From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

Perry County (KY) Enslaved, Free Blacks, and Free Mulattoes, 1850-1870

Perry County, located in southeastern Kentucky, was formed in 1820 and named for Oliver Hazard Perry, a naval officer during the War of 1812. Hazard is the county seat, founded in 1821. It was originally named Perry, then the name was changed to Hazard in 1854. Both county seat names were in honor of Oliver Hazard Perry.

The 1830 county population was 488 [heads of households], the population increasing to 3,877 by 1860, excluding the enslaved. Below are the numbers of slave holders, enslaved, free Blacks, and free Mulattoes for 1850-1870.

1850 Slave Schedule
  • 33 slave owners
  • 85 Black slaves
  • 32 Mulatto slaves
  • 1 free Black (Joseph Williams)
  • 8 free Mulattoes (Henry Williams, Hiram Freeman, his wife and five children)
1860 Slave Schedule
  • 28 slave owners
  • 45 Black slaves
  • 28 Mulatto slaves
  • 0 free Blacks
  • 13 free Mulattoes [11 with last name Couch, 2 Stacy]
1870 U.S. Federal Census
  • 77 Blacks
  • 7 Mulattoes [4 Crawford, Morgan, Sumler, Walker]
  • At least three U.S. Colored Troops listed Perry County, KY as their birth location.
For more see Perry County in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, edited by J. E. Kleber; Britt Combs Collection [Dr. C. Britt Combs]; and NAACP 1940-55 legal file, mob violence, James Robinson [i.e., Robertson], 1942. See the "U.S., Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1863-1865" and other military service records in Ancestry for names and additonal information.

Kentucky County & Region

Read about Perry County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Kentucky Place (Town or City)

Read about Hazard, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Item Relations

Cited in this Entry

NKAA Source: The Kentucky encyclopedia
NKAA Source: Britt Combs collection (archival material)
NKAA Source: Papers of the NAACP, Part 7, NAACP 1940-55. Legal file. Mob violence. Robinson [i.e., Robertson], James, 1942
NKAA Source: Ancestry (online)

Related Entries Citing this Entry

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Cite This NKAA Entry:

“Perry County (KY) Enslaved, Free Blacks, and Free Mulattoes, 1850-1870,” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed September 8, 2024, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/2522.

Last modified: 2024-06-21 17:57:23