1850 Madison Parish Slave Schedule
Submitted by Richard P. Sevier dicksevier@gmail.com 2/1/2005

The Madison Parish Slave Schedule for 1850 lists 257 slave owners and 7,345 slaves. These are reproductions of the actual census ledgers and are good quality although a few names are uncertain. If you haven’t already done so, locate the slave owner in question on the 1850 Slave Schedule Index. Then go to the page listed in the image file. If it is necessary to enlarge the image click on the “button” in the lower right hand corner.

The Slave Schedule details those persons enumerated in the 1850 United States Federal Census, the Seventh Census of the United States. In addition, the names of those listed on the slave schedule are linked to the actual images of the 1850 Federal Census.

Slaves were enumerated separately during the 1850 and 1860 censuses, although their actual names are not given. Data was given under the slave owner’s name and included:

· Name of Slave Owner

· Number of Slaves (actually one line per slave)

· Age

· Sex

· Color

· Fugitive from the state

· Number manumitted (freed)

· Whether deaf, dumb, blind or idiotic

In most instances slaves are listed from eldest to youngest and may or may not be in family order. In any event, the slave schedules themselves almost never provide conclusive evidence for the presence of a specific slave in the household or plantation of a particular slaveholder unless the ages given can be related with known individuals.