The Olde Bucks Resource Pages

Bucks County Slave Holders

A Northern state strong in Quaker heritage, Pennsylvania is not often thought of as a 'slave state'.  The truth, however, is that the institution of slavery existed in Pennsylvania well into the 19^th century.  Early Dutch settlers brought Negroes into the region as early as the mid-1630's, and slaves were held in Bucks county by English settlers by 1684.  Several were brought to the county by early Quaker settlers, including William Penn.  But by 1776 the Society of Friends (Quakers) Yearly Meeting had taken a strong stance on this issue, adopting a resolution directing the monthly meetings to disown their fellows who held slaves.  On March 1, 1780, the State Assembly, under pressure from the Friends and others opposed to slavery, passed the Gradual Emancipation Act.  This was the first such statute in the United States, initiating the gradual abolition of slavery in Pennsylvania.  Among other things, the act called for all slaves in Pennsylvania to be registered by November 1, 1782.  As non-compliance would result in forfeiture of their slaves, owners were quick to comply, providing an extremely accurate accounting of slaves and slave holders in the state.

Slave Holders of 1782

Registered Slave Holders
Index of registered slave holders, including township of residence and number of slaves held.

Totals By Township
Breakdown, by township, of number of slaves registered in Bucks county

Slave Holders of 1790
Index of heads of households recorded as holding slaves in the 1790 Pennsylvania census. 

Additional Information On Slavery & The Slave Trade

National Geographic: The Underground Railroad

The Christiana Resistance

The Museum of African Slavery

Library of Congress: Slaves & the Courts, 1740-1860

Timeline of the Atlantic Slave Trade

Number of Slaves Registered, by Township, 1782

The History of Bucks County, W.W.H. Davis

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Index of Registered Bucks County Slave Holders, 1782
Format: last name, first name, township of residence/registration: number of slaves held

ANDERSON, Joshua, of Lower Makefield: 1
BACKHOUSE, Richard, of Durham: 3
BARCLAY, Thomas, of Falls: 11
BARNLEY, John, of Bristol: 2
BARR, Adam, of Buckingham: 4
BASSONETT,Charles, of Bristol Borough: 1
BEANS, Isaac, of Warminster: 2
BENEZET, James, of Bensalem: 6
BENEZET, Samuel, of Bensalem:1
BENNET, Isaac, of Northampton: 2
BENNET, Isaac, of Northampton: 1
BENNET, Jacob, of Northampton: 1
BENNET, William, of Buckingham: 4
BENNET, William, of Northampton: 4
BILES, the children of Langhorne, registered without residence: 4
BOYD, James, of Middletown: 4
BRADY, Ann, of Warwick: 1
BRITTON, Abraham, of Bristol: 1
BRODNAX, William, of Bristol Borough: ?
BROWN, Joseph, of Bristol Borough: 1
BUCKMAN, Thomas, of Newtown: 1
CARR, John, of Warwick: 3
CLARK, John, of Bristol: 8
CLARK, Wheeler, of Lower Makefield: 1
CORNELL, Gilliam, of Northampton: 9
CORNELL, Gilliam Jr., of Northampton: 4
CORNELL, Rem, of Northampton: 4
CORNELL, Willhelmus, of Southampton: 4
CORSON, Mary, of Northampton: 2
COXE, William, of Bristol: 4
CRAVEN, Thomas, of Warminster: 9
DAVIS, William, of Tinicum: 1
DU BOIS, Helena, of Northampton: 1
DUER, John, of Lower Makefield: 4
DUNGAN, Clement, of Northampton: 2
DUNGAN, David, of Northampton: 2
DUNGAN, David Jr., of Bensalem: 2
DUNGAN, Elias, of Northampton: 6
DUNGAN, Jeremia Jr., of Northampton: 2
DUNGAN, Jonathan, of Warwick: 3
DUNGAN, Joshua, of Warwick: 3
EARLE, the estate of John, of Warminster: 3
EDAMS, James, of Northampton: 2
ERWIN, Nathaniel, of Warrington: 3
FEASTER, David, of Northampton: 1
FENTON, John, of Southampton: 2
FENTON, Joseph, of Northampton: 2
FENTON, Matthias, of Bensalem: 2
FOLWELL, Thomas, of Southampton: 1
GARRISON, Charles, of Northampton: 3
GILLESPIE, George, of Bristol: 3
GRIER, John, of New Britain: 2
GRIER, John, of Warwick: 1
GRIER, Joseph, of New Britain: 1
GRIGG, Robert, of Upper Makefield: 1
HANEY, Sarah, of Falls: 2
HARRIS, Hannah, of Newtown: 11
HART, Joseph, of Warminster: 5
HART, Joseph, of Warminster: 1
HART, William, of Plumstead: 1
HEGEMAN, John, of Northampton: 2
HILLEGAS, George, of Milford: 1
HOCKLEY, Thomas, of New Britain: 2
HOGELAND, Derrick, of Southampton: 3
HOLLAS, Abraham, of Warrington: 1
IRWIN, Arthur, of Tinicum: 6
JAMISON, John, of Warwick: 1
JOHNSON, Gershom, of Middletown: 1
JOHNSON, Lawrence, of Bensalem: 1
JOLLY, James, of Lower Makefield: 1
JONES, John, of Lower Makefield: 3
KIDD, John, of Bensalem: 10
KROESEN, Derrick, of Northampton: 6
KROESEN, Derrick, of Southampton: 4
KROESEN, John, of Northampton: 4
LAREWW, Abraham, of Bensalem: 2
LARREW, Daniel, of Falls: 5
LARREW, Daniel Jr., of Middletown: 3
LARREW, Isaac, of Bensalem: 1
LEEDOM, Richard, of Northampton: 1
LEFFERTS, Ann, of Northampton: 9
LEFFERTS, Arthur, of Northampton: 3
LEFFERTS, Peter, of Newtown: 2
LIMEBACKER, Henry, of Bensalem: 1
LONG, Andrew, of Warrington: 1
LONG, William, of Warrington: 1
LOVETT, Joseph, of Bristol: 3
MARPLE, Enoch, of Northampton:  1
McELROY, Archibald, of Bristol Borough: 2
McILVAINE, Joseph, of Bristol: 7
McILVAINE, William, of Bristol Borough: 6
McINTYRE, William, of Tinicum: 1
MEARNS, Hugh, of Warwick: 1
MILLER, Robert, of Warminster: 1
MINNICK, Christian, of Bristol Borough: 5
MITCHELL, Alexander, of Tinicum: 3
MORGAN, James, of Durham: 7
MURRAY, Martha, of Newtown: 1
PARSONS, George, of Northampton: 6
PATTERSON, Nicholas, of Tinicum: 5
PRAUL, Elizabeth, registered without residence: 1
PRAUL, John, registered without residence: 7
RAMSEY, Hugh, of Warwick: 1
RAMSEY, John, of Warwick: 4
RAMSEY, Robert, of Tinicum: 1
RAMSEY, Thomas, of Tinicum: 1
RAMSEY, William, of Warwick: 1
RICHARDSON, Samuel, of Falls: 1
RICHE, Thomas, of Falls: 19
ROBERTS, William, of New Britain: 1
ROBINSON, Robert, of Bedminster: 1
RODMAN, William, of Bensalem: 6
RUCKMAN, James, of Plumstead: 1
RUE, Richard, of Bensalem: 7
RUE, Richard, of Middletown: 8
SACKET, Joseph, of Wrightstown: 1
SEVERNS, Daniel, of Bensalem: 1
SHEWELL, Robert, of New Britain: 2
SPEAR, Phoebe, of Northampton: 1
STEWART, Thomas, of Tinicum: 1
STILLWELL, Richard, of Lower Makefield: 2
STRICKLAND, Margaret, of Newtown: 3
SWIFT, John, of Bensalem: 7
TATE, Anthony, of Middletown: 3
TENNANT, Catharine, of Northampton: 7
THOMAS, Joseph, of Plumstead: 1
THOMPSON, William, of Wrightstown: 6
THORNTON, Joseph, registered without residence: 4
TOMBS, Hugh, registered without residence: 8
TORBERT, Lamb, of Newtown: 1
VANARTSDALEN, Elizabeth, of Bensalem: 5
VANARTSDALEN, James, of Bensalem: 2
VANARTSDALEN, Nicholas, of Southampton: 3
VANARTSDALEN, Simon, of Southampton: 3
VANCOURT, Cornelius, of Bristol: 1
VANDEGRIFT, Abraham, of Bensalem: 5
VANDEGRIFT, John, of Bensalem: 3
VANDEGRIFT, Joseph, of Bensalem: 2
VANDIKE, Jacob, of Southampton: 8
VANHORNE, Bernard, of Upper Makefield: 1
VANHORNE, Isaac, of Northampton: 1
VANSANT, Harman, of Bensalem: 1
VANSANT, Jacob, of Southampton: 2
VANSANT, Nicholas, of Southampton: 3
VANSANT, Peter, of Lower Makefield: 5
WALKER, Richard, of Warrington: 5
WALTON, William, of Bristol: 7
WATTS, Arthur, of Southampton: 2
WEST, Thomas, of Warwick: 1
WILLETT, Augustine, of Bensalem: 10
WILLETT, Jonathan, of Southampton: 6
WILSON, Francis, registered without residence: 1
WINDER, James, of Lower Makefield: 4
WRIGHT, Joshua, of Bristol Borough: 2
WYKOFF, Isaac, of Bristol: 5
WYNKOOP, Gerardus, of Northampton: 1
WYNKOOP, Henry, of Northampton: 10
YARDLEY, Samuel, of Newtown: 4
YARDLEY, Thomas, of Lower Makefield: 9

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Index of Recorded Bucks County Slave Holders, 1790
Format: last name, first name: number of slaves held

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