Slave Inhabitants in the Parish of Avoyelles

In the 1850 census, enslaved people were enumerated (counted) separately on what was called a "slave schedule." The name of the owner was recorded; but unfortunately, most schedules do not provide personal names for enslaved persons. In most cases, individuals were simply numbered and can be distinguished only by age, sex, and skin color.

This single page from the Parish of Avoyelles, in Louisiana, on October 2, 1850, includes Edwin Epps (Eppes) and a list of his slaves. One of these descriptions (35 year old male) is for Solomon Northup (also known as Platt Hamilton), whose life story is told in his autobiography Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup, a Citizen of New-York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841 and Rescued in 1853, from a Cotton Plantation Near the Red River in Louisiana. Northup had been kidnapped and shipped from Richmond, VA, to New Orleans, LA, where he was sold into slavery and eventually purchased by Eppes.