The 1850 Census of Georgia Slave Owners

Description

In 1850 and again in 1860, the U.S. government carried out a census of slave owners and their property. Transcribed by Mr. Cox, the 1850 U.S. slave census for Georgia is important for two reasons. First, some of the slave owners appearing here do not appear in the 1850 U.S. census of population for Georgia and are thus “restored” to the population of 1850. Second, and of considerable interest to historians, the transcription shows that less than 10 percent of the Georgia white population owned slaves in 1850. In fact, by far the largest number of slave owners were concentrated in Glynn County, a coastal county known for its rice production.