:
prior to 1799
Slave Status: Manumitted in or before 1803
Slave Description: "Mulatto"
Slave Notes:
Ownership of Pompey passed from Alexander White, of Franklin County, to his son
Matthew White, who settled in Butler County circa 1799 and then to James White.
A county history (see above) notes that Alexander White retained legal ownership
of Pompey and other slaves, and manumitted them "prior to 1803."
Date of
Record: 1895 county history
Source: History of
Butler County, Pennsylvania. R. C. Brown Co. 1895, page 68.
- Slave
Name:
Eleanor Troy a.k.a. "Black Nell"
Slave Sex: Female
Slave Age:
Age reported as 45 years old in tax records of 1821
Slave Date of Birth:
circa 1776
Slave Status: Manumitted in or before 1803
Slave Description:
"female slave"
Slave Notes:
Ownership of Eleanor Troy passed from Alexander White, of Franklin County, to
his son Matthew White, who settled in Butler County circa 1799 and then to Anna
Galbraith, wife of Alexander Galbraith. A county history (see above) notes
that Alexander White retained legal ownership of Eleanor and other slaves, and
manumitted them "prior to 1803." Eleanor was a long time member
of the Associate Reformed Church, of Butler, and died on March 11, 1857.
She was buried on the farm of Moses Thompson, in Centre Township.
Eleanor is found in the 1850 census for North Butler
Township, living with Joseph and Jane Galbraith and their five children.
She is listed as "Nelly Troy," age 76, female, Black, born in Pennsylvania.
Date of Record: 1895 county
history; 1850 census of North Butler Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, page
84.
Source: History of Butler County, Pennsylvania.
R. C. Brown Co. 1895, page 68.
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