The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1907-05-22
MANNING, S. c.. WEDNESDAY, 1907.
OWNED SLAVES
Some Charleston History Not
Very Generally Known.
RICH COL0RED FOLKS

Who Owned and Controlled Negro
Slaves, the Same as White People
Up to the Close Of the Confederate
War. They Were Very Intelligen,
And Stood Well Among the White
People.
There were good many negroes
who owned negro slaves in the South
before the war, says the News anG
; Courier. In the List Of the Tax.
payers of the City of Charleston
1850. published by Evans &; Cogs.
well in 1851, the names Of one hun.
dred and thirty-two colored people
who owned and paid taxes on three
hundred and ninety slaves in Char.
lesion. The tax on slaves was So
per capita, and the amount paid on
the negroes owned by negroes in
this town at the beginning Of the war
aggregated s1.170. Doubtless there
were other shareholders among the
negroes in other parts Of the State,
but Of these we have 40 record.
There were negro Shareholders also
in other parts of the South. Mr.. J.
J. Wood. OF Columbus, Ca, recently
told the Enquirer-Sun, Of that city,
an interesting story about the free
negro persons who owned slaves in
their own right in that community.
One Of these Shareholders was Bob
Parker, who ran line of drays in
Columbus, owning his hands and
drays He also owned negro women
and children. Dilsey Pope owned
her husband and hired him out, and
when he offended her in some way
she got rid Of him by selling him to
Colonel Seaborn Jones. Joe Clark,
another negro in Columbus, barber
| by trade, owned and worked negroes
whom he bought. If the Dilsey Pope
plan could only be adopted nowadays
among the white people it might be
practicable 70 rid the community Of
some very triling husbands; but that
is another matter.
There were more negro SlaVehold-
ers in Charleston than in any other
community in this State; certainly
there was a larger number of free
persons of color" here than in any
other city in the South, with the ex-
ception probably of New Orleans. In
this class were included seven indian
families who had consorted with the
negroes. Some of the family names
of the free persons of color who
fourished here and owned slaves are
still be to found in the City Directory
and there are many Of their decen-
dants still living, but most Of the old
slave-holGing negroes have left no
sign that they ever existed. The Wes-
ton family was the largest and most
important of the free negro families
living here, and they were all very
good people. The free negroes gen
erally held themselves in high esteem
and were respected by their white
neighbors.
There were 361 taxpayers among
them and in 1851 they paid taxes on
real estate that was valued at $780,
go. The rate Of taxation on real
estate was $40 per cent, SO that
these people paid into the City Treas
ury on account of their real estate
holdings, slave property and other
exations of the municipal govern
ment, s12,20S.14.
The largest owners of slaves
among the colored people here were
r. e. Dereef (Indian) and Maria
Weston, each of whom had fourteen
slaves. Amos Baxter owned 1S,
Elizabeth Duprat and George ShreWs-
berry each owned IL, Phoebe LOWS
owned II, James Johnston owned ~
Samuel Weston (Trustee) owned g.
Peter B. Matthews and Jacob Wes-
ton each owned 7, J. A. Saspo:tas
and Louias Decoster each owned D.
and others whose names are not SO
familiar owned from l to 8. The
largest taxpayer among the free
nersons of color" was Maria Weston.l
who owned s40.075 worth of real es-
tate and paid S613,o5 taxes. Other
large taxpayers among these people
were as follows: 400
Robert Howard, real estate $685.
900, slaves 5, taxes S49l. o
r. E. Dereef, real estate s25,ooo'
slaves "A, taxes 1884.
william McKinlay, real estate
$4,000, slaves -, taxes s3o4.4s.
Joseph Dereef, (1ndian, real es-
tate 5000, slaves 6, taxes s242.
ELIAS Garden, (Indian,) real es-
+ata 900. slaves 8, taxes 1927.
fohn T.. Francis, real estate, SILL
500 slaves 7, taxes S1S2.40.
Jacob Weston, real estate Sl1,oOo'
slaves 2, taxes s17S.4O.,
Francis st. Marks, real estate Sll,-
55O. slaves 8, taxes si70.10.
George Shrewsbery, real estate
$500, slaves y, taxes Sloo. .o
Samuel Weston, real estate 90
900. slaves 12, taxes s139.2o. ooo
f. Holloway, realestate S9'-o''
slaves 12, taxes s131. so. -oo
7. A. Sasportas, real estate So'tVV'
slaves 5, taxes s11S,8O.
Thomas r. Small, real estate, 81
400 slaves 3, taxes $111,2o.
lanes. Johnson, real estate St'3oV
slaves 10, taxes S1O2.2o. 49,.
Some Of the "free persons OF colol
hecame prominent in the poltlcs ot
no ~ citv and State after the close OF
the war and all Of them who went
into int politics we're allied with the Re- Re-
publican party. Artson was a con, con,
snicuous name in the Reconstructlon
days of the State. and saspoT5as, S,ia
Deas, De Large, Ellie, Grant 49,
Law, Shrewsbery and Musninst toN
we're also prominent at that tlIne %
VII The colored people returned 81
,orees ns for taxation, and several OF
raI political i1p privileges but they were were
amply amply protected in all their ra civil is11
rights and were free to buy ana sen d
and arHIt, to engage in whatever legitimate
commercial com NJ enterprise or industTial aa,!
Undertaking they pleased: - now tSs
| they became into possession W. %, eift st
slaves they owned Wnetnel W s1s
~ ~ hv purchase, we do not Know, a.
VI 10 uere Informed, that these