I am looking for slave owners in my tree to assist a black researcher.

Question

I have August Staggers DNA, a black man. I am trying to get more information about August as I suspect he was owned by onw of my ancestors. It could be my White surname line because several children assumed that surname.

August Staggers was born in 1820 in South Carolina. He had six sons and two daughters with Millie Muldrew between 1838 and 1865. He died on August 15, 1900, in Henning, Tennessee, having lived a long life of 80 years.

[edited to add African-American tag to get the attention of members of the US Black Heritage Project]

Answer 1

The 1850 and 1860 Slave Schedules list an Enslaver named William Staggers in Williamsburg, South Carolina with an enslaved man of 30 and 40 years of age who could be August. Freed slaves often used the surname of their enslaver.  His wife’s obituary says she was enslaved by a Capt.  White of Williamsburg, S.C.

Answer 2

Hi Tom, and thank you for introducing yourself in our g2g forum. This is the right place for you to ask questions about your ancestors. It sounds like you are doing some interesting research.

If you really want to get into it deep, upgrade to a family membership (which is 100% free) and put Staggers as one of your tags. There are currently 72 other people with the last name of Staggers in WikiTree. You may find the information you are looking for much quicker than you thought.

Welcome to WikiTree and good luck in your search.