South Carolina Plantations – Slaves, Slavery

Basic Information

• According to the 1860 census, nine of America's 19 largest slaveholders were South Carolinians.
  

• Plantation names were not recorded on the census, but in South Carolina there were 482 farms of 1,000 acres or more, the largest size category enumerated in the census. There were another 1,359 farms of between 500 and 999 acres (Blake).
  

Timeline

• Earliest known date of existence – ?

• House built – ?

Names, Lists

• Number of acres – 600

• Primary crop – ?

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Jacob Motte Alston (b. 1821, d. 1909)

  Woodbourne was given to Jacob by his father Thomas Pinckney Alston (b. 1795, d. 1861) and mother Jane Ladson Smith (b. 1800, d. 1823).

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

• List of Negroes Belonging to J. Motte Alston Esq. - slaves listed for sale by Alston in the account book of Charleston slave trader Alonzo White, December 1859 - lists 82 slaves including Martha, age 27, who is described as "very prime but has one eye" and Arthur, age 40, who was "prime & the best driver I [White] know of"
  

• Bill of sale for 79 slaves bought by Jacob Motte Alston from Catherine Prioleau on December 12, 1846 - closely matches above list
  

Buildings

• ?

Web Resources

• USF Africana Heritage Project - University of South Florida
  

Print Resources

• Initial references: 40