Census Records for Free Persons of Color 1790-1850
Western North Carolina Only1
1NOTE: The following census records contain listings from selected counties in western NC. The listings include only those households that had persons listed in the "Free Colored" or "Other Free" columns (1790-1840) or who were listed with Race of "M" (Mulatto) or "B" (Free Black) in 1850. The actual ethnic origins of the folks in these listings can't be determined only from the census. Census takers used their own opinions when assigning someone to these categories. The families might have been freed slaves of African origin, or their descendants, while others might have been a mixture of White and Indian, or white and black, or a combination of all three ("Tri-Racial Isolates"). They could have been Melungeon, or "Black Dutch". There are many other possibilities as well. Indians were not supposed to be listed on the census records for these years (1790-1850), but in a few cases they were listed anyway, especially in 1850.
1790 NC Census - Western NC (Burke, Rutherford, Wilkes) and upper SC only (Greenville, Pendleton, Spartanburg)
1800 NC Census - Western NC only (Ashe, Buncombe, Burke)
1810 NC Census - Western NC only (Ashe, Buncombe, Burke, Haywood)
1820 NC Census - Western NC only (Ashe, Buncombe, Haywood)
1830 NC Census - Western NC only (Ashe, Buncombe, Haywood)
1840 NC Census - Western NC only (Ashe, Buncombe, Cherokee, Haywood, Henderson)
1850 NC Census - Western NC only (Buncombe, Cherokee, Haywood, Henderson, Macon)
Links of interest:
African American Census Schedules Online - An index to similar listings for other counties and states.
Some extremely helpful reference material for census research:
Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Census
AniMap Plus County Boundary Historical Atlas v. 2.0
(Win)
A Practical Guide to 'Misteaks' made in Census Index
Last Updated January 16, 2006
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