afrolumensproject
  central pennsylvania african american history for everyone
              ten years on the web 1997 - 2007

slavery in pennsylvania

chester county septennial census of 1800

listing of slaves

The State 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 townships list the names of slaves, others list only age and gender. None of them list the slaveholders associated with each slave.

Few slaves younger than 20 are listed here, 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

Brandywine | Londongrove | Upper Oxford
East Caln | Londonderry | Lower Oxford
West Caln | West Marlborough | Sadsbury
Coventry | East Nottingham | Uwchlan
Easttown | East Nantmeal | West Whiteland
West Fallowfield | West Nantmeal | Honeybrook
New London
Statistics and Source

extract of slavery data

Document title:  "A Return of the Enumeration of the number of Negroes, Molattoes, and people of Colour held as Slaves in the County of Chester in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."

The listings below are the slaves enumerated for the respective townships:

Brandywine Township

  1. No name returned, male slave, age 29.
  2. No name returned, male slave, age 21.

East Caln Township

  1. No name returned, male slave, age 20.

West Caln Township

  1. No name returned, female slave, age 22.
  2. No name returned, female slave, age 50.

Coventry Township

  1. Leonard, male slave, age 40.

 

Easttown Township

  1. Toby, male slave, age 65.

West Fallowfield Township

  1. Venus, female slave, age 23.
  2. Philis, female slave, age 69.
  3. Joe, male slave, age 60.

Honeybrook Township

  1. Teno, male slave, age 66.
  2. Sarah, female slave, age 60.
  3. Catharine, female slave, age 30.
  4. Tamer, female slave, age 25.

 

Londongrove Township

  1. No name returned, female slave, age 30.
  2. No name returned, female slave, age 25.

Londonderry Township

  1. No name returned, male slave, age 64.
  2. No name returned, male slave, age 42.
  3. No name returned, female slave age 24.
  4. No name returned, female slave, age 23.

West Marlborough Township

  1. No name returned, female slave, age 20.

East Nottingham Township

  1. No name returned, male slave, age 52.
  2. No name returned, male slave, age 21.
  3. No name returned, female slave, age 50.
  4. No name returned, female slave, age 27.

 

East Nantmeal Township

  1. No name returned, male slave, age 14.
  2. No name returned, female slave, age 56.
  3. No name returned, female slave, age 52.

West Nantmeal Township

  1. Lawrence, male slave, age 55.
  2. Dan, male slave, age 33.
  3. Juley, female slave, age 32.
  4. Sall, female slave, age 23.
  5. Diana, female slave, age 50.

New London Township

  1. Dick, male slave, age 45.
  2. Joe, male slave, age 40.
  3. Jake, male slave, age 30.
  4. Sambo, male slave, age 22.
  5. Tom, male slave, age 23.
  6. Frank, male slave, age 22.
  7. Phillis, female slave, age 23.
  8. Mill, female slave, age 40.
  9. Bett, female slave, age 22.
  10. Beck, female slave, age 42.

 

Upper Oxford Township

  1. No name returned, male slave, age 60.
  2. No name returned, female slave, age 60.
  3. No name returned, female slave, age 35.

Lower Oxford Township

  1. No name returned, male slave, age 30.
  2. No name returned, male slave, age 26.
  3. No name returned, female slave, age 40.
  4. No name returned, female slave, age 45.
  5. No name returned, female slave, age 28.
  6. No name returned, female slave, age 50.

 

Sadsbury Township

  1. No name returned, male slave, age 47.
  2. No name returned, female slave, age 20.
  3. No name returned, female slave, age 62.

Uwchlan Township

  1. Bob, male slave, age 56.

West Whiteland Township

  1. Philip, male slave, age 21.
  2. Deborah, female slave, age 23.

 

Statistics:

"Totals: Males 26 Females: 32"
Total slaves enumerated: 58
Average (mean) age of all slaves listed: 37.62 years. It should be remembered that this represents the average adult age, as only one person under the age of 20 is listed. This is a relatively high average age, considering the premium placed on youth by Pennsylvania slaveholders. Twenty-seven of the fifty-eight slaves listed, or 46%, are age 40 or above, and would have been considered near the end of their productive life spans. It may be that Chester slaveholders were not acquiring new, youthful slaves, and may indicate that the holding of slaves was becoming less accepted in this county at this time.
Enumeration date: December 02, 1800

Source: Septennial Census Returns, 1779-1863; Roll No. 1, Adams County, 1800-Cumberland County, 1800. Reel No. 0242. Microfilm in the Pennsylvania State Archives, Harrisburg Pennsylvania.

 Top of Page
chester county main page | slavery main page | afrolumens project home

Original material on these pages copyright 2003-2005 Afrolumens Project.
The URL of this page is: http://www.afrolumens.com/slavery/chs1800.html
This page was last updated on January 29, 2005.