Seeking advice on slaves

[odbsmith]

Am I correct that a slave had His/Her masters surname?
I Found a long time ago a slave that has my family name, she lived in Prince William county, Virginia and  had a mulatto child who was given to someone else until he reached the age of 31. What name would he have gone by?

[odbsmith]

https://eservice.pwcgov.org/library/digitallibrary/PDF/PWC%20Slave%20&%20Free%20Negro%20Records%201752-1865.pdf

Page 8

[Claire64]

In my research, I have not come across slaves being given surnames,;they were only ever referred to by their forenames (which were of course imposed upon them by the owners)
My ancestor's brother (Benjamin Crossley) owned slaves in Jamaica.  He had three children with a "free woman of colour", and all three of his sons had his surname even though he did not marry the mother.  I am in touch with a man in NYC who is from Jamaica, and he descends from one of these sons. 

[usaPetticrew]

In the U.S., the 1860 census (pre-emancipation of slaves) and 1870 census (post-emancipation) might give you some clues.  In the 1870 census you will find persons enumerated as black or mulatto, with surnames.  I suppose the ex-slave could choose any surname, but many took the surname of their former owner. 

In that 1870 census, within any county, you can find ex-slaves and their former owners both enumerated.  If you find whites and blacks with the same surname, you can then check the slave schedule of the 1860 census, to see if any of the whites with that surname were slaveowners.  In that slave schedule, slaves were only tallied by age and sex; no given names for them were listed.  There was a slave schedule for the 1850 census, as well.

If the boy were raised by someone else until adulthood, he might have taken the surname of whoever raised him.  I would start, though, to look for him under his mother's surname.

[Maiden Stone]

https://eservice.pwcgov.org/library/digitallibrary/PDF/PWC%20Slave%20&%20Free%20Negro%20Records%201752-1865.pdf

Page 8

Interesting reading. Is the person you mention in your first post included?

[youngtug]

A guess; "Ordered that the Churchwardens of Dettingen Parish bind Daniel, a Mulatto born of the body of
Martha Hudman to Francis Jackson til he attains the age of thirty-one years."

[mckha489]

Considering on the page that the entry is on, there is not a single other slave with a surname, is it possible that Martha HUDMAN is NOT a slave?

[Maiden Stone]

Considering on the page that the entry is on, there is not a single other slave with a surname, is it possible that Martha HUDMAN is NOT a slave?

People who were not slaves could be bound for a term of years as servants or apprentices. Caveat: my historical knowledge of law relates to English laws. I assume that the court in Prince William County would have operated under English law in the era of the earlier records.
Are you certain that age 31 is not an incorrect transcription for age 21?

[odbsmith]

Yes I did think she may not have been a slave.
 Yes I did think 31 was old but whether its a transcription error I dont know, it could be that having the services of Daniel till he was 31 may have been payment for taking him on in the first place. And it doesn't say how old the child was either.