Barren County (KY) Slaves, Free Blacks, and Free Mulattoes, 1850-1870
Start Year : 1850
End Year : 1870
Barren County is located in south-central Kentucky, and is surrounded by six other counties. The county was established in 1798 from parts of Warren and Green Counties. It was named for the meadowlands known as the barrens. Many of the early white settlers were veterans of the Revolutionary War, they had received land grants in Barren County as payment for their military services. The county had a large number of Scottish families, which was a major influence in naming the county seat Glasgow. There were 1,497 people counted in Barren County in the 1810 U.S. Federal Census, and by 1850, there was a population of 15,657, excluding slaves. Below are the figures for the slave owners, slaves, free Blacks, and free Mulattoes in the county from 1850-1870.

1850 Slave Schedule

• 944 slave owners
• 3,921 Black slaves
• 628 Mulatto slaves
• 63 free Blacks
• 49 free Mulattoes

1860 Slave Schedule

• 729 slave owners
• 3,649 Black slaves
• 421 Mulatto slaves
• 37 free Blacks
• 10 free Mulattoes

For additional information on the births, deaths, marriages, and biographies of African Americans in Barren County beginning in the 1850s, see Barren County a Kentucky African American Griots website.

1870 U.S. Federal Census

• 3,152 Blacks
• 375 Mulattoes
• 68 U.S. Colored Troops listed Barren County, KY, as their birth location [see also the African American Military Hall of Fame list at the Kentucky African American Griots website]

For more see the Barren County entry in The Kentucky Encyclopedia edited by J. E. Kleber; Heart of the Barrens by C. E. Goode; Barren County, Kentucky: African-American Male Marriage Index Book by M. B. Gorin; and Barren's Black Roots by M. B. Gorin.
Subjects: Slave Owners, Slaves, Free Blacks, Free Mulattoes in Kentucky, 1850-1870 [by county]
Geographic Region: Barren County, Kentucky