From: PC.1629, Records of Enslaved People, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C. U.S.A.

Tens of thousands of enslaved Black people lived in North Carolina. Because enslavers recorded them as property, their names are primarily preserved in wills, bills of sale, cohabitation records, and runaway notices.

Some of the names we have found in archived records: Specific names are documented in local records and state archives, categorized below:

Somerset Place Plantation (Washington County, NC)Extensive records for the Somerset Place plantation name hundreds of enslaved individuals. Some recorded names include: Peter Marsh (born on the plantation)Peter King John Trotter (originally named Dave)Fred Blacksmith Jack Swine Guinea

Jack Avery Family (Morganton, NC) Documents from the Avery family outline the following individuals held in bondage: Hampton Dick Henry Peter Chenee George Ginny

Private Manuscripts (Edgecombe & Pasquotank Counties) State archives preserve early bills of sale and correspondence naming individuals, such as:Betty (sold in Edgecombe County)Toney (sold in Craven County) Harvy (sold in Pasquotank County).

NC State Archives Records of Enslaved People, PC.1629 - Records of Enslaved People contains original and photocopied documents relating to slavery in North Carolina. Original items include deeds of gift and bills of sale for enslaved people, including small children, to John Crisp (1813), Rachel King (1814), and Iverson M. Glass (1856) of Caswell Co.; to Theophilus Parker of Edgecombe Co. (1829); to Elijah Clark of Craven County (1830); to Daniel C. White of Pasquotank County (1854); and to Mary Mitchell Hardy of Bertie County (1854).

Also permission for enslaved people to marry, given by owner William Ezell, Sr. (1825). Photocopies are chiefly from public records and include court records relating to murder trials in Craven (1748), Dobbs (1772), Brunswick (1778), and Halifax (1785, 1786) counties and to reimbursement of owners for executed slaves; and depositions by slaves and letters concerning an insurrection conspiracy in Bertie and surrounding counties (1802).

Other photocopies include deed of manuission for slave John Stanly (Craven Co., 1795); New Hanover County bill of sale to Amelia Green, former slave of Robert Schaw, for her daughter Princess (1796); and letters and petitions concerning manuission of individual slaves in estates of William Thompson (Bertie Co., 1816), Isaac Knight (Rowan Co., 1836), and John Roberts (Cleveland Co., 1850).

Miscellaneous photocopies include items relating to freemen Lemuel Overton of Perquimans County (1770, 1783) and Admiral Dunstan of Virginia wishing to reside in North Carolina (1833); petition to General Assembly from agent of the French Republic asking permission for French political refugees from Jamaica to land in Wilmington with enslaved people (1795); and commitment of Rowan County man for beating an enslaved person (1796).

The Bennehan and Cameron families who owned the Stagville plantation in Durham, NC enslaved 900+ Black people during it's time.
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Note: Scrolling through the White Chattel Slavery Collection will provide you with many posts where we have located the names of enslaved Black people on NC plantations. We add to this collection weekly so please check back often as we continue to locate the names of enslaved Black people of North Carolina.

Link to collection: https://www.irememberourhistory.org/white-chattel-slavery