Jefferson County Black Ancestors

In the table below you will find records for thousands of Black people who were living in Jefferson County, Kentucky during the period of slavery. Some were free people of color, but most were enslaved, at least for some of their lives. For each person you will find key pieces of information about them that were found in various archival records, such as names, their birth year and location, the names of their enslavers, and the name of their spouse if known.

Each of the columns in this table can be used to sort the records. To do so, place your pointing device over the letter identifying the column until you see a downward arrow. When you click on this arrow, a box will emerge giving you sorting options. In this way, you can sort the records in different ways, such as by Last Name or Birth Year. Please note that for enslaved people, the Last Name field corresponds to the  last name of that person’s first enslaver. This is not necessarly the name that this person may have been known by to family and friends.

You can find a helpful user guide here which explains the various terms and abbreviations that are used throughout this table, such as Family Code and Owner Code.