I love history, and genealogy is a way to get a
glimpse into the past through the lens of my own family. But I
don't believe that a person's entire character comes from the
DNA they inherit from their ancestors. I am me, and while I
sometimes hear my mother or one of my grandmothers when I speak,
while I sometimes feel something and am reminded of how my
father felt at times, while I look at certain photos and see my
eyes staring back at me, I also know that my choices are mine,
my faults are mine, my triumphs are mine - and my ancestors'
sins are all theirs.
But with that said, I live in a country built on
systemic racism and on the exploitation and robbery of various
people, including enslaved Africans and their descendants.
Because I have ancestors going back in Kentucky to the 1800s,
and more, and ancestors in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama back
to the 1700s, and in South Carolina and Virginia back into the
1600s, I have always known that I very likely had ancestors that
enslaved people. I have always wanted to know which of my
ancestors held enslaved people, and I have been interested
specifically in ancestors in Kentucky that may have held
enslaved people. To what end? I'm not sure. My maternal
grandparents, who were descended from the slave-holders in my
family (at least the ones I know of), did not inherit any land
nor any wealth from their parents or grandparents. The Civil War
was never mentioned in my family in terms of anything our family
was involved with: I've never known until the last 15 years
which side my family fought during the Civil War (turns out
mostly for the North, if they fought at all - I also have family
that came to Kentucky from Georgia specifically to avoid the
draft).
My goal is to find out names, if at all possible,
and where these people ended up.
I am absolutely open to helping anyone who is
descended from these enslaved people, to help them identify
their own ancestors. I'll update this page with anything I find.
This is a project that's going to take many years.
I'll post about my
journey on my personal blog, but anything I discover will
be noted on this page.
Two of my fifth great-grandparents were Thomas
Whitledge (1772 - 1849), originally of Virginia, and his wife,
Nancy Thornberry (1787 - 1828), also originally of Virginia. By
1819, they were in Kentucky, and the 1820 Census says they held
three enslaved people:
The 1830 Census says they held five enslaved
people:
A daughter of Thomas and Virginia, Mary Frances
Whitledge, was my fourth great grand-mother, More on her later.
I think my Denton line arrived in Henderson
County, Kentucky around 1808, when my fifth great grandparents,
Reuben Denton (1776 - 1846) and Elinor Harrison (1778 - 1820)
arrived in Hebbardsville from Granville, North Carolina. The
1810 census on Ancestry says they held one enslaved people and
the census for 1820 says they held three, but offers no other
information regarding these people.
One of Reuben and Elinor's sons was my 4th great
uncle, Samuel David Denton (1818 - 1866). According to Census
records, he and, later, his wife, Sarah Jane Barnett Agnew (1820
- 1910), had far more enslaved people that Samuel's parents. In
1830, Samuel held seven enslaved people:
As of 1840, Samuel and Sarah Jane held 12 enslaved
people:
Another of Reuben and Elinor's sons was my fourth
great grand father, John Frederick Jack Denton (1805 - 1863).
Jack's wife was my fourth great grandmother, Mary Frances
Whitledge (1813 - 1874). According to the The 1850 census, they
held two enslaved women:
The children are probably those of the two
enslaved people from the 1850 census.
So many questions... Who is/are the father(s) of
these children (yes, I'm willing to go there)? What happened to
these people?
Other Denton descendents of the fifth
great-grandparents mentioned here moved away
The 1800 Henderson County, Kentucky population was
1,468, according to what was then the Second Census of Kentucky:
1,076 whites, 390 enslaved, and two "free coloreds." That was
before my ancestors came to Kentucky.
In 1830 there was one free African American slave owner in Henderson County. Nothing to do with my family, but I would love to know more about that.
The Census for 1840 in Henderson County, Kentucky included 4,662 whites, 466 slaves, 35 free blacks. Of those 466 enslaved people, if the count is correct, then 12 were held by Samuel and Sarah Jane.
The Census in 1850 included 5,892 whites, 924
slaves, 37 free blacks. This would mean two of those were held
by my fourth great grandparents, Reuben and Elinor.
Terms like “slave stampede” or “stampede of
slaves” began appearing in American newspapers in the late
1840s, as a way to describe larger groups of Black freedom
seekers moving together toward liberation, sometimes armed and
ready to defend themselves. On Sunday night, August 14, 1853,
four enslaved people escaped from the Henderson, Kentucky
residence of slaveholder Jackson McClain. Weeks earlier, an
enslaved woman had attempted to set fire to McClain's house, and
now the other enslaved people he claimed were openly resisting
through what local papers called a "stampede." Then on Monday
night, August 15, reports circulated that "five or six more"
enslaved people had escaped from McClain. This second group had
reportedly been accumulating supplies for some time. Their
ultimate fate remains unknown. More
from Episodes of Kentucky Stampedes.
None of these are my family names. But of course my mind goes to
the two women who my Denton ancestors enslaved, as well as the
enslaved my ancestor's brother enslaved. They must have heard
about this escape attempt. I wonder what went through their
mind.
By 1860, the population was 8,495, excluding the
enslaved, according to the U.S. Federal Census.
Below are the official statistics regarding slave holders and
the people they enslaved, as well as for free people of color.
Note that I'm using the documents' terms for these people, and
some of the terms are now considered offensive:
1850 Slave Schedule
1860 Slave Schedule
1870 U.S. Federal Census
In the 1870 census, about 196 USA "Colored" Soldiers listed
Henderson County, Kentucky, as their birth location.
I also have at least two other sets of fourth
great grandparents on my maternal line who were slave owners,
but not in Kentucky.
In Tennessee:
William Kennon Perrin
Birth 22 SEPTEMBER 1784 • Virginia
Death 10 DECEMBER 1855 • Grainger County, Tennessee
Levica King
Birth ABT 1790 • Tennessee
Death 1850 • Grainger County, Tennessee
The 1830 census says they owned two enslaved males.
The 1850 census says owned one person, a 70 year old male.
I have another set of 4th great grandparents on my mother's side
who also had enslaved people in Alabama, but that family wasn't
in Kentucky and that side of the family was cut off from my
closer direct ancestors in the early 1900s for reasons I won't
get into, but as a result, no one in my current family knew the
names of these family members until recently, we've never had
any sort of contact with them since they were cut off from us,
so I don't really feel much of connection to them.
I'll be using this resource guide from the
University of Kentucky: Researching
African American Slavery in Kentucky.
I'll also need to visit, in-person, the Henderson County Clerk's
office in Kentucky. I'll need to look through, if available:
Most of these public documents will be
handwritten and they will be written in cursive English - NOT an
easy thing to read. I also have no idea how cooperative clerk's
office staff is going to be, if they are going to have the time
to help me, etc. I'll
post about my search on my personal blog, but I'll always
post the results on the page you are reading now.
Resources used for this page that you are reading now (so far,
none of these resources mention the family name Denton, which is
what I'm most interested in):
From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main
entry)
Henderson
County (KY) Enslaved, Free Blacks, and Free Mulattoes,
1850-1870
Negro
Entries in “History of Henderson County, Kentucky”
Henderson
County, Kentucky, Slaves
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