Slaveholders Listed on this Page
- Noble, Richard (Enslaved persons listed: Ann)
- Phillips, Ann (Enslaved persons listed: Sue or Susannah)
- Phillips, Theophilus (Enslaved persons listed: Sue or Susannah, Hana)
- Rabb, Andrew (Enslaved persons listed: Sam, Harry)
- Reed, Thomas (Enslaved persons listed: Unnamed female)
- Stephens, Benjamin (Enslaved persons listed: Mary, Nell, Rachel)
- Stephens, Elizabeth (Enslaved persons listed: Bess)
- Stephens, Levi (Enslaved persons listed: Bess)
- Stouffer, John (Enslaved persons listed: Ned)
- Tiernan, Patrick (Enslaved persons listed: Dan)
- Vance, Margaret (Enslaved persons listed: Poll, Ned)
- Wilson, John (Enslaved persons listed: Amos)
Enslavement Data
- Slaveholder Name: Noble, Richard
City or Township: Washington Township
County: Fayette County
Occupation: Farmer, Distiller
Notes: See pre-1783 enslavement records of Richard Noble, filed in Westmoreland County.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Ann
Sex: Female
Age: Five months old at registration
Date of Birth: 06 February 1790
Status: Slave to age 28
Description: Negro
Notes: Mother of Alfred (listed below), born August 1808.
Date of Record: 28 July 1790
Source: "Birth Records for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826," Fayette County, Pennnsylvania Prothonotary Records, RG-47 Birth Records for the County Governments, Pennsylania State Archives, transcribed by G.D. Dixon; 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.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Nace
Sex: Male
Age: Three weeks old at registration
Date of Birth: 23 May 1801
Status: Slave to age 28
Description: Negro, "a male twin"
Notes: Twin of Lucy, below.
Date of Record: 12 June 1801
Source: "Birth Records for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826," Fayette County, Pennnsylvania Prothonotary Records, RG-47 Birth Records for the County Governments, Pennsylania State Archives, transcribed by G.D. Dixon; 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.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Lucy
Sex: Female
Age: Three weeks old at registration
Date of Birth: 23 May 1801
Status: Slave to age 28
Description: Negro
Notes: Twin of Nace, above.
Date of Record: 12 June 1801
Source: "Birth Records for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826," Fayette County, Pennnsylvania Prothonotary Records, RG-47 Birth Records for the County Governments, Pennsylania State Archives, transcribed by G.D. Dixon; 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.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Toby
Sex: Female
Age: Two months old at registration
Date of Birth: 19 November 1804
Status: Slave to age 28
Description:
Notes: Registered as "the son of Dinah." Return made by John Noble for Richard Noble. Also note, if both Toby and Henrietta (below) were born to Dinah, the dates of birth should coincide instead of being six days apart, unless there are two enslaved women named Dinah.
Date of Record: 12 February 1805
Source: "Birth Records for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826," Fayette County, Pennnsylvania Prothonotary Records, RG-47 Birth Records for the County Governments, Pennsylania State Archives, transcribed by G.D. Dixon; 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.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Henrietta
Sex: Female
Age: Two months old at registration
Date of Birth: 25 November 1804
Status: Slave to age 28
Description:
Notes: Registered as "the daughter of Dinah and Philiman." Return made by John Noble for Richard Noble. Also note, if both Toby (above) and Henrietta were born to Dinah, the dates of birth should coincide instead of being six days apart, unless there are two enslaved women named Dinah.
Date of Record: 12 February 1805
Source: "Birth Records for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826," Fayette County, Pennnsylvania Prothonotary Records, RG-47 Birth Records for the County Governments, Pennsylania State Archives, transcribed by G.D. Dixon; 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.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Bazil
Sex: Male
Age: Two months old at registration
Date of Birth: 01 Febriuary 1807
Status: Slave to age 28
Description: Negro, "a male child"
Notes:
Date of Record: 13 April 1807
Source: "Birth Records for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826," Fayette County, Pennnsylvania Prothonotary Records, RG-47 Birth Records for the County Governments, Pennsylania State Archives, transcribed by G.D. Dixon; 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.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Samuel
Sex: Male
Age: Two weeks old at registration
Date of Birth: 10 December 1808
Status: Slave to age 28
Description:
Notes: Registered as "son of Sather?, Negro servant woman."
Date of Record: 26 December 1808
Source: "Birth Records for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826," Fayette County, Pennnsylvania Prothonotary Records, RG-47 Birth Records for the County Governments, Pennsylania State Archives, transcribed by G.D. Dixon; 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.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Alferd (Alfred)
Sex: Male
Age: Four months old at registration
Date of Birth: 10 August 1808
Status: Slave to age 28
Description:
Notes: Registered as "son of Ann, Negro woman servant." Ann is listed above, born in February 1790.
Date of Record: 26 December 1808
Source: "Birth Records for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826," Fayette County, Pennnsylvania Prothonotary Records, RG-47 Birth Records for the County Governments, Pennsylania State Archives, transcribed by G.D. Dixon; 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.
- Slaveholder Name: Phillips, Ann
City or Township: Springhill Township
County: Fayette County
Occupation: Widow
Notes: Wife of Theophilus Phillips.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Sue or Susannah
Sex: Female
Age: About 25 years old at time of bequest
Date of Birth: circa 1764 (based upon reported age at Registration)
Status: Slave for life
Description: "negro woman"
Notes: One of several slaves owned in Springhill Township by Phillips. Willed to his wife Ann in 1789. Susannah was registered by Philips in Westmoreland County as a 17-year-old slave for life on December 19, 1781.
Date of Record: 19 December 1781 (Registration); Will of Theophilus Phillips, 1789.
Source: History of Fayette County, by Franklin Ellis, Philadelphia, L H Everts and Company, 1882; Wills:Theophilus Philips, 1789: Fayette County, PA; George D. Albert, editor, History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1882), 447.
- Slaveholder Name: Phillips, Theophilus
City or Township: Springhill Township
County: Fayette County
Occupation: Farmer
Notes: Husband of Ann. Elected to the state legislature in 1789. Died while en route to Philadelphia.The History of Fayette County, by Franklin Ellis (1882) notes on page 763:
Mr. Phillips enjoyed the respect and confidence of all who knew him and was often called to fill public positions. It was near his residence that the courts of Monongalia County, Virginia, were held in the last half of the eighteenth century. The buildings have long been demolished and nothing but the foundations of them remain to mark the site. To the left of the New Geneva and Springhill furnace roads, via Morris Cross Roads and about two hundred yards from the same, on a long knoll with direction northeast, stood the Phillips residence with many outbuildings, including shop, negro quarters, still house and stables.
Theophilus Phillips is cross-listed on the Westmoreland County pages.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Sue or Susannah
Sex: Female
Age: About 25 years old at time of bequest
Date of Birth: circa 1764 (based upon reported age at Registration)
Status: Slave for life
Description: "negro woman"
Notes: One of several slaves owned in Springhill Township by Phillips. Willed to his wife Ann in 1789. Susannah was registered by Philips in Westmoreland County as a 17-year-old slave for life on December 19, 1781.
Date of Record: 19 December 1781 (Registration); Will of Theophilus Phillips, 1789.
Source: History of Fayette County, by Franklin Ellis, Philadelphia, L H Everts and Company, 1882; Wills:Theophilus Philips, 1789: Fayette County, PA; George D. Albert, editor, History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1882), 447.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Hana
Sex: Male
Age: Not determined, but described as a "negro boy."
Date of Birth: Not known, but prior to 1789. (see notes)
Status: Not determined
Description: "negro boy"
Notes: One of several slaves owned in Springhill Township by Phillips. Named as property in his will in 1789. This may be the boy Harry, born in 1779 and registered by Phillips in Westmoreland County on December 19, 1781. (See Theophilus Phillips in Westmoreland County)
Date of Record: Township history written in 1882. Will of Theophilus Phillips, 1789.
Source: History of Fayette County, by Franklin Ellis, Philadelphia, L H Everts and Company, 1882. | Wills: Theophilus Philips, 1789: Fayette County, PA.
- Slaveholder Name: Rabb, Andrew
City or Township: German Township
County: Fayette County
Occupation: Distiller, miller, associate justice of the Fayette County court
Notes: Lived circa 1740-1804. During the Revolution served with the Westmoreland County Rangers. In the Whiskey Rebellion, Rabb took the side of the local farmers against the federal tax on whiskey and served on the Committee of Correspondence. He died in 1804 after being poisoned, supposedly by a slave.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Sam
Sex: Male
Age: "about 27 years of age"
Date of Birth: circa 1765
Status: Slave for life; self-emancipated August 1792
Description: "Negro Slave"
Notes: Sam escaped from Rabb along with another man, Harry, on the night of August 11, 1792:
Twenty Dollars Reward.
RANAWAY in the night of the 11th instant from the plantation of the subscriber, in Fayette county, one Negro Slave named SAM, about 27 years of age, 5 feet 7 or 8 inches high, very black, short frizled hair, very talkative and impertinent, had on and took with him one check shirt and a country linen one, coarse blue cloth coat, olive velvet vest, and olive fustian overalls, a grey sailor's jacket, and a felt hat very little worn.
Also, a Mulatto slave named HARRY, formerly the property of Mr. James Blaine of Carlisle, about 23 years of age, 5 feet 7 or 8 inches high, well made, of a fair complexion, long frizled hair, is very fond of liquor, had on and took with him one pair of lead coloured thickset breeches, a pair of country linen black coloured trowsers, two country linen shirts, a striped toilenet vest, and a high crowned hat. The above reward will be paid for apprehending the above described slaves, and securing them in any jail so that their Master may get them again, or Ten Dollars for either, and if brought home reasonable charges, paid by
ANDREW RABB.
August 13, 1792.
Date of Record: 13 August 1792 (this ad was still being published in October 1792)
Source: The Carlisle Gazette and Western Repository of Knowledge, 22 August 1792.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Harry
Sex: Male
Age: "about 23 years of age"
Date of Birth: circa 1769
Status: Slave for life; self-emancipated August 1792
Description: "Mulatto Slave"
Notes: Harry was formerly enslaved by Col. Ephraim Blaine in Carlisle. Rabb acquired Harry at some point but the man escaped from Rabb along with another man, Sam, on the night of August 11, 1792. See the entry for Sam, above, for the full text of Rabb's escape notice. By the end of 1793, Harry was enslaved by William Amberson in Pittsburgh, from whom he again escaped, this time in late 1793.
Date of Record: 13 August 1792 (this ad was still being published in October 1792)
Source: The Carlisle Gazette and Western Repository of Knowledge, 22 August 1792.
- Slaveholder Name: Reed, Thomas
City or Township: Georges Township
County: Fayette County
Occupation:
Notes:
- Enslaved Person's Name: Not recorded
Sex: Female
Age: Not determined
Date of Birth: Not known, but prior to 1791.
Status: Slave for life
Description: "Negro wench"
Notes: Willed to his wife Elizabeth in 1791. Excerpt from will: "I give and bequeath in the following manner (vis) all my household furniture and negro wench and one mare and two cows give to my said wife Elizabeth her heirs and assignees while she remains a widow."
Date of Record: Will of Thomas Reed, 10 May 1791. Will probated 18 April 1794.
Source: Will of Thomas Reed, Fayette County, Georges Township, Will Book 1, page 26.
- Slaveholder Name: Shute, Philip
City or Township: Union Township
County: Fayette County
Occupation: Farmer
Notes: See pre-1783 enslavement records of Phillip Shutt, filed in Westmoreland County.
- Enslaved Person's Name: York
Sex: Male
Age: Three months old at registration
Date of Birth: 17 December 1790
Status: Slave to age 28
Description: Negro, "a male child"
Notes:
Date of Record: 02 April 1791
Source: "Birth Records for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826," Fayette County, Pennnsylvania Prothonotary Records, RG-47 Birth Records for the County Governments, Pennsylania State Archives, transcribed by G.D. Dixon.
- Slaveholder Name: Stephens, Benjamin
City or Township: Franklin Township
County: Fayette County
Occupation: Farmer
Notes: See pre-1783 enslavement records of Benjamin Stephens, filed in Westmoreland County.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Mary
Sex: Female
Age: Four years old
Date of Birth: 15 September 1784
Status: Slave to age 28
Description:
Notes:
Date of Record: 21 March 1789
Source: "Birth Records for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826," Fayette County, Pennnsylvania Prothonotary Records, RG-47 Birth Records for the County Governments, Pennsylania State Archives, transcribed by G.D. Dixon.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Nell
Sex: Female
Age: Two years old
Date of Birth: 15 July 1786
Status: Slave to age 28
Description: "female child"
Notes:
Date of Record: 21 March 1789
Source: "Birth Records for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826," Fayette County, Pennnsylvania Prothonotary Records, RG-47 Birth Records for the County Governments, Pennsylania State Archives, transcribed by G.D. Dixon.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Rachel
Sex: Female
Age: Seven months old
Date of Birth: 02 August 1788
Status: Slave to age 28
Description:
Notes:
Date of Record: 21 March 1789
Source: "Birth Records for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826," Fayette County, Pennnsylvania Prothonotary Records, RG-47 Birth Records for the County Governments, Pennsylania State Archives, transcribed by G.D. Dixon.
- Slaveholder Name: Stephens, Elizabeth
City or Township: Washington Township
County: Fayette County
Occupation: Widow
Notes: Wife of Levi Stephens
- Enslaved Person's Name: Bess
Sex: Female
Age: Not determined
Date of Birth: Not known, but prior to 1780.
Status: Slave for life
Description: "Negro woman"
Notes: Willed to his wife Elizabeth in 1808. Excerpt from will: "Second I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife Elizabeth during her natural life the use, rents, profits, benefits and interest of the land, meadows orchards sugar camp and other premises which have of late been in my immediate occupancy, also a sufficiency of timber land for the plantation to keep the premises in complete repair also the Negro woman, named Bess, the eight day clock, all the grain gathered or growing."
Date of Record: Will of Levi Stephens, 1808.
Source: Will of Levi Stephens, 1808: Washington Township, Fayette Co.
- Slaveholder Name: Stephens, Levi
City or Township: Washington Township
County: Fayette County
Occupation: Farmer
Notes: Born in 1744. Husband of Elizabeth. See pre-1783 enslavement records of Levi Stephens, filed in Westmoreland County.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Bess
Sex: Female
Age: 44
Date of Birth: 1764
Status: Slave for life
Description: "Negro woman"
Notes: Willed to his wife Elizabeth in 1808. This appears to be the enslaved woman Elizabeth, born in 1764 and registered by Stephens in Westmoreland County.
Date of Record: Will of Levi Stephens, 1808.
Source: Will of Levi Stephens, 1808: Washington Township, Fayette Co.
- Slaveholder Name: Stouffer, John
City or Township: Bullskin Township
County: Fayette County
Occupation: Farmer
Notes: Husband of Barbara.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Ned
Sex: Male
Age: Not determined, but described as "boy."
Date of Birth: Not known, but after 1780.
Status: "a 28 year servant"
Description: "Negro Boy"
Notes: Willed to his son John Stouffer in 1820, with the stipulation that Ned "wait upon his present Mistress my said wife Barbara as long as she shall remain a widow."
Date of Record: 2 June 1820. Recorded 1822.
Source: Will of John Stouffer (Sr), 2 June 1820. Book 1, p. 222. Recorded 1822.
- Slaveholder Name: Tiernan, Patrick
City or Township: Redstone Fort
County: Fayette County
Occupation:
Notes:
- Enslaved Person's Name: Dan
Sex: Male
Age: "near 18 years of age"
Date of Birth: circa 1776
Status: "Indented"
Description: "Indented negro man"
Notes: Dan escaped from Tiernan on April 22, 1794:
Four Dollars Reward.
RAN away from the subscriber on the 22d inst. an indented negro man named DAN, about 5 feet 7 or 8 inches high, near 18 years of age, had on when he went away, a tow linen shirt and trowsers, a black silk handkerchief, a new felt hat with a small buckle and ribband to it, black buckskin mockasins, a striped cloth jacket, had a scar near the corner of his mouthk, and remarkable large feet, plays on the fiddle, its possible he may change his dress and pass for a freeman. The above reward will be given to any person that will bring him home or secure him in any jail, so as the subscriber will get him again.
PAT. TIERNAN.
Redstone Fort, April 24, 1794.
Date of Record: 24 April 1794
Source: Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette, 17 May 1794.
- Slaveholder Name: Vance, Margaret
City or Township: Tyrone Township
County: Fayette County
Occupation: Widow
Notes: See pre-1783 enslavement records of Margaret Vance, filed in Westmoreland County.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Poll
Sex: Female
Age: One year and nine months old
Date of Birth: 23 June 1787
Status: Slave to age 28
Description: "a girl"
Notes:
Date of Record: 26 March 1789
Source: "Birth Records for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826," Fayette County, Pennnsylvania Prothonotary Records, RG-47 Birth Records for the County Governments, Pennsylania State Archives, transcribed by G.D. Dixon; 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.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Ned
Sex: Male
Age: Two months old
Date of Birth: 17 July 1795
Status: Slave to age 28
Description: "Negro"
Notes:
Date of Record: 24 September 1795
Source: "Birth Records for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826," Fayette County, Pennnsylvania Prothonotary Records, RG-47 Birth Records for the County Governments, Pennsylania State Archives, transcribed by G.D. Dixon; 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.
- Slaveholder Name: Wilson, John
City or Township: Springhill Township
County: Fayette County
Occupation: Farmer
Notes:
- Enslaved Person's Name: Amos
Sex: Male
Age: One year and nine months old
Date of Birth: 16 May 1791
Status: Slave to age 28
Description: "a mulatto child"
Notes:
Date of Record: 03 October 1791
Source: "Birth Records for Negroes and Mulattoes, 1788-1826," Fayette County, Pennnsylvania Prothonotary Records, RG-47 Birth Records for the County Governments, Pennsylania State Archives, transcribed by G.D. Dixon; 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.
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