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Charles Lemons, a retired curator from the Patton Museum at Ft. Knox from 1986-2011, assembled a database of Black enslaved and free people from research starting in Nelson County and expanding into other Kentucky counties over time. It includes data from censuses, wills and other legal documents, tax records, religious records, and military sources.
On our website at this time, we are showcasing only the records of people who were enslaved in Jefferson County. Later in 2022, we will be publishing the entirety of the Lemons database on our website.
The information for each person can include their name, alternate names, family code, county of residence, race, sex, birth date and location, death date, occupation, parents’ names and family codes, marriage status, spouse name, cause of death, purchase prices, baptismal information, emancipation date, physical characteristics, military service, if they were enslaved by Roman Catholic institutions/clergy, and general notes. There are up to 4 owner fields to record multiple transactions involving enslaved people.
(Spelling and descriptions in the parentheses represent what is in the database.)
| LastName |
| FirstName |
| AKA |
| AKALast |
| FamilyCode |
| County 1 |
| Color |
| Sex |
| BirthYear |
| BirthDay |
| BornIn |
| BICounty |
| DiedYear |
| DiedDate |
| Occup |
| Owner1 |
| Owner1First |
| Owner Code # |
| Owner1 AltCode |
| State1 |
| YearTransfered |
| TransferCode |
| Owner2 |
| Owner2First |
| Owner#2 Code |
| Owner2 AltCode |
| State2 |
| County2 |
| YearTransferred2 |
| MotherFirst |
| MotherLast |
| MotherFamilyCode |
| FatherFirst |
| FatherLast |
| FatherFamilyCode |
| Married |
| SpouseFirst |
| SpouseLast |
| SpouseCode |
| MarryDate |
| MarryYear |
| Location |
| Marriage Declared? |
| DateDeclared |
| NameLast |
| Died of Disease |
| Cause of Death |
| PurchaseYear 1 |
| PurchaseDate 1 |
| PurchasePrice 1 |
| PurchaseMultiple 1 |
| PurchaseYear 2 |
| Removed |
| RemovedTo |
| Notes |
| Baptised |
| Baptised on |
| Baptised at |
| New Name |
| Religion |
| 1830Census |
| 30Count |
| 1840Census |
| 40Count |
| 1850Census |
| 50Count |
| 1860Census |
| 60Count |
| 1870Census |
| 70Count |
| Enlist |
| EnUnit |
| EnlistYear |
| EnlistDate |
| Eman |
| EmanYear |
| EmanDate |
| Description |
| Height |
| Weight |
| Skin Color |
| RCProperty |
| PensionRec |
| PensionWidowNo |
| PensionWidowCert |
| PensionInvalidNo |
| PensionInvalidCert |
| PensionOtherNo |
| PensionOtherCert |
| InforSource |
| Propriatary Info |
| NewEnt |
| (Alternate first name(s)) |
| (Alternate last name) |
| (State born in) |
| (County born in) |
| (Occupation) |
| (Last Name of First Owner) |
| (First Name of First Owner) |
| (Alternate Code ID for owner for cross Reference) |
| (New Owner Last Name) |
| (New Owner First Name) |
| (W=White; X=Out of State Owner) |
| (Alternate Code ID for owner for cross Reference) |
| (Mother’s First Name) |
| (Mother’s Last Name) |
| (Mother’s Family Code) |
| (Father’s First Name) |
| (Father’s Last Name) |
| (Father’s Family Code) |
| (Yes/No) |
| (Where were they married) |
| (Yes/No) |
| (Adopted Name by1866) |
| (Did they die of disease, Yes/No) |
| (How did they die?) |
| (Yes/No. Price reflects multiple slaves) |
| (Removed from the state, Yes/No) |
| (State removed to (using modern initials) LB=Liberia) |
| (Yes/No) |
| (New First name (if different than Birth Name)) |
| (Religion of baptism or owner (if known)) |
| (Found in 1830 Census, Yes/No) |
| (Census County for 1830) |
| (Found in 1840 Census,Yes/No) |
| (Census county for 1840) |
| (Found in 1850 Census, Yes/No) |
| (Census county for 1850) |
| (Found in 1860 Census, Yes/No) |
| (Census county for 1860) |
| (Appears in 1870 Census, Yes/No) |
| (Census county for 1870) |
| (Enlisted in the Military, Yes/No) |
| (Unit enlisted in) |
| (Year Enlisted) |
| (Date Enlisted) |
| (Has this person been emancipated, Yes/No) |
| (Year of Emancipation) |
| (Date of Emancipation) |
| (Physical Description) |
| (Height in inches) |
| (Weight in pounds) |
| (As Described) |
| (Property of the Roman Catholic Church? Yes/No) |
| (Is their a pension claim, Yes/No) |
| (Pension Request Number) |
| (Certificate #) |
| (Pension Request Number) |
| (Certificate #) |
| (Who gave this information?) |
| (Credit must be given for source, Yes/No) |
| (New or modified entry since last download, Yes/No) |
(Spelling and descriptions in the parentheses represent what is in the database)
SRColor
| B |
| M |
| W |
| I |
SRFullColor
| Black |
| Mulatto |
| White |
| Indian |
The Owner Code is a unique identifier for each enslaver that Lemons recorded. The Owner Code highlights many generations as extended family networks repeatedly willed enslaved people between relatives.
| Prefix codes: |
| W |
| SD |
| X |
| Z |
| White (but also applied to free people of color) |
| Slave trader |
| Unknown |
| Contraband |
| Suffix: |
| XX |
| Out of state |
Spelling represents what is in the database.
| AD | Adair | GV | Graves | MO | Monroe |
| AL | Allen | GY | Grayson | MN | Montgomery |
| AN | Anderson | GR | Green | MG | Morgan |
| BL | Ballard | GU | Greenup | MU | Muhlenberg |
| BN | Barren | HC | Hancock | NE | Nelson |
| BA | Bath | HA | Hardin | NI | Nicholas |
| BO | Boone | HL | Harlan | OH | Ohio |
| BB | Bourbon | HR | Harrison | OL | Oldham |
| BD | Boyd | HT | Hart | ON | Owen |
| BY | Boyle | HN | Henderson | OW | Owsley |
| BR | Bracken | HE | Henry | PE | Pendleton |
| BE | Breathitt | HK | Hickman | PY | Perry |
| BK | Breckenridge | HO | Hopkins | PI | Pike |
| BU | Bullitt | JA | Jackson | PO | Powell |
| BT | Butler | JE | Jefferson | PU | Pulaski |
| CD | Caldwell | JS | Jessamine | RC | Rockcastle |
| CA | Calloway | JO | Johnson | RW | Rowan |
| CM | Campbell | KE | Kenton | RU | Russell |
| CO | Carroll | KN | Knox | SC | Scott |
| CT | Carter | LR | Larue | SH | Shelby |
| CS | Casey | LA | Laural | SI | Simpson |
| CH | Christian | LW | Lawrence | SP | Spencer |
| CK | Clark | LT | Letcher | TA | Taylor |
| CL | Clay | LE | Lewis | TO | Todd |
| CI | Clinton | LI | Lincoln | TR | Trigg |
| CR | Crittenden | LV | Livingston | TB | Trimble |
| CU | Cumberland | LO | Logan | UN | Union |
| DV | Daviess | LY | Lyon | WR | Warren |
| ED | Edmondson | MD | Madison | WA | Washington |
| ES | Estill | MF | Magoffin | WN | Wayne |
| FA | Fayette | MR | Marion | WE | Webster |
| FM | Fleming | MA | Marshall | WH | Whitley |
| FL | Floyd | MS | Mason | WL | Wolfe |
| FR | Franklin | MK | McCracken | WO | Woodford |
| FU | Fulton | ML | McLean | ||
| GA | Gallatin | ME | Meade | XX | Out of state |
| GD | Garrard | MC | Mercer | ||
| GT | Grant | MT | Metcalfe |
Spelling represents what is in the database.
TransferCode | Transfer | Explanation |
| AL | Alimony | Ownership transferred by court order of alimony |
| AP | Apprenticed | |
| CO | Change of owner | Owner’s legal name changes as a result of marriage, or property transfers back to a woman’s ownership as a result of the death of her husband (property was originally willed or given to the woman prior to or during marriage) |
| DO | Dower | Title transferred by legally recorded act of Dower |
| DT | Deed of Trust | Transfer of ownership by a legal and recorded Deed of Trust |
| EM | Emancipated | Freed, either by will, declaration of an individual, or by court order. |
| EN | Enlisted | Slave enlisted or drafted into Federal Military Service |
| EX | Exchanged | Exchanged for property – no cash involved normally. |
| GD | Guardianship | Slaves held by third person who is responsible for a minor child, to whom the slave ultimately belongs. |
| GT | Gift | Transfer of ownership by gift |
| IN | Indentured | |
| LN | Loan | Usually a family operation – long term loan of slaves to family members |
| LS | Lease | Long term lease with no actual transfer of ownership |
| MG | Marriage | Transfer of legal responsibility of a slave from wife to Husband under state law. Ownership normally returns to the wife upon the husband’s death by use of Dower rights. |
| PA | Public Auction | Any transfer of ownership by sale, either public or private |
| RA | Run Away | Ran away from owner |
| RT | Returned | Not common – a return of property to an estate in order to gain rights under a will |
| SZ | Siezed | Siezed by court order or for debts – arrested for a crime |
| TR | Transferred | Not common – results from a legal transfer from one government body to another |
| WI | Will | Ownership transferred as a result of a written or oral will. This will also include divisions ordered by courts to comply with a last will and testemate |
“User Guide for Charles Lemons Database” reprinted by permission of the Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky, with special thanks to Hannah O’Daniel McCallon and Jennie Cole.
This website is a service of Reckoning, Inc., a small non-profit organization that depends on grants and donations to continue our work. Up to this point, we have avoided putting any paid advertising on our website. If you would like to help us keep it that way, please consider making a donation to our organization.