From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
Hancock County (KY) Enslaved, Free Blacks, and Free Mulattoes, 1850-1870
Hancock County was formed in 1829 from portions of Ohio, Breckinridge, and Daviess Counties. It is located on the northwestern edge of Kentucky along the Ohio River and bordered by three Kentucky counties. Hancock County was named for John Hancock, whose signature is the most flamboyant on the U.S. Declaration of Independence. There are nine other Hancock Counties in the U.S.The county seat of Hancock County is Hawesville, named in 1829 for Richard Hawes, born in Virginia, who donated the land for the town. His son, Richard Hawes, Jr., was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky and also the second Confederate governor of Kentucky (in exile).
The 1830 population of Hancock County was 190 [heads of households] according to the U.S. Federal Census, and the population increased to 5,395 by 1860, excluding the enslaved. Below are the number of slave owners, enslaved, free Blacks, and free Mulattoes for 1850-1870.
1850 Slave Schedule
- 134 slave owners
- 590 Black slaves
- 32 Mulatto slaves
- 12 free Blacks
- 1 free Mulatto [Elizabeth Shaw]
- 205 slave owners
- 677 Black slaves
- 143 Mulatto slaves
- 3 free Blacks
- 10 free Mulattoes
- 707 Blacks
- 43 Mulattoes
- About 8 U.S. Colored Troops listed Hancock County, KY, as their birth location.