After the war, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts led the way to "emancipate their remaining slaves." PA instituted a "gradual" abolition law in 1780, which didn't mean they were freed right away. If the children of the enslaved were born after the law was signed, they were considered free.
Fun Fact #1 : Vermont was the first state to abolish slavery in 1777.
In 1780, blacks made up 3.6% of Philadelphia's population. In 1820, the black population grew more than 10%.
So far in my research I discovered there were more blacks living in Penllyn and Ambler during the 19th and 20th century. But how about Whitpain? Were there African Americans living in Whitpain?
Rise in Free Blacks after the American Revolution
I came across a piece written by Carter G. Woodson who recorded the number of free blacks in the year 1830.
He even discussed about the explanation to how the rise of free black came about. From 1790 to 1810, the population of free blacks increased from 7.9% to 13.9%. From 1820 to 1830 there was an exponential increase in the black population. He explained that one reason there was a large increase in the black population during that timespan was due to fugitive slaves escaping from the South to the North. Another reason was from the "ultimate working out of gradual emancipation in the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York."
But, Woodson concluded that the increase in population was mainly due to the number of births. He claimed there were little evidence showing the increase was from the fugitives.
NOTE: In 1790 Philadelphia, there were 1,630 blacks with 1,420 who were free while 210 as slaves. After Montgomery County was established, there were 440 free blacks while 114 were slaves in the same year. In 1830, the population grew up to 9,796. As a whole, Pennsylvania had 37,390 free blacks in 1830.
Free Blacks in Whitpain
I discovered there were 4 blacks who were owned and then freed by Whitpain resident William Stewart. Not only do we not know about the 4 free blacks, we also do not about the owner himself, William Stewart.
The only information I found about him was that he lived in the Whitpain before 1830; and he was born somewhere between 1775 and 1794. There was no indication what race he was, but he was mentioned in the 1830 census data of Montgomery County.
NOTE: In 1790, there were ZERO slaves living in Whitpain.
4 Free Blacks, 1 was blind:
1 Male- 10-24 years old
1 Male- 36-55 years old
1 Female- 10-24 years old
1 Female- 36-55 years old
Bibliography
Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
Bean, Theodore Weber. History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Volume 1. (Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1884): 303.
Diemer, Andrew. "Free Black Communities." The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Last modified 2017. https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/free-black-communities/.
"Pennsylvania – An Act For The Gradual Abolition Of Slavery, 1780."
Pruitt, Sarah. "The Man Behind Black History Month." HISTORY. Last modified January 31, 2022. http://www.history.com/news/the-man-behind-black-history-month.
Woodson, Carter G. Free Negro Heads of Families in the United States in 1830, together with a Brief Treatment of the Free Negro. (Washington: The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Inc., 1925): xviii-xxii, 142.
Year: 1830; Census Place: Whitpain, Montgomery, Pennsylvania; Series: M19; Roll: 154; Page: 373; Family History Library Film: 0020628.
Comments