|
A Mount Vernon Slave Census, 1815-1861
Scott E. Casper |
|
This website enumerates the people we can identify as slaves at Mount Vernon between 1815 and 1861. Those who belonged to the Washington heirs came predominantly from the same root source: the estate of George Washington’s brother, John Augustine Washington, and sister-in-law, Hannah Bushrod Washington. These were the parents of Bushrod Washington (who inherited 4000 acres of Mount Vernon, including the historic mansion and tomb, from George Washington) and of Corbin Washington (whose son and grandson, both named John Augustine, would later inherit the 1,225 acres that included the historic area). This website contains information about the Mount Vernon slaves under each generation of owners after Martha Washington died in 1802: Bushrod Washington (owner and proprietor, 1802-1829); the second John Augustine Washington (owner and proprietor, 1830-1832) and his wife Jane Charlotte Washington (owner, 1832-1850, and proprietor, 1832-1841); and the third John Augustine Washington (proprietor, 1841-1860, and owner, 1850-1860). It also contains citations for the sources used to compile this census. The story of many of these enslaved men, women, and children—as well as of the Mount Vernon they helped make, in slavery and freedom—is told in Sarah Johnson’s Mount Vernon: The Forgotten History of an American Shrine. |
|
Department of History/308 University of Nevada, Reno Reno, NV 89557 |
|
To contact us: |
|
e-mail: casper@unr.edu |
