Question

How do I go about finding the slave owner who fathered Celia White? Any suggestions?

Answer 1

to find where she was enslaved, you need to trace her backwards through census records. This isn't always easy, especially if the person moved out of the area they lived in prior to 1870 and if they have a common name. But if they stayed in the same area, you should be able to find them. I see you have an 1880 census. Is she in the same place in 1870? if so, find out which slave owners lived in that area in 1860. Then you would need to find records for each slave owner such as bills of sales, wills, lists of slaves, etc. to see if one of them lists her. All this is not easy and can take a lot of time.

Answer 2

What makes you think she was fathered by a slave owner? Here she is on the 1870 census, in the household of a Warren White, who is presumably her father (he is listed as black and born in North Carolina): https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHVR-M5X?

Comments

She was a friend of mine's grandmother, and this was the story she was told by her mother.

Answer 3

I'm assuming you have some genetic data that you are tracing.  If that is the case, you need to triangulate the results with other people who tested who look like they come through that same line.  If the father has no living descendants, it can be tough especially if the suspect has several siblings.  (In other words, the match may look like a father when it could be a son with no other descendants.)  To answer your question, just follow the lines from the genetic tests on several people and narrow down where they meet.