The Silver Bluff Slave Community of South Carolina 1831-1865

List of Surnames of Persons Enslaved at

Silver Bluff, Cathwood, Cowden &

Redcliffe Plantations in South Carolina

1831-1865

James Henry Hammond (1807-1864) was a leading statesman and planter of antebellum South Carolina. An outspoken proponent of slavery and states rights, Hammond owned nearly one thousand human beings over the course of his thirty-three years as a planter. An astute and shrewd businessman, Hammond kept meticulous records on the day-to-day operations of his four plantations, including the slaves that lived and labored on them.

The first slave surnames recorded in Hammond's plantation records, appeared on his original property inventory taken the day he arrived at Silver Bluff on the 8th day of December 1831.On that list, along with land, livestock and farming implements appear the names of 147 men, women and children. Hammond listed the slave community in 34 family groups. Of those 34 family groups, 28 had at least one surname recorded within its household. A total of eight households had two surnames recorded. Seventeen different surnames were recorded in all.

Other surnames were eventually discovered by this researcher for individuals not identified with a surname in the 1831 inventory, through plantation journals and federal census records.

Throughout the years Hammond recorded additional surnames for slaves he purchased privately or at auction. Also included in the surname list are surnames discovered in the1870 and 1880 Barnwell, Aiken & Edgefield County Federal Census records for freedmen and women who were once enslaved at Silver Bluff but were never identified with a surname in the plantation records.

I have been researching the family histories and genealogies of The Silver Bluff Slave Community and their Descendants since 1997 and I welcome all inquiries from researchers seeking additional information regarding these remarkable individuals or a connection to their community.

List of Surnames

Aldrich

Ardis

Armstrong

Ball

Bines

Bowman

Branch

Brandus

Brooks

Bryant

Butler

Campbell

Clark

Cook

Colic (Kollock, Collick)

Coward

Danford (Danforth)

Fuller

Galphin (Golphin, Golfin)

Gilyard (Gailliard)

Glaze (Glais)

Goodwin (Goodwyn)

Grant

Green

Hammond

Hampton

Hendley (Henley)

Henry

Hornsby

Izard

Jackson

Johnson (Johnston)

Jones

Lark (Larke)

Long

McFord (Mackford)

Mack

Mason

Moore

Perry (Perrie)

Preston

Redd

Rhea (Ray)

Richardson

Robert(s)

Roundtree

Scott

Seabrook

Sharpton

Shubrick

Simmons

Singleton

Smith

Solon

Summerfield

Taylor

Taveau (Tavo)

Watkins

Williams

Wilson

Woodruff

Wright

Notes

The following are some of the records used to compile the list of surnames of persons who were enslaved at Silver Bluff, Cathwood, Cowden & Redcliffe Plantations, South Carolina from 1831-1865:

-The microfilm series, Records of Antebellum Southern Plantations From the Revolution Through the Civil War, Series A, Part I, The Papers of James Henry Hammond, Selections from the South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia, Reels # 1-15, University Publications of America, 1985.

-U.S. Federal Census Records 1870-1930; Barnwell, Aiken & Edgefield Counties; Silverton, Hammond and Sleepy Hollow Townships, South Carolina.

For additional information regarding The Silver Bluff Slave Community please contact Alane Roundtree at elmoreroundtree@aol.com or visit the Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site in Beech Island, South Carolina.

The Surname List Last Updated: 07 May 2005

From the research of: Alane Roundtree