United States, Census (Slave Schedule), 1850
Name index and images of slave schedules listing slave owners and only age, gender and color data of the slaves in cesus states or territories in 1850. This was the first time that slave infomation was captured as a separate schedule. Indexed data and browse are available for the following: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. Slave schedules are not available for other states.
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United States, Census (Slave Schedule), 1850
What is in This Collection?
The collection consists of an index & images of slave schedules listing slave owners and only age and gender of the slaves in 1850. This was the first time that slave information was captured as a separate schedule. Census enumerators created slave schedules at the same time as population schedules. The slave schedules were microfilmed along with the population schedules are and part of NARA microfilm publication M432 Seventh Census of the United States, 1850 in Record Group 29 Records of the Bureau of the Census.Slave schedules for 1850 exist for the following:
- Alabama, rolls 17-24
- Arkansas, roll 32
- Delaware, roll 55
- District of Columbia, roll 57
- Florida, roll 60
- Georgia, rolls 88-96
- Kentucky, rolls 223-228
- Louisiana, rolls 242-247
- Maryland, rolls 300-302
- Mississippi, rolls 383-390
- Missouri, rolls 422-424
- North Carolina, rolls 650-656
- South Carolina, rolls 861-868
- Tennessee, rolls 902-907
- Texas, rolls 917--918
- Utah Territory
- Virginia, rolls 983-993
Slave schedules are not available for other states.
While nearly one-third of Southern families owned slaves, the number of slave owners named in the slave schedules is 1.7 percent of the total population (in 1860). Depending on the state, slaves numbered less than one to nearly 50 percent of the population (12.5 percent of the total population in 1860). Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.
Related Article
- Tony Burroughs. Do Slave Schedules Accurately Report Owners? National Genealogical Society Quarterly 110 #3 (September 2022):205-216. FS Library 973 B2ng
To Browse This Collection
| You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1850. |
What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
- Name of slave owner
- Number of slaves owned
- Age, gender, and color of slave
- If slave is a fugitive, from what state
- Has slave been emancipated
- Very few schedules list the names of the slaves
Collection Content
Sample Image
1850 Slave Schedule Mississippi
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Collection Details
Location of Original Records
National Archives and Records Administration
"United States, Census (Slave Schedule), 1850 ." Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 30 April 2026. Citing NARA microfilm publication M432. Washington D.C.: National Archives, n.d.
