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Enslavement in Pennsylvania
Slaveholders Enumerated in Berks County Tax List, 1781
Listing of Slaveholders, Extracted from the "Return and Assessment for the County of Berks, for the Year 1781."
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 1781" follows the 1779 Supply Tax and the 1780 tax assessment lists in Volume 18. It provides a snapshot of slaveholding in Berks County in the year following 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 later 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 1781. 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, sheep, and cattle.
Slaveholders in 1781 are listed below in the order published, roughly alphabetical, by township. It must be remembered that Berks County in 1781 encompassed territory and townships that would in 1811 form Schuylkill County. The spelling of slaveholders' names below is mostly preserved from the original 1781 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
Alsace Township
Dewalt, George, weaver, 1
Feager, Paul, gristmill, paper mill, 2
Wax, Henry, 1
Outlots of Reading included in Alsace Township
No taxable enslaved persons returned for this area for 1781.
Amity Township
Douglass, George, merchant, 1
Jones, Peter, 1
Jones, Jonathan, carpenter, 1
Kirlin, John, Senior, cuttler, 1
Rhoads, Jacob, 1
Winters, William, 1
Weaver, Jacob, 3
Yochum, John, 1
Albany Township
No taxable enslaved persons returned for Albany Township for 1781.
Cumru Township
Davies, John, 1
Kortz, Jacob, tory, 1
Mifflin, Thomas, Esquire, gristmill, sawmill, 2
Ruth, France, gristmill, 2
Spoon, Henry, 1
Willcox, William, trader, 1
Brunswig [Brunswick] Township
Koch, William, 2
Bern Township
Breght, John, still, 1
Gehr, Balzer, Esquire, gristmill, sawmill, 2 stills, 1
Hiester, Gabriel, Esquire, gristmill, sawmill, 3 stills, 3
Wagner, Jacob, 1
Brecknock Township
No taxable enslaved persons returned for Brecknock Township for 1781.
Bethel Township
Kurr, Jacob, 1
Caernarvon Township
Jones, David, 1
Morgan, Jacob, Esq'r., still, 6
Morgan, David, 1
Rattew, Aaron, 2
Ross, Ruth, 1
Colebrookdale Township
Bear, Conrad, 1
Gable, Henry, gristmill, 1
Latshar, Jacob, 1
Mechlin, Jacob, 1
Trout, Balzer, tanner, 1
Douglass Township
Fisher, Valentine, sawmill, 1
Kiely, John, 1
Exeter Township
Boone, James, 1
Durst, Philip, innkeeper, 1
Huet, Jacob, 1
Tea, Richard, Esq'r., 2
East District Township
Oyster, George, still, 1
Hereford Township
Lahr, Philip, 1
Shell, Michael, Junior, 1
Heidleberg Township
Copland, Isaac, gristmill, 1
Eckert, John, blacksmith, 2 stills, 1
Hehn, Frederick, 1
Jones, Thomas, Esq'r., 3
Patton, Richard, 1
Ruth, John, 2
Spoone, Philip, 1
Greenwich Township
No taxable enslaved persons returned for Greenwich Township for 1781.
Longswamp Township
Egner, Henry, 1
Located Lands in Longswamp Township
No taxable enslaved persons returned for this area in 1781.
Maiden Creek Township
Gable, Christian Ludwig, 2
Hugh, Abraham, 2 stills, 2
Mourer, Jacob, sawmill, hemp mill, 2
Penrose, Joseph, Senior, 1
Rodermel, Peter, 1
Sheffer, Nicholas, 1
Maxatany [Maxatawny] Township
Deisher, Jacob, 1
Hottonstein, David, 1
Kemp, George, still, 3
Smith, George, still, 1
Oley Township
DeTurk, Philip, still, 1
Knab, Peter, 1
Kirst, Henry, gristmill, still, 1
Lesher, John, gristmill, oil mill, still, 3
Levan, Daniel, 1
Peter, Daniel, 1
Reiff, Philip, gristmill, sawmill, 1
Shenkle, Martine, still, 1
Stapleton, John, still, 1
Udree, Col. Daniel, forge, 1
Pine Grove Township
No taxable enslaved persons returned for Pine Grove Township for 1781.
Richmond Township
Bryfogel, George, 1
Klein, Daniel, 1
Walz, Daniel, 1
Ruscomb [Ruscombmanor] Township, including Located Lands
No taxable enslaved persons returned for these areas for 1781.
Rockland Township
Oyster, Daniel, 1
Reading
Biddle, James, Esquire, 2
Biddle, Charles, 1
Diel, John, tanner, f., 1
Deamer, James, Doctor, 1
Hiester, Joseph, Esquire, 2
Hardman, John, innkeeper, 1
Hiester, Daniel, Senior, 3
Morris, Ezekiel, 1
Mifflin, Samuel, Esquire, 1
Nagel, Peter, Esq'r., hatter, 1
Read, Collinson, Esq'r., attorney, 1
Robeson Township
Scarlet, John, gristmill, sawmill, hemp mill, 1
Tulpehoccon [Tulpehocken] Township
Anspach, Adam, 1
Egee, George, Esq'r., sawmill, forge, 8
Forry, Michael, 2 stills, 1
Kinser, Nicholas, 1
Lower, Col., Christian, gristmill, sawmill, 4
Levengood, Jacob, still, 2
Read, Jacob, of Frederick, 1
Spyker, Col. Henry, 1
Spyker, Benjamin, scrivener, 1
Shitz, Adam, still, 3
Stoudt, George, Still, 1
Zeller, France, 1
Union Township
Bird, Mark, Esquire, forge, sawmill, gristmill, 15
Kirst, George, 2
Stoner, John, still, sawmill, 1
Windsor Township
Luckenbiel, Abraham, 1
West District Township
No taxable enslaved persons returned for West District Township in 1781.
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. 431-557.