Slaves of Jacob Lawson, Kentucky

Date: 1795 to 1854
Location: Fleming County, Kentucky
Surname/tag: Lawson

Slaves of Jacob Lawson (1763 - 1854) of Fleming, Kentucky

In the 1795 will of his father Thomas Lawson in Hampshire County, Virginia, Jacob Lawson received a bequest of two enslaved people:"^[1]

• Betsey
• Joseph.

The 1810 census reported Jacob Lawson with 3 enslaved people in Flemingsburg, Fleming County, Kentucky.^[2]

The 1820 census reported Jacob Lawson with 12 enslaved people in Fleming County, Kentucky:^[3]

• Slaves - Males - Under 14: 4
• Slaves - Males - 14 thru 25: 1
• Slaves - Males - 26 thru 44: 1
• Slaves - Females - Under 14: 2
• Slaves - Females - 14 thru 25: 1
• Slaves - Females - 26 thru 44: 2
• Slaves - Females - 45 and over: 1.

The 1830 census reported Jacob Lawson with 11 enslaved people in Fleming County, Kentucky:^[4]

• Slaves - Males - Under 10: 1
• Slaves - Males - 10 thru 23: 3
• Slaves - Males - 36 thru 54: 1
• Slaves - Females - Under 10: 3
• Slaves - Females - 10 thru 23: 1
• Slaves - Females - 24 thru 35: 1
• Slaves - Females - 36 thru 54: 1.

The 1840 census reported Jacob Lawson with 11 enslaved people in Fleming County, Kentucky.^[5]

• Slaves - Males - Under 10: 1
• Slaves - Males - 10 thru 23: 1
• Slaves - Males - 36 thru 54: 1
• Slaves - Males - 55 thru 99: 1
• Slaves - Females - Under 10: 2
• Slaves - Females - 10 thru 23: 2
• Slaves - Females - 24 thru 35: 1
• Slaves - Females - 36 thru 54: 2.

In the 1850 census Jacob (age 86), Farmer, was in District 1, Fleming, Kentucky, United States, living with a man named Gabriel [no last name] (age 60), Black, born in Kentucky, not able to read or write.^[6]

The 1850 Slave Schedule reported Jacob Lawson with 9 enslaved people in District 1, Fleming, Kentucky:^[7]

• 70 M B
• 50 F B
• 29 M B
• 25 F B
• 10 F B
• 7 M B
• 6 M B
• 5 F B
• 2 F B Idiot.

Jacob Lawson wrote a Will in Fleming County, Kentucky on 9 Jul 1851, which named 8 enslaved people. The will was proved on 30 Sep 1854:^[8]

"3. I give to my son John Lawson one negro woman named America and her infant child.

"4. I give to the heirs of my daughter Nancy Duskins decd. one negro girl named Julian.

"5. I give to the heirs of my daughter Polly Holland wife of Benjamin Holland one negro boy named Thomas.

"7. I give in trust to my son-in-law Moses Duskins (sic) the sum of $100 for the use and support of my negro man Joe (who is very aged and infirm) to be him appropriated to the rise of Joe as his needs may require.

"8. My will is that at my death my negro Martin and my two Negro women Hanner and Milly be free and exonerated from servitude to any person on their complying with the requisition of the laws. Also that my negro girl Eliza be free after the expiration of 14 years from my death. Seven years of which time she shall serve my son John Lawson and the other seven my son-in-law Moses Duskin."

Research Notes

• Joseph of the 1795 will is certainly Joe of the 1851 will, because he is most likely the 70-year-old male in 1850.
• Perhaps, Betsey and Joseph are a couple.
• It seems reasonable to imagine that [[Lawson-14598|Gabriel in the 1850 census had negotiated for emancipation in return for his service to the aged Jacob Lawson. He would not have appeared in the 1850 census unless he was a free person of color.
• Concerning paragraph 8 of the will, complying with the law: "In 1852 the legislature [of Kentucky approved that] emancipation depended upon the willingness of the slave to leave the state. Emancipation would not take effect until the slave was out of the state......If a slave was emancipated and refused to leave the state, he was to be hired out for the benefit of the county until he consented to leave."^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ Will of Thomas Lawson
2. ↑ 1810 Census: "1810 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1810; Census Place: Flemingsburg, Fleming, Kentucky; Roll: 6; Page: 86; Image: Kym252_6-0092; FHL Roll: 0181351
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7613 #558271 (accessed 23 November 2023)
3. ↑ 1820 Census: "1820 United States Federal Census"
   1820 U S Census; Census Place: Fleming, Kentucky; Page: 64; NARA Roll: M33_21; Image: 76
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 7734 #1386631 (accessed 8 March 2022)
   Jacob Lawson.
4. ↑ 1830 Census: "1830 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1830; Census Place: Eastern Division, Fleming, Kentucky; Series: M19; Roll: 36; Page: 70; Family History Library Film: 0007815
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 8058 #1051133 (accessed 8 March 2022)
   Jacob Lawson.
5. ↑ 1840 Census :"1840 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1840; Census Place: Division 2, Fleming, Kentucky; Roll: 110; Page: 210; Family History Library Film:0007825
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 8057 #1257421 (accessed 8 March 2022)
   Jacob Lawson.
6. ↑ 1850 Census: "1850 United States Federal Census"
   The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M432; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: District 1, Fleming, Kentucky; Roll: 199; Page: 313b; Line Number: 27
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8054 #17061971 (accessed 23 November 2023); "1850 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1850; Census Place: District 1, Fleming, Kentucky; Roll: 199; Page: 313b
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 8054 #17061971 (accessed 8 March 2022)
   Jacob Lawson (86), Farmer, in District 1, Fleming, Kentucky, USA. Born in Pennsylvania.
7. ↑ 1850 Census: "1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules"
   The National Archive in Washington DC; Washington, DC; NARA Microform Publication: M432; Title: Seventh Census Of The United States, 1850; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 8055 #90409730 (accessed 8 March 2022)
   Jacob Lauzon in District 1, Fleming, Kentucky, USA.
8. ↑ Kentucky Probate Records 1727-1990; family search.org. Fleming Co. vol. I, pp. 433-434, Will of Jacob Lawson 9 Jul 1851 (FHL# 344042, DGS4818901, image 535
9. ↑ "Kentucky Law Concerning Emancipation or Freedom of Slaves," Edward M. Post, The Filson Club History Quarterly, vol. 59, no. 3, Jul 1985, p. 346-347: https://filsonhistorical.org/wp-content/uploads/publicationpdfs/59-3-4_Kentucky-Law-Concerning-Emancipation-or-Freedom-of-Slaves_Post-Edward-M..pdf