From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
Adair County (KY) Enslaved, Free Blacks, and Free Mulattoes, 1850-1870
Adair County, named for General John Adair, is located near the Tennessee border in south-central Kentucky. The county was developed in 1801 from a portion of Green County. General John Adair was born in South Carolina and fought in the Revolutionary War. He came to Kentucky in 1786. He was a U.S. Senator in 1805, served as a Kentucky Legislator, and was the Governor of Kentucky 1820-1824, then a U.S. Representative from 1831 to 1833.Once Adair County was established, Columbia was named the county seat. There were 800 persons [heads of households] counted in the 1810 U.S. Federal Census. In 1830, there was one African American slave owner in the county. There were 8,000 people counted in the 1850 U.S. Federal Census, excluding the enslaved. Below are the number of slave owners, enslaved, and free Blacks and Mulattoes from the 1850-1870 census records.
1850 Slave Schedule
- 486 slave owners
- 1,886 Black slaves
- 239 Mulatto slaves
- 108 free Blacks
- 1 free Mulatto
1860 Slave Schedule
- 341 slave owners
- 1,342 Black slaves
- 260 Mulatto slaves
- 20 free Blacks
- 40 free Mulattoes
- 1,783 Blacks (including Parker Hiram Jackman)
- 32 Mulattoes
- About 35 U.S. Colored Troops of the Civil War had reported that they were born in Adair County.