Warren County (KY) Enslaved, Free Blacks, and Free Mulattoes, 1850-1870
Warren County, in southern Kentucky and bordered by six counties, was formed in 1796 from a portion of Logan County. It is named for Joseph Warren, a Harvard graduate and major-general who was killed in the Battle at Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War.
The seat of Warren County is Bowling Green, founded in 1798 and thought to have been named in honor of Bowling Green, VA or for the game 'bowling on the green.'
According to the Second Census of Kentucky, 1800, the total population was 4,686: 4,251 whites; 4 free coloreds, and 431 enslaved. In 1830 there were two free African American enslaved holders. By 1860, the total population was 12,004, according to the U.S. Federal Census, excluding the enslaved.
Below are the number of slave holders, enslaved, and free Blacks and Mulattoes for 1850-1870.
1850 Slave Schedule
- 812 slave owners
- 3,706 Black slaves
- 611 Mulatto slaves
- 92 free Blacks
- 114 free Mulattoes
1860 Slave Schedule
- 882 slave owners
- 3,893 Black slaves
- 1,068 Mulatto slaves
- 99 free Blacks
- 105 free Mulattoes
1870 U.S. Federal Census
- 5,085 Blacks
- 1,089 Mulattoes
- About 172 U.S. Colored Troops listed Warren County, KY as their birth location.
For more see the Warren County entry in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, edited by J. E. Kleber; 1870 Warren County, Kentucky Black Census, by M. B. Gorin; Barbara J. Chase (FA316) in the Western Kentucky University Manuscripts & Folklife Archives; Mt. Moriah Cemetery, by J. Jeffrey, et. al.; Warren County, Kentucky Marriages (1866-1962): Blacks at the Warren County Clerk's Office; and African American Heritage in Bowling Green and Warren County, Kentucky (FA509) in the Western Kentucky University Manuscripts & Folklife Archives.