Identifying Kinsey Slaves in the 1860 Federal Census of Jones County, North Carolina

In 1860, Jones County, North Carolina was home to roughly fifty-two slaves owned by Kinsey family members.  By law, these individuals failed to be identified by name within the census, but their names may appear in probate documents detailing the "perishable property" of Kinsey slave holders. In order to discover their names, we must first identify their owners, and begin to rebuild the web of family ties through which they may have been transferred from family member to family member.


Here is what I have managed to find so far:

In the 1860 Federal Census Slave Schedule for Jones County, NC, the following slave holders with the Kinsey surname appear:

Tuckahoe Township
James H.
"J"
Jackson A.
W.C.
J.H.
Joab

Beaver Creek Township
Susan
Jobe L.
R.J.


These individuals appear to descend from two distinct branches of the Kinsey family of Jones County: the Joseph A. Kinsey and James D. Kinsey branches

The Joseph A. Branch includes:

Generation One
Joseph A. Kinsey (d. 1857) and Susan Rhem

Generation Two
James H. Kinsey

Generation Three
Joab
James H,, Jr.
Joseph


The James D. Branch includes:

Generation One
James D. Kinsey (d. 1844) and Lovinia Williams (d. 1853)

Generation Two
William C. Kinsey


The will of Joseph A.Kinsey describes how his slaves are to be divided amongst his children and grandchildren, including those listed above.

His probate documents provide much more detail, showing the actual inventory of the slaves, including the unnamed enslaved children from the will.

 We can now compare the number of slaves allotted to the family members on this list to those enumerated for those family members in the slave schedule.


The same can be done with the James D. branch of the Kinsey family.  In his case, there does not appear to have been a will, so the probate documents become especially important. In fact, it seems as if the majority of his probate papers concern the division of slaves.  For our purposes, we should be paying special attention to those papers dated closest to the 1860 Census, which was taken in the summer of that year. The following papers, detailing the valuation and drawing of lots for the James D. Kinsey slaves are from 1859:

On the last page, we see that William C. Kinsey drew the last lot of slaves, which numbered five in total. This matches with the five slaves that he is said to have owned in the 1860 census.
 (Note: It seems that the rest of the slaves were drawn by a man named E. Davis, who may have been the legal guardian of William C's minor siblings):

(Note: the 1860 Census shows that William C. Kinsey lived with Mary Jones, the woman listed before him in the slave schedule.  It may be worth looking into her probate documents, as well)




Next steps: husbands often inhereted slaves from their wives' parents. Look into who was married to the male slave holders, and whether or not their parents have probate records. For females, look into family members-parents, siblings, etc.- who may have left them slaves.