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William F. Spivey's History Channel
Why Two States Counted All Their Black People

Why Two States Counted All Their Black People

The Special Counts of Black People After Nat Turner’s Rebellion

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William Spivey
Sep 17, 2024
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William F. Spivey's History Channel
William F. Spivey's History Channel
Why Two States Counted All Their Black People
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Photo by Chris Lawton at Unsplash

I entered a rabbit hole in Charlottesville, Virginia, and came out in Liberia. Sometimes I have to see a thing a few times for it to register. During my research, I’d run across a few times the fact Sally Hemings had been counted as a “free-mulatto” during a special census in 1833. Every time I read that, I focused on “free-mulatto,” when I should have been looking at “special census.”

It wasn’t clear why a special census was required in 1833, but the information supplied at www.monticello.org clearly stated it was tied to the Nat Turner Rebellion in 1831.

“[1830] Sally Hemings and her sons Madison and Eston are listed as free white people in the 1830 census. Three years later, in a special census taken following the Nat Turner Rebellion of 1831, Hemings described herself as a free mulatto who had lived in Charlottesville since 1826.”

I tried every combination of search words on the Internet to find out about this special census. I found nothing for Virgi…

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