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

Wolfe County (KY) Enslaved, Free Blacks, and Free Mulattoes, 1861-1900

Wolfe County was formed in 1860 from portions of Breathitt, Owsley, and Powell Counties; it is surrounded by six counties. It is named for Nathaniel Wolfe, a Commonwealth's Attorney for Jefferson County who also served in the Kentucky House and Senate. The town of Campton became the seat of Wolfe County in 1860; it had originally been named Camp Town by the first settlers. The 1870 county population was 3,643, according to the U.S. Federal Census, and the population increased to 8,969 by 1900. Below are the number of Black and Mulatto members of the population from 1861-1900.

1861 Annual Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts of the State of Kentucky for the Fiscal Year Ending October 10, 1861 [p. 249, online at Google Books]
  • 14 slaves over the age of 16
  • 1 free Negro
1870 U.S. Federal Census
  • 42 Blacks
  • 9 Mulattoes [last names Burden, Cockrill, Cox, Linden, and Razor]
  • At least one U.S. Colored Troop listed Wolfe County, KY, as his birth location [Samuel Stewart]
1880 U.S. Federal Census
  • 74 Blacks
1900 U.S. Federal Census
  • 99 Blacks
For more see the Wolfe County entry in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, edited by J. E. Kleber; the Hazel Green Herald newspaper; and Early and Modern History of Wolfe County, by R. M. Cecil. 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 Wolfe County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Kentucky Place (Town or City)

Read about Campton, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Item Relations

Cited in this Entry

NKAA Source: The Kentucky encyclopedia
NKAA Source: The Hazel Green herald (newspaper)
NKAA Source: Early and modern history of Wolfe County

Related Entries Citing this Entry

none

Cite This NKAA Entry:

“Wolfe County (KY) Enslaved, Free Blacks, and Free Mulattoes, 1861-1900,” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed September 10, 2024, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/2604.

Last modified: 2024-06-22 14:40:57