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A series of pages exploring
various aspects of enslavement in Pennsylvania

Enslavement in Erie County, Pennsylvania

Slaveholders A - Z

Slaveholders Listed on this Page

  1. Cochran, John (Enslaved persons: Bristo Logan)
  2. Grubb, John, Judge (Enslaved persons: Jack)
  3. Kelso, John, Gen. (Enslaved persons: Charles Logan, Fira Logan, George Logan, Bristo Logan, Peter Logan)
  4. Moorhead, James (Enslaved persons: Phoebe, Caesar)
  5. Reed, Rufus S. (Enslaved persons: George Logan)
  6. Rees, Thomas (Enslaved persons: Robert McConnell, James Titus, un-named man)
  7. Wilson, Thomas (Enslaved persons: Kitty)

Enslavement Data

  • Slaveholder Name: Cochran, John
    City or Township: Millcreek Township
    County: Erie County
    Occupation:
    Notes:

    1. Enslaved Person's Name: Bristo Logan
      Age:
      Sex: Male
      Date of Birth: circa 1794 (per Logan family records)
      Description:
      Status: Slave to age 28
      Notes: Son of Charles and Fira Logan. Sold by John Kelso to John Cochran. After his term, Bristo moved to Erie and married Clarissa Williams. Died in 1859 at the reported age of 65.
      Date of Record
      Source: Karen James research

  • Slaveholder Name: Grubb, John, Judge
    City or Township: West Millcreek Township
    County: Erie County
    Occupation: Judge
    Notes: Born in Lancaster County in 1767, son of Thomas Grubb. Married Alicia Cooper.

    1. Enslaved Person's Name: Jack
      Age: 25 years old at time of purchase by Grubb from Thomas Cooper's estate, c 1798.
      Sex: Male
      Date of Birth: Not mentioned in source, possibly about 1773
      Description: "slave"
      Status: Not determined
      Notes: Reportedly purchased by Grubb from the estate of his father-in-law, Thomas Cooper. Historian John Miller writes:
      The Honorable John Grubb was a slave holder, and as near as can be ascertained it came about in this manner. When the estate of his father-in-law, Thomas Cooper of York county, came to be settled up, there was a negro slave of the name of Jack, aged twenty-five, that had to be disposed of, and he was put up for sale. Mr. Grubb became the purchaser for one hundred pounds. It is not certainly known whether this slave was brought to this county and became one of the force of negro farm laborers maintained by Judge Grubb at his country place in West Millcreek.
      Date of Record:
      Source: John Miller, A Twentieth Century History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1909., p. 310.

  • Slaveholder Name: Kelso, John, General
    City or Township: Fairview (1797), Erie borough (1802)
    County: Erie County
    Occupation:
    Notes: Moved from Dauphin County to Erie County circa 1797. Brigadier General, War of 1812. John Miller's history implies that John Kelso brought Charles, Fira and all three sons with him from Dauphin County to Erie County, and that all three sons were term slaves, bound to age 28 under the Gradual Abolition Act of 1780.
    Sources: John Miller, A Twentieth Century History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1909., p. 309.

    1. Enslaved Person's Name: Charles Logan
      Age:
      Sex: Male
      Date of Birth: Not determined
      Description:
      Status: Undertermined
      Notes: Husband of Fira; Reportedly died in February 1827 at 95 years of age (not verified). Fira and Charles were parents of George, Bristo and Peter (see below). Charles was reported to have been a slave of Colonel James Chambers of Cumberland County during the Revolutionary War.
      Date of Record
      Source: Karen James research

    2. Enslaved Person's Name: Fira Logan
      Age:
      Sex: Female
      Date of Birth: Slave for life
      Description:
      Status: Undertermined
      Notes: Wife of Charles; Fira and Charles were parents of George, Bristo and Peter (see below). Historian John Miller notes of her: "The mother, Fira, was famous as a cook, and the reputation for hospitality that the Kelso home achieved was due to Fira's skill. During the last days of her long life she was free. She died at the age of 101 years while living with her son George."
      Date of Record
      Source: Karen James research; John Miller, A Twentieth Century History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1909., p. 309.

    3. Enslaved Person's Name: George Logan
      Age:
      Sex: Male
      Date of Birth: circa 1810 (not verified)
      Description:
      Status: Slave to age 28
      Notes: Son of Charles and Fira Logan. Sold to Rufus S. Reed for a hundred barrels of salt.
      Date of Record
      Source: Karen James research; John Miller, A Twentieth Century History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1909., p. 309.

    4. Enslaved Person's Name: Bristo Logan
      Age:
      Sex: Male
      Date of Birth: circa 1794 (per Logan family records)
      Description:
      Status: Slave to age 28
      Notes: Son of Charles and Fira Logan. Sold to John Cochran, of Millcreek Township, Erie County. After his term, Bristo moved to Erie and married Clarissa Williams. Died in 1859 at the reported age of 65. John Miller's history notes that "Bristow" was sold by the Kelsos to "Mr. Brown." Miller also notes that, after gaining freedom, Bristo was an ice cream caterer in Erie.
      Date of Record
      Sources: Karen James research; John Miller, A Twentieth Century History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1909., p. 309.

    5. Enslaved Person's Name: Peter Logan
      Age:
      Sex: Male
      Date of Birth: Not known
      Description:
      Status: Slave to age 28
      Notes: Son of Charles and Fira Logan. Remained enslaved by the Kelso family until age 28, then moved to Mercer County, PA.
      Date of Record
      Source: Karen James research

  • Slaveholder Name: Moorhead, James
    City or Township: Moorheadville, Harborcreek Township
    County: Erie County
    Occupation:
    Notes: Moved to Harborcreek Township from Lancaster County circa 1801 or 1802, bringing enslaved persons Phoebe and Caeser.
    Sources: John Miller, A Twentieth Century History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1909., p. 310.

    1. Enslaved Person's Name: Phoebe
      Sex: Female
      Age: 25a
      Date of Birth: 1755 (calculated)
      Status: Slave for life
      Description: "Negro wench"
      Notes: 1780 Slave Registration specifies status as "slave during life." Mother of Caeser, born May 27, 1792.
      Date of Record: October 25, 1780
      Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780"; John Miller, A Twentieth Century History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1909., p. 310.

    2. Enslaved Person's Name: Caesar
      Sex: Male
      Age: Four months old at Registration
      Date of Birth: May 27, 1792
      Status: Slave to the age of 28 years
      Description: "Negro male child"
      Notes: 1792 Slave Registration notes "son of negro Phebe."
      Date of Record: 10 October 1792
      Source: "A RECORD of the returns made in writing and delivered to me "; John Miller, A Twentieth Century History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1909., p. 310.

  • Slaveholder Name: Reed, Rufus S.
    City or Township: Millcreek Township
    County: Erie County
    Occupation:
    Notes:

    1. Enslaved Person's Name: George Logan, "Reed's George"
      Age:
      Sex: Male
      Date of Birth: circa 1810 (not verified)
      Description:
      Status: Slave to age 28
      Notes: Son of Charles and Fira Logan. Sold by John Kelso to Rufus Reed for a hundred barrels of salt. George Logan, called "Reed's George," worked as a handyman, teamster, cattle-driver, hauled grain to distillery and whiskey back to the Reed's store in Erie. George Logan is described as "almost gigantic in height and Herculean strength," "a friend to everybody - kind to all" (Russell Manuscript)
      Date of Record
      Source: Karen James research

  • Slaveholder Name: Rees, Thomas
    City or Township: Harborcreek Township
    County: Erie County
    Occupation:
    Notes: Historian John Miller notes that Thomas Rees brought three "probationary slaves" (meaning term slaves) with him when he settled in Harborcreek Township. Of the three, Miller supplied names for two as below.
    Source: John Miller, A Twentieth Century History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1909., p. 309.

    1. Enslaved Person's Name: Robert McConnell
      Age:
      Sex: Male
      Date of Birth: Not known
      Description:
      Status: Slave to age 28
      Notes: Brought by Rees to Harborcreek Township. Upon reaching age 28, Rees gave McConnell fifty acres of land near Gospel Hill.
      Date of Record
      Source: John Miller, A Twentieth Century History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1909., p. 309.

    2. Enslaved Person's Name: James Titus
      Age:
      Sex: Male
      Date of Birth: Not known
      Description:
      Status: Slave to age 28
      Notes: Brought by Rees to Harborcreek Township. Upon reaching age 28, Rees gave Titus fifty acres of land near Gospel Hill.
      Date of Record
      Source: John Miller, A Twentieth Century History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1909., p. 309.

    3. Enslaved Person's Name: Name not given in source
      Age:
      Sex: Male
      Date of Birth: Not known
      Description:
      Status: Slave to age 28
      Notes: Brought by Rees to Harborcreek Township.
      Date of Record
      Source: John Miller, A Twentieth Century History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1909., p. 309.

  • Slaveholder Name: Wilson, Thomas
    City or Township: Erie
    County: Erie County
    Occupation: Burgess, Prothonotary, U.S. Congressman
    Notes: Lived in a log house near French and Second Streets (Caughey). Enslaved four persons, per Moorhead's reminiscences.

    1. Enslaved Person's Name: Kitty
      Age:
      Sex: Female
      Date of Birth:
      Description:
      Status:
      Notes: Described by Isaac Moorhead as "Old Kitty," a slave of Thomas Wilson. In her old age lived at the county almshouse and was alive at the time of Moorhead's writing in 1874.
      Date of Record
      Source: A. H. Caughey, The Occasional Writings of Isaac Moorhead, Erie, PA, 1882. p. 195

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