Alphabetical List of Slaveholders
- Cross, Samuel (Enslaved persons: Unnamed girl)
- Galbraith, Widow (Enslaved persons: John)
- Parker, John (Enslaved persons: Unnamed slave)
- White, Matthew (Enslaved persons listed: Heck, George Mitchell, Pompey, Eleanor Troy)
Enslavement Data
- Slaveholder Name: Cross, Samuel
City or Township: Slippery Rock Township
County: Butler County
Occupation: Farmer, tavern owner
Notes: Passage from History of Butler County, Pennsylvania, 1895, page 388: "Samuel Cross came from Adams County, moving his family and goods in two wagons and a carriage. These vehicles were among the first brought to the neighborhood. The family also brought a negro girl as a slave, but gave her her freedom when she
became of age. In 1811-12, Samuel Cross erected the brick house now owned by his grandson, Mr. Bovard. The house is two stories, 30x45 feet, and substantially built. Besides being the first brick house in what is now Slippery Rock Township, it was for years almost the only brick building in this part of the county. In it Cross kept a tavern many years, and entertained many of the travelers who once made the old Franklin road their thoroughfare. His son, James, managed a distillery several years. Samuel Cross died in 1841."
Samuel Cross does not appear in the surviving Adams County slave registrations.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Name not recorded
Sex: Female
Age: not determined
Date of Birth: prior to 1807
Status: Manumitted "when she became of age" (probably age 28)
Description: "negro girl"
Notes: Brought with the Cross family from Adams County to Butler County in 1807.
Date of Record: 1895 county history
Source: History of Butler County, Pennsylvania. R. C. Brown Co. 1895, page 388.
- Slaveholder Name: Galbraith, Widow
City or Township:
County: Butler County
Occupation: Widow
Notes: Passage from History of Butler County, Pennsylvania, 1895, page 68: "In 1821 the widow Galbraith was assessed as the owner of a slave named John, valued at $100."
- Enslaved Person's Name: John
Sex:Male
Age: not determined
Date of Birth: prior to 1821
Status: Not determined
Description: "slave"
Notes: Recorded in 1821 tax assessment records, and valued at $100.00.
Date of Record: 1895 county history
Source: History of Butler County, Pennsylvania. R. C. Brown Co. 1895, page 68.
- Slaveholder Name: Parker, John
City or Township: Parker Township
County: Butler County
Occupation: "Captain," Surveyor, Farmer
Notes: Passage from History of Butler County, Pennsylvania, 1895, page 68: "In 1803 Captain Parker was assessed as the owner of one slave." On page 665, the same source notes "In 1803 John Parker had 400 acres of land, five cows, two horses and one slave." John Parker came to Butler County from Westmoreland County.
- Enslaved Person's Name: No name recorded
Sex:Not determined
Age: not determined
Date of Birth: prior to 1803
Status: Not determined
Description: "slave"
Notes:
Date of Record: 1895 county history
Source:History of Butler County, Pennsylvania. R. C. Brown Co. 1895, page 68, 665.
- Slaveholder Name: White, Matthew
City or Township: Whitestown
County:Butler County
Occupation: Farmer
Notes: Passage from History of Butler County, Pennsylvania, 1895, page 68: "In 1799, when Matthew White settled at Whitestown--where he had previously purchased 400 acres of land--he brought with him three slaves named George Mitchell, Pompey and Eleanor Troy, or 'Black Nell.'" They had been property of Alexander White, of Franklin county, father of Matthew. Alexander White, who died in 1785, bequeathed George Mitchell to his son, Alexander White, and Pompey to his son, James White, later of Waterford, Erie county, Pennsylvania. Both sons were minors at the time. The county history says that Alexander White bequeathed "Black Nell" to his daughter, Mrs. Anna Galbraith, the wife of Alexander Galbraith, of Centre township, however this does not appear anywhere in the 1785 Last Will and Testament of the senior Alexander White.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Heck
Slave Sex: Male
Age: 28 years old at Registration (1780).
Date of Birth: circa 1752
Status: Slave for life; manumitted per will of Alexander White in 1797 at age 45.
Description: "Negro"
Notes: Registered in October 1780 by Alexander White at Carlisle. Bequeathed to son Matthew White: "Item, I leave and bequeath to my well beloved son Matthew White my Negroe man named Heck for and enduring the full term of Twelve years after my Descease and at the Expiration thereof it is my will that he go out free with Usual freedom dues, as in the case of white Servants."
Date of Record: 19 October 1780 (Registration in Carlisle); 02 May 1785 (Will of Alexander White)
Source: Young, Cory James. "A Just and True Return: Pennsylvania’s Surviving County Slave Registries, 1780-1826." Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation 3, no. 1 (2022). https://doi.org/10.25971/QS08-YE30. Accessed 29 January 2025; Will of Alexander White of Montgomery Township, Franklin County, 02 May 1785, proved 31 May 1785. Franklin County Archives.
- Enslaved Person's Name: George Mitchell
Slave Sex: Male
Age: 8 years old at Registration (1780).
Date of Birth: circa 1772
Status: Slave for life
Description: "Mulatto"
Notes: Registered in October 1780 by Alexander White at Carlisle. Ownership of George Mitchell passed from Alexander White, of Franklin County, to his son Alexander White, a minor, upon his death in 1785. It appears that the enslaved boy George came under the care of Matthew White for his young brother James. From the 1785 will of Alexander White: "Item, I leave and bequeath to my well beloved son Alexander White my Malatta slave Gorge."
Date of Record: 19 October 1780 (Registration in Carlisle); 02 May 1785 (Will of Alexander White)
Source: Young, Cory James. "A Just and True Return: Pennsylvania’s Surviving County Slave Registries, 1780-1826." Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation 3, no. 1 (2022), https://doi.org/10.25971/QS08-YE30. Accessed 29 January 2025; Will of Alexander White of Montgomery Township, Franklin County, 02 May 1785, proved 31 May 1785. Franklin County Archives; History of Butler County, Pennsylvania. R. C. Brown Co. 1895, page 68;
- Enslaved Person's Name: Pompey
Sex:Male
Age: not determined
Date of Birth: prior to 1785
Status: Not determined
Description: "Mulatto"
Notes: Ownership of Pompey passed from Alexander White, of Franklin County, to his minor son James White: "Item, I leave and bequeath to my well beloved son James White my Negroe boy Pomp." If Pompey accompanied Matthew White to Butler County, it may be that he had assumed responsibility for Pompey for his younger brother James.
Date of Record: 02 May 1785 (Will of Alexander White)
Source: Will of Alexander White of Montgomery Township, Franklin County, 02 May 1785, proved 31 May 1785. Franklin County Archives; History of Butler County, Pennsylvania. R. C. Brown Co. 1895, page 68.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Eleanor Troy a.k.a. "Black Nell"
Slave Sex: Female
Age: Six years old at Registration (1780); Age reported as 45 years old in tax records of 1821
Date of Birth: circa 1774
Status: Manumitted in or before 1803, per an 1895 county history. However if she was listed as a taxable slave in 1821, no manumission occurred.
Description: "Negro" (Registration); "female slave" (1821 tax records)
Notes: Registered in October 1780 by Alexander White at Carlisle. Ownership of Eleanor Troy passed from Alexander White, of Franklin County, to his son Matthew White, who settled in Butler County circa 1799 and then to Anna Galbraith, wife of Alexander Galbraith. This enslaved person is not mentioned in the 1785 will of Alexander White. Eleanor was a long time member of the Associate Reformed Church, of Butler, and died on March 11, 1857. She was buried on the farm of Moses Thompson, in Centre Township.
Eleanor is found in the 1850 census for North Butler Township, Butler County, living with Joseph and Jane Galbraith and their five children. She is listed as "Nelly Troy," age 76, female, Black, born in Pennsylvania. It seems probable she was born in Peters Township, modern day Franklin County.
Date of Record: 19 October 1780 (Registration in Carlisle); 1895 county history; 1850 census of North Butler Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, page 84.
Source: Young, Cory James. "A Just and True Return: Pennsylvania’s Surviving County Slave Registries, 1780-1826." Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation 3, no. 1 (2022). https://doi.org/10.25971/QS08-YE30. Accessed 29 January 2025; History of Butler County, Pennsylvania. R. C. Brown Co. 1895, page 68.
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