Black Slaveowners - Larry Koger (1985).pdf

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by Larry Koger
To my parents and Rhudine Johnson
Historical research is often stimulated by a provocative question;
such was the case for me. As a bright-eyed undergraduate at the
University of the District of Columbia, I was exasperated by a
multitude of questions resulting from my discovery that free Afro-
Americans owned slaves. Who were these black masters, and why did
they acquire slaves? Under the guidance of Dr. David Lewis, I
attempted to unravel the mystery. It was in Professor Lewis' seminar
course that my first inquiries were made and subsequently answered in
the paper, "Free Blacks as Slaveowners in America, 1650-1850."
Without the initial inspiration provided by Dr. Lewis, this book would
have been impossible.
Indeed, the seminar taught by Professor Lewis prompted an
investigation which lasted five years. It was at Howard University that I
improved my methods and asked more sophisticated questions. I am
deeply indebted to Professor Thomas J. Davis, who read my graduate
papers on the black slaveowners of South Carolina, and Martha S.
Putney, who read the chapter "No More Black Massa." Their insights
were extremely beneficial. In addition, a word of thanks must go to
Walter Hill, a graduate student at Maryland University. Walter led me
to make the connection linking the African-born slavers in Guinea and
Sierra Leone with the free black masters of South Carolina.
I am also appreciative of the assistance and cooperation provided
by the staffs of the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division; the
Na t i o n a l Archives, Genealogy and Manuscript Divisions; the
Department of Archives & History, Columbia, South Carolina; the
South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina; the South
Carolina Historical Society, Charleston; Robert Small Library, College
of Charleston; and the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard
University.
Finally, I am especially grateful to my aunt, Rhudine Johnson,
who provided me with lodging and conversation during three summers
o f research in Columbia, South Carolina. Without her support, my
investigation would have been intolerable.
Larry Koger
Washington, D. C.
August 31, 1985

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