slaveryto
freedom
A series of pages exploring
various aspects of enslavement in Pennsylvania
Enslavement in Pennsylvania
Slaveholders Enumerated in Berks County Tax List, 1780
Listing of Slaveholders, Extracted from the "Return and Assessment for the County of Berks, for the Year 1780."
The County of Berks's tax assessment list for 1780 was transcribed and edited for use in the official state publication titled simply Pennsylvania Archives. Editor and historian William Henry Egle edited the series, published in 1898, and it remains a vital original research tool. The "Return and Assessment for the County of Berks, for the Year 1780" follows the 1779 Supply Tax list in Volume 18. It provides a snapshot of slaveholding in Berks County in the same year as enactment of the Gradual Abolition Act of 1780. The 1780 law required all slaveholders to travel to the county seat of Reading to register all Black persons held as slaves, so this earlier assessment list adds data to that provided in the official registration papers.
The transcribed information in the published list provides no details on the enslaved persons themselves. It merely reports the number of taxable enslaved persons held by the named propertyholder, along with numbers of acres owned, number of horses, sheep, and cattle owned. If the property owner had a still or other valuable operation such as a sawmill, it was also noted. Occupations are noted for some propertyholders.
The list below is extracted data and shows only those property holders that had at least one enslaved taxable person in the year 1780. Excluded from that category and not enumerated or taxed were enslaved persons younger than age 12 and older than age 60, indentured servants or other workers, bound or free. Only Black enslaved persons between the ages of 12 and 60, designated in the enumeration as "Negroes," were enumerated and taxed, along with acres of land, horses, and cattle. For this reason, the number of taxable enslaved persons noted will not exactly match the number of enslaved persons registered by the propertyholders with the county later in 1780 since the Gradual Abolition law required the registration of all enslaved persons, not just those considered taxable property.
Slaveholders in 1780 are listed below in the order published, roughly alphabetical, by township. It must be remembered that Berks County in 1780 encompassed territory and townships that would in 1811 form Schuylkill County. The spelling of slaveholders' names below is mostly preserved from the original 1780 records with corrections occasionally noted and most abbreviations spelled out. It is formatted as Last name, First name, notes or occupation, and number of "Negroes."
Listing of Slaveholders
Allsace [Alsace] Township
Dewald, George, weaver, 1
Wax, Henry, 1
Amity Township
Douglass, George, 1
Jones, Jonathan, trader, 1
Kirling, John, Senior, 1
Rhoads, Jacob, Senior, 1
Winters, William, 1
Weaver, Jacob, Esq'r., 2
Yocom, John, 1
Albany Township
No taxable enslaved persons returned for Albany Township for 1780.
Cumru Township
Davies, John, 1
Lewis, James, 1
Mifflin, Thomas, Esq'r., gristmill, sawmill, 1
Ruth, Francis, gristmill, 1
Spoone, Henry, 1
Werner, Joseph, fulling mill, 1
Brunswig [Brunswick] Township
No taxable enslaved persons returned for Brunswick Township for 1780.
Bern Township
Breight, John, 1
Heister, Gabriel, tanner, gristmill, 3 stills, 3
Wagoner, Jacob, 1
Brecknock Township
No taxable enslaved persons returned for Brecknock Township for 1780.
Bethel Township
Kurr, Jacob, 1
Caernarvon Township
Jones, David, 1
Jones, John, 1
Morgan, Jacob, Esq'r., still, 6
Morgan, David, 1
Rattew, Aaron, 2
Ross, Ruth, 1
Colebrookdale Township
Gable, Henry, gristmill, 1
Latchar, Jacob, 1
Mechlin, Jacob, 1
Douglass Township
Fisher, Valentine, 1
Keely, Jacob, 1
Exeter Township
Boone, Judah, gristmill, 1
Boone, James, 1
Durst, Phil, innkeeper, 1
Huet, Jacob, 1
Tea, Richard, Esq'r., 2
East District Township
Oyster, George, still, 1
Hereford Township
Mayburry, Thomas, Junior, sawmill, 1
Shell, Michael, Junior, 1
Heidleberg Township
Hehn, John, 1
Hehn, Frederick, still, 1
Jones, Thomas, Esq'r., 3
Ruth, John, 2
Spoon, Philip, 1
Greenwich Township
No taxable enslaved persons returned for Greenwich Township for 1780.
Longswamp Township
Egner, Henry, 1
Located and Unimproved Lands in Longswamp Township
No taxable enslaved persons returned for this area for 1780.
Maiden Creek Township
Gable, Ludwig, papermaker, 1
Huy, Abraham, 2 stills, 2
Mourer, Jacob, hemp mill, 1
Rothermel, Peter, 1
Sheffer, Nicholas, innkeeper, 1
Maxatany [Maxatawny] Township
Deisher, Jacob, 1
Huttonstone, David, still, 2
Knup, George, still, 3
Smith, George, still, 1
Oley Township
Deturk, Philip, still, 1
Greesmer, John, gristmill, sawmill, oil mill, 1
Jeager, Daniel, Esq'r., 1
Kirst, Henry, gristmill, still, 1
Knapp, Peter, 1
Lesher, John, gristmill, oil mill, 2 stills, 4
Peter Daniel, 1
Reiff, Philip, gristmill, sawmill, 1
Shenkle, Martine, still, 1
Udree, Daniel, forge, 1
Pine Grove Township
No taxable enslaved persons returned for Pine Grove Township for 1780.
Richmond Township
Bryfogel, George, 1
Hill, Frederick, still, 1
Klein, Daniel, 1
Ruscomb [Ruscombmanor] Township, including Unimproved Lands
No taxable enslaved persons returned for these areas in 1780.
Rockland Township
Kerber, Michael, 1
Oyster, Daniel, 1
Reading
Biddle, Eliza, widow, 2
Biddle, Jones, attorney, 2
Dihl, John, tanner, 1
Heester, Col. Joseph, 2
Hardman, John, innkeeper, 1
Heaster, Daniel, tanner, 3
Lightfoot, Elizabeth, 1
Morris, Ezekiah, 1
Mifflin, Samuel, Esq'r., 1
Nagel, Peter, hatter, 1
Potts, Johnathan, Esq'r., 2
Read, Collinson, attorney, 1
Sheyrer, Adam, innkeeper, 1
Spoon, John, gentleman, 1
Wilcox, William, 1
Robeson Township
No taxable enslaved persons returned for Robeson Township in 1780.
Tulpehoccon [Tulpehocken] Township
Anspach, Adam, 1
Anspach, John, 1
Ege, George, Esq'r., forge & sawmill, 8
Forry, Michael, 2 stills, 1
Kurr, Thomas, still, 1
Kinser, Nicholas, 2
Lower, Christian, Junior, gristmill & sawmill, 7
Levengood, Jacob, 2
Ried, Jacob, 1
Reis, John, 2
Spyker, Adam, still, 2
Spyker, Benjamin, Junior, 1
Stoude, George, still, 1
Zeller, France, 1
Union Township
Bird, Mark, Esq'r., iron works & mill, 13
Jones, Mounce, 1
Kirst, George, 2
Stoner, John, still & sawmill, 1
Wanger, Abraham, 4
Windsor Township
Luckenbiel, Abraham, sawmill, 1
West District Township
No taxable enslaved persons returned for West District Township in 1780.
Source
"Provincial Papers: Proprietary and State Tax Lists of the County of Berks, for the Years 1767, 1768, 1779, 1780, 1784, 1785," Pennsylvania Archives, Third Series, Vol. 18, William Henry Egle, M.D. Editor, Harrisburg, PA 1898, pp. 303-430.