From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
Bath County (KY) Enslaved, Free Blacks, and Free Mulattoes, 1850-1870
Bath County is located in the northeastern part of Kentucky, surrounded by five other Kentucky counties. It was established in 1811 from part of Montgomery County, though white settlers had come to the area as early as 1775.Bath County was named for its medicinal springs. The county seat was originally Catlett's Flats, but it was changed to Owingsville in 1811.
In 1820, the population of Bath County was recorded as 1,132 [heads of households] in the U.S. Federal Census; the population had grown to 9,747 in 1850, excluding the enslaved. Below are the number of slave owners, enslaved, free Blacks, and Mulattoes from 1850-1870.
1850 Slave Schedule
- 823 slave owners
- 3,216 Black slaves
- 50 Colored slaves
- 567 Mulatto slaves
- 94 free Blacks
- 2 free Colored [Caroline Duncan and her daughter Mary Duncan]
- 34 free Mulattoes
- 441 slave owners
- 1,933 Black slaves
- 562 Mulatto Slaves
- 90 free Blacks
- 2 free Colored [Eli Burton and James Burton]
- 51 free Mulattoes
- 1,438 Blacks
- 283 Mulattoes
- About 100 U.S. Colored Troops listed Bath County, KY as their birth location.