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William Hill was born in 1805 in Co. Antrim to a Presbyterian family who supported the United Irishmen. He arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in 1822. By 1824 he had established himself as a storekeeper. He married Anna Hamilton Donald, the daughter of Major John Donald of Donaldsville. They went on to have six sons and four daughters. He served in the Seminole War in Florida in Captain Thomas Parker's company. By 1850 he is recorded as a farmer with Real Estate to the value of $2,500 residing in Saluda, Abbeville County. At this time he owned four enslaved people: two women aged 35 and 21, and two boys aged 15 and 12. He is not the only William Hill residing in Abbeville County in 1850 but he is the only one recorded as Irish-born at that time. In 1852, he was elected to the local court as Court Ordinary. He served in this role until 1868, at which time his position was retitled as Judge of Probate. Throughout his life Hill maintained correspondence with his brother David Hill and three letters can be found in the Irish Emigration Database which refer to his slaveholding activities. The Irish Emigration Database was established in 1988 and contains items from 1700-1950, Three-quarters of the collection are from the period 1820-1920 with a concentration of material from the Province of Ulster. In a letter dated 24 Jan 1855, to his brother David, William Hill acknowledges ownership of seven human beings, 'three young Negro fellows' unnamed and 'two Negro women' one of whom is only sixteen years of age but already the mother of two children, also unnamed. It is important to note that this young girl was only thirteen years of age when she had her first child. William Hill goes on to boast that his 'Negro property' is worth $6,000. It is clear from the letter that Hill understands that his brother David considers slavery to be morally wrong but he deflects criticism by reconstituting it as a difference of opinion, a defence in common use by slaveholders of the time. He continues by questioning the belief that slavery and Christianity are inconsistent and does not appreciate the attempts of David McAurtry to make him reconsider his position as a slaveholder.  Letter from William Hill to his brother David (24 Jan 1855) Source: Irish Emigration Database In 1860, William Hill is recorded as Court Ordinary (Judge) of Abbeville County with Real Estate valued at $8,000 and Personal Estate of $12,000. Personal Estate includes the market value of the human beings he enslaved. The 1860 Slave Schedule records his ownership of 14 enslaved people, the oldest a 62 year old woman and the youngest a newborn baby boy.  1860 Slave Schedule, Abbeville, South Carolina (familysearch.org) William Hill's letter dated 2 Sept. 1865, bemoans his loss of wealth ($30,000) following Emancipation, which includes the loss of all but three of the people he enslaved.  Letter from William Hill to his brother David Hill (2 Sept. 1865) Source: Irish Emigration Database In spite of his career as a slaveholder, William Hill was lauded as a person of 'character and integrity' at the time of his death in 1886.  Abbeville Messenger 19 Jan. 1886 Notes
I have been unable to find documents which name the people enslaved by William Hill to date and would welcome any information about them. Sources Letters from William Hill, Abbeville, South Carolina to his brother, David Hill, Co. Antrim, Ireland, Irish Emigration Database (www.dippam.ac.uk/ied) (accessed 14Jan. 2021). 1850 U.S. Federal Census 1850 Slave Schedule 1860 U.S. Federal Census 1860 Slave Schedule (familysearch.org) (accessed 12 Jan 2021). Abbeville Messenger 19 Jan. 1886 Mitchell, Arthur, South Carolina Irish, Charleston (2011), p. 64.
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Families enslaved by William McKenna, Lancaster County, South Carolina: Auction Catalogue 186111/19/2020 William McKenna of Cockhill, Donegal, Ireland and Lancaster County, South Carolina died in 1859. He left the bulk of his estate to Patrick Lynch, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston. The will was contested by McKenna's daughter Anna McKenna Mittag. An auction was held in Lancaster in 1861 which names the families enslaved by William McKenna. Map is live at www.enslavement-to-citizenship.com/african-americans-in-irish-slaveholder-records-blog/families-enslaved-by-william-mckenna-lancaster-county-south-carolina-1861 (11 Jan 2021). Mandee Jones born in 1835 is the first person identified in this research post-Emancipation. Further information will be added here later. If you are a descendant of the families listed above please contact me on twitter.com/saytheirnamesIr Please note the map above does not indicate the specific locations of the families. It appears that the plantation was known as Malta Plantation. Sources: Diocesan records and Episcopal Papers (1816-1993), Catholic Diocese of Charleston Archives, (U.S.A.): Will of William McKenna, CDA, 23R8, Printed copy. Lancaster Ledger, 5 Dec. 1860. Independent Press (Abbeville), 1 April 1859. Heisser, David, ‘Bishop Lynch’s people: slaveholding by a South Carolina prelate’ in The South Carolina Historical Magazine, 102:3 (July 2001), pp 238-62. 
 Patrick Calhoun, born in Donegal, Ireland in 1727, died in Abbeville, South Carolina in 1796. Patrick Calhoun and his wife Martha Caldwell were the parents of politician John Caldwell Calhoun 1782-1850, Catherine Calhoun Waddel, William, James and Patrick Calhoun.
Enslaved people named in the Estate Inventory of Patrick Calhoun on 25 Jan. 1797: Men & boys Adam Jack Tully Simon Peter Bob Dick Charles Tom May Adam Pompey Dave Sawney Polydore Simon Women & girls Nance Rose Sarah Sal Dill Kate Rinah Nanny Jenny Fanny Sources: South Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1670-1980 (ancestry.com) (accessed 17 Nov. 2020). Camden Weekly Journal, 27 Mar. 1855. Benjamin, born c1768, was living in Philadelphia in 1804, enslaved by Pierce Butler, of Co. Carlow, Ireland, South Carolina and Butler Island, Georgia (1744-1822). He had lived mostly in Philadelphia since 1793. In 1804, Benjamin appealed for help to the Abolition Society since Pierce Butler had decided to send him to his Georgia plantation. Benjamin did not want to leave his wife in Philadelphia because she was in poor health. Isaac T Hopper, was appointed to serve a Writ of habeas corpus on Pierce Butler at his house on Chestnut Street.
After two adjournments for further investigation, Judge Inskeep, found in favour of Benjamin and set him free. Benjamin, began work for Isaac W Morris (1770-1831) in Cedar Grove about three miles outside Philadelphia. Isaac W Morris was also a Quaker and in 1804 had been appointed to the care of the school for free children of colour. However, Pierce Butler, did not relinquish his claim easily. While Benjamin was in Philadelphia, on business for his employer, he was arrested by a U.S. marshall on a Writ of De homine replegiando with bail set for $2,000. Isaac T Hopper and Thomas Harrison signed the bond and Benjamin was released once again. Judges Bushrod Washington and Richard Peters heard the Case in October 1806. Benjamin was discharged by the Circuit Court and 'enjoyed his liberty thenceforth without interruption.' Source L. Maria Child, Isaac T. Hopper, A True Life, (1853). (http://www.gutenberg.org) (7 Aug. 2019). E-text prepared by Curtis Weyant and Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders. Following is an extract from Child's book, Isaac T. Hopper, A True Life. In August, 1804, a colored man about thirty-six years old waited upon the committee of the Abolition Society, and stated that he was born a slave to Pierce Butler, Esq., of South Carolina, and had always lived in his family. During the last eleven years, he had resided most of the time in Pennsylvania. Mr. Butler now proposed taking him to Georgia; but he was very unwilling to leave his wife, she being in delicate health and needing his support. After mature consideration of the case, the committee, believing Ben was legally entitled to freedom, agreed to apply to Judge Inskeep for a writ of habeas corpus; and Isaac T. Hopper was sent to serve it upon Pierce Butler, Esq., at his house in Chestnut-street. Being told that Mr. Butler was at dinner, he said he would wait in the hall until it suited his convenience to attend to him. Mr. Butler was a tall, lordly looking man, somewhat imperious in his manners, as slaveholders are wont to be. When he came into the hall after dinner, Friend Hopper gave him a nod of recognition, and said, "How art thou, Pierce Butler? I have here a writ of habeas corpus for thy Ben." Mr. Butler glanced over the paper, and exclaimed, "Get out of my house, you scoundrel!" Feigning not to hear him, Friend Hopper looked round at the pictures and rich furniture, and said with a smile, "Why, thou livest like a nabob here!" "Get out of my house, I say!" repeated Mr. Butler, stamping violently. "This paper on the walls is the handsomest I ever saw," continued Isaac. "Is it French, or English? It surely cannot have been manufactured in this country." Talking thus, and looking leisurely about him as he went, he moved deliberately toward the door; the slaveholder railing at him furiously all the while. "I am a citizen of South Carolina," said he. "The laws of Pennsylvania have nothing to do with me. May the devil take all those who come between masters and their slaves; interfering with what is none of their business." Supposing that his troublesome guest was deaf, he put his head close to his ear, and roared out his maledictions in stentorian tones. Friend Hopper appeared unconscious of all this. When he reached the threshold, he turned round and said, "Farewell. We shall expect to see thee at Judge Inskeep's." This imperturbable manner irritated the hot-blooded slave-holder beyond endurance. He repeated more vociferously than ever, "Get out of my house, you scoundrel! If you don't, I'll kick you out." The Quaker walked quietly away, as if he didn't hear a word. At the appointed time, Mr. Butler waited upon the Judge, where he found Friend Hopper in attendance. The sight of him renewed his wrath. He cursed those who interfered with his property; and taking up the Bible, said he was willing to swear upon that book that he would not take fifteen hundred dollars for Ben. Friend Hopper charged him with injustice in wishing to deprive the man of his legal right to freedom. Mr. Butler maintained that he was as benevolent as any other man. "Thou benevolent!" exclaimed Friend Hopper. "Why, thou art not even just. Thou hast already sent back into bondage two men, who were legally entitled to freedom by staying in Philadelphia during the term prescribed by law. If thou hadst a proper sense of justice, thou wouldst bring those men back, and let them take the liberty that rightfully belongs to them." "If you were in a different walk of life, I would treat your insult as it deserves," replied the haughty Southerner. "What dost thou mean by that? asked Isaac. Wouldst thou shoot me, as Burr did Hamilton? I assure thee I should consider it no honor to be killed by a member of Congress; and surely there would be neither honor nor comfort in killing thee; for in thy present state of mind thou art not fit to die." Mr. Butler told the judge he believed that man was either deaf or crazy when he served the writ of habeas corpus; for he did not take the slightest notice of anything that was said to him. Judge Inskeep smiled as he answered, "You don't know Mr. Hopper as well as we do." A lawyer was procured for Ben; but Mr. Butler chose to manage his own cause. He maintained that he was only a sojourner in Pennsylvania; that Ben had never resided six months at any one time in that State, except while he was a member of Congress; and in that case, the law allowed him to keep his slave in Pennsylvania as long as he pleased. The case was deemed an important one, and was twice adjourned for further investigation. In the course of the argument, Mr. Butler admitted that he returned from Congress to Philadelphia, with Ben, on the second of January, 1804, and had remained there with him until the writ of habeas corpus was served, on the third of August, the same year. The lawyers gave it as their opinion that Ben's legal right to freedom was too plain to admit of any doubt. They said the law to which Mr. Butler had alluded was made for the convenience of Southern gentlemen, who might need the attendance of their personal slaves, when Congress met in Philadelphia; but since the seat of government was removed, it by no means authorized members to come into Pennsylvania with their slaves, and keep them there as long as they chose. After much debate, the judge gave an order discharging Ben from all restraint, and he walked off rejoicing. His master was very indignant at the decision, and complained loudly that a Pennsylvania court should presume to discharge a Carolinian slave. When Ben was set at liberty, he let himself to Isaac W. Morris, then living at his country seat called Cedar Grove, three miles from Philadelphia. Being sent to the city soon after, on some business for his employer, he was attached by the marshall of the United States, on a writ De homine replegiando, at the suit of Mr. Butler, and two thousand dollars were demanded for bail. The idea was probably entertained that so large an amount could not be procured, and thus Ben would again come into his master's possession. But Isaac T. Hopper and Thomas Harrison signed the bail-bond, and Ben was again set at liberty, to await his trial before the Circuit Court of the United States. Bushrod Washington, himself a slaveholder, presided in that court, and Mr. Butler was sanguine that he should succeed in having Judge Inskeep's decision reversed. The case was brought in October, 1806, before Judges Bushrod Washington and Richard Peters. It was ably argued by counsel on both sides. The court discharged Ben, and he enjoyed his liberty thenceforth without interruption. For further information about African Americans in Pierce Butler's records and those of his extended family contact Brian Sheffey on Twitter twitter.com/genealogadvent See also Bell, Malcolm, Major Butler’s Legacy: Five Generations of a Slaveholding Family (University of Georgia Press) 1987. Bailey, Anne, The Weeping Time: Memory and the largest slave auction in American history (Cambridge University Press) 2017. Kemble, Fanny, Journal of a residence on a Georgian plantation 1838-39 (www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12422) free download. |
AuthorsMartine Brennan (Curator)  Enslavement to citizenship: African Americans in Irish Slaveholder records by Martine Brennan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Archives
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