Slaves of William Shelton Delk

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Rock Springs, Orange, Florida, USA
Surnames/tags: Slavery Black Heritage

Index of Plantations

This page's purpose is to record the enslaved people owned by William Shelton Delk (abt.1815-1885) and attempt to connect them to their families.

Contents 1 Slaves 1.1 Marion County 1850 Census 1.2 Orange County 1854 1.3 Linda 2 Sources

Slaves

The slaves of William Shelton Delk (abt.1815-1885) included his children by enslaved women. He started out in Goshen, Lincoln, Georgia. He then moved to Marion, Florida where he had a plantation. Then he set up this large planation on Rock Springs in Orange County, FL with a post office box in Mellonville, Florida. Rock Springs is now known as Apopka, FL and is a County recreational area Kelly Park that everyone can enjoy.

His slaves would include the Marion and Orange County eleven slaves.^[1]

Names may be added to table as discerned.

Marion County 1850 Census

1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules

Slave	Age 1850	Gender	Race	HC	EST YOB	Details	Value
Betty Reese	40	F	B		1810	Bought w/ children d. 1 Nov 1909 Sorrento, Lake, FL	[2]
2	25	F	Mu		1825
3	20	F	B		1830
4	15	M	B		1835
Anthony Frazier	13	F	B		1837	Born in Liberty, GA ma Judy Henry
6	10	M	B		1840
7	6	M	Mu		1844
Joseph Delk	3	M	Mu		1846	ma Judy Henry pa Delk
9	2	F	Mu		1848
10	1	M	Mu		1849
11	11/12	M	Mu		1849

^[3]

1850 U.S. Federal Census-Slave Schedule

Orange County 1854

Delk Plantation, Orange County, Florida
He moved the Marion County slaves to Rock Springs, Orange County, Florida in 1854. The first U.S. Census was in 1860.

Eighth Census of the United States 1860 Slave Schedule^[4]

Slave	Age 1860	Gender	Race	HC	Est YOB	Details	Value
Betty Reese	50	F	B		1810	Bought w/ children d. 2 Nov 1909 Jacksonville, FL
2	30	F	Mu		1830
3	24	F	B		1836
Anthony Frazier	21	M	B		1839	ma. Judy Henry
5	20	F	B		1840
6	16	M	B	Blind	1844
Joseph Delk	14	M	Mu		1846	ma Judy Henry pa Delk
8	12	M	Mu		1848
9	10	F	Mu		1850
10	10	M	Mu		1850
11	10	M	Mu		1850
12	7	F	Mu		1853
Linda Chapman	7	F	B		1853	Bought 18 Oct 1858 N. F. Chapman	$265 + 8 % int. 2023=$9,668 +int.
14	4	M	Mu	Idiot	1856
15	3	M	B		1857
16	1	M	B		1859
17	0/12	M	B		1860

^[5]

key: B-considered Black only, Mu-mulatto or mixed Black with white or Indian or Spanish, HC-Disability

William S Delk, 1860 US Census Slave Sched

According to his son and slave, Joseph Delk aka Robards in a 1926 interview with The Apopka Chief newspaper editor, the final count on the night he freed the slaves in 1863 was 19. We don't have the gender or ages of the additional slaves.^[6]

Comparing the slaves of 1850 and 1860, the genders and races are the same, but ages vary by just a few years. It appears that birth records were not recorded well and that the same slaves were brought down from Marion, including his son, Joseph, born in Marion.

Linda

The 18 Oct 1858 Purchase of Linda
(1 Jan 1859 balanced paid with 8 % interest)</br />

Linda's purchase by William S Delk from W. F. Chapman

^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ 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 Record 8055 #91423456 (accessed 15 February 2023) Wm S Delk in District 1, Marion, Florida, USA.
2. ↑ The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Florida, Tuesday, 2 Nov 1909, Page Three, [1]| Florida times-union (Jacksonville, Fla. : 1903) The Florida times-union. Jacksonville, Fla. : Florida Pub. Co., 1903- Vol. 38 (Jan. 20, 1903)-volumes Newspaper ISSN: 0740-2325 Not digitized. Special request
3. ↑ 1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Sched. William S Delk
4. ↑ The National Archives in Washington DC; Washington DC, USA; Eighth Census of the United States 1860; Series Number: M653; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29
5. ↑ 1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Sched. William S Delk https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7668/images/flm653_110-0671?ssrc=pt&treeid=46116646&personid=422445261705&hintid=&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&_gl=1*1qeyrv0*_ga*NjU4MDAyMjc0LjE2NzczNTcwOTI.*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY3NzYwODQ1NS4xNC4xLjE2Nzc2MDg1MDUuMTAuMC4w&_ga=2.203205399.780149655.1677357093-658002274.1677357092&pId=94103923
6. ↑ The Apopka Chief, 13 May 1926, P 1, 8
7. ↑ Linda's purchase by William S Delk from W. F. Chapman [2]