​​I would like to give a warm welcome today to Steve Harper who is the contributor of the following research. Steve is a retired patent attorney living in Paoli, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia.  He has been researching his family's history for about 10 years.  Recently, he has been focusing his attention on the numerous branches of his mother's family who were enslavers in southern states such as North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
​Martine

I am a descendant of Daniel Malone, who was born in Killucan, Westmeath, Ireland (about 50 miles northwest of Dublin) about 1642 and immigrated to the American colonies at an unknown date.
Although I have found records related to the ownership of enslaved people for several of the later Malones who descended from Daniel, this blog will focus on the information I have uncovered for Thompson Malone (my third great grandfather).  Thompson was born in 1802 and died May 29, 1862 in Greene County, Georgia, during the Civil War.  Moreover, his estate documents (accessible through ancestry.com) contain a multitude of references to enslaved people by first name.  The ages of certain individuals are also documented as well as certain family relationships. Thompson was the only slaveholder having the last name Malone living in Greene County who is listed in the 1850 and 1860 slave schedules.

Sources: (all sources accessed 2 Feb. 2021).
1850 U.S. Federal Census (Slave Schedule) Greene County, Georgia (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HR76-632M)
1860 U.S. Federal Census (Slave Schedule) Greene County, Georgia
(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WKVC-XB3Z)
(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WKVC-XBW2)
library.uncg.edu/slavery/petitions/details.aspx?pid=17929)
 
This means that it is possible, with a reasonable degree of confidence, to match up those enslaved persons with the records of African Americans living in or near Greene County, Georgia soon after the Civil War (for example, as documented in the 1870 federal census).
According to the 1860 slave schedule, Thompson owned 27 enslaved people.  His estate documents mention the following people by name:
            Abram (age 20)
            Martha (age 35) and her children Joe and William
            Cairo (age 50)
            Humphrey (age 18)
            Sally (age 50; a “Sallie” is also mentioned)
            Bera (girl, age 14; spelling of name is not clear)
            Amanda (age 20)
            Chancy (or Chaney)(age 60)
            Gus (age unclear, possibly 11 or 15)
            Tilda (age 30) and her child Cornelius
            Reta (age 27)
            Jule (woman, age 24) and her child Edward
            Celia (age 17)
            Hannah (age 18)
            Mose
            Milly
            Greene
            Phromia
            Andrew
            Smith
            Ann
            Peter
            Sophy
            Neal
            Harriet
            Rufus
            Selvy
            Jack
            Becca
            Ritter
            Jane
            Frone (spelling not clear)
            Nancy
            Mills (spelling not clear)
            Manda
            Cain
            Harry
            Sam
 
While more research still needs to be done, I have been able to find post-Civil War records for some of these individuals.  A short summary of certain of this information follows.
The 1870 federal census records Martha Malone, as a Black woman, age 50 (i.e., born about 1820 in Georgia), living in Militia District 146, Greene County, Georgia.  Other members of the household are Jacob Malone (25), Peter (20), Joseph (10), Cornelius (7) and William (5).  This family is likely the same family listed in the estate documents of Thompson above.
Martha Malone is also documented in the 1880 federal census. She is described as Black, widowed, born in Georgia, age 60, living in District 323, Twiggs, Georgia in the Denson household.  She is listed as the mother of Judge Denson (40).
Sources:
1870 U.S. Federal Census (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC37-W7D)
1880 U. S. Federal Census (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8P3-MYK)
 
William Malone also appears in the 1900 census and the 1910 census for Georgia, with ages consistent with being born in the early 1860s (like the William mentioned above).  In the 1900 census William Malone is recorded as born in Georgia (like both his parents) and is described as a married man and a prisoner in Newborn, Newton County, Georgia.  In 1910, he is recorded as aged 49 (born about 1861) and is described as a widowed lodger and laborer living in Militia District 466, Monroe County, Georgia.
Sources:
1900 U.S. Federal Census (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3J5-MPT)
1910 U.S. Federal Census (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ML2K-NWL)
 
The 1870 federal census recorded Celia Malone, age 24 (born ca. 1846), as a Black farm laborer, born in Georgia, living in Militia District 148, Greene County, Georgia.  This almost certainly is the Celia referenced in Thompson Malone’s estate documents.  Moreover, the census records show that Celia’s household included a Samuel Malone, age 14, and a Jane Malone, age 47.  Individuals with these first names are among those mentioned in the estate documents of Thompson Malone.
Source:
1870 U.S. Federal Census (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC3Q-HNP)
  
A search for records related to “Mose” found several sources that refer to Moses Malone.  For example, Moses Malone is recorded in both the 1870 federal census (age 40, born in Georgia) and 1880 federal census (age 50), living in Militia District 148, Greene County, Georgia.  Both parents were also born in Georgia.  He is described as Black and a farmer (1870) or laborer (1880).  The name Moses Malone also appears on a May 25, 1866, Greene County, Georgia marriage record as the spouse of Mary Robinson.  Further, 1871-1875 property tax registers show Moses Malone employed in District 18 of Greene County by Philip Robinson (or Robertson, in some records).
Source:
1870 U.S. Federal Census (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC3Q-BHW)
 
The 1870 federal census records Milley (or Milly) Malone, age 30, who was born in Georgia, living in Militia District 148 of Greene County, Georgia.  She is described as a Black farm laborer.  Other members of her household include Green Malone, age 9, who may be the Greene mentioned in Thompson Malone’s estate documents.  However, I have identified other men named Green Malone living in Georgia after the Civil War with much earlier birth dates.  For example, the 1880 federal census reported a Green Malone, age 39 (born ca. 1841), who was a Black farmer living in Whites, Jones County, Georgia.  Both he and his parents were born in Georgia.  He is in the same household as Harriet Malone, who is possibly the Harriet referenced in Thompson Malone’s estate documents.
Source:
1870 U.S. Federal Census (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC3Q-BC2)
 
Cain Malone, age 50, is listed in the 1870 federal census as a Black blacksmith living in Militia District 141, Greene County.  He was in the same household as Sophronia, age 35, who seems to be the Frone or Phromia also mentioned in Thompson Malone’s estate documents.  Additionally, Cain Malone (“colored”) registered to vote in Greene County on July 6, 1867.
Source:
1870 U. S. Federal Census (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC33-BY1)
​
I would be glad to share my additional research notes on this subject with anyone who has an interest. Steve

Not every Irish man and woman who found their way to North America before 1862 became a slaveholder. However a number of their children did. This blog will be about those people, the American-born children of Irish parents who adopted the slaveholding practises of their neighbours. Discussions with other researchers who have information about Irish descendant slaveholders has identified the need for a central space for this research. If you would like to contribute a short blog containing information about African American people enslaved by Irish descendant slaveholders, please use the contact page on this website.
John McDonagh 1779-1850 was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1779 the son of Irish parents John and Elizabeth McDonagh. In 1800, he was sent to Liverpool. England to acquire goods for the Louisiana trade and after a second successful trip he decided to make his home in New Orleans. By the time of his death in 1850, his net worth was calculated at almost 2 million US dollars. He never married and left his estate almost entirely in trust for the establishment of schools for poor white and free Black children. The New Orleans Public School system had been established in 1841 and in spite of the Will being contested, the New Orleans Public School system received $704,440 in 1858.
John McDonagh's wealth was amassed predominantly through slaveholding.
In the 1830 US Federal Census there are 87 enslaved people recorded as his property, in 1840, 192 enslaved people and in 1850, 58 enslaved people. In 1822, John McDonagh devised an elaborate manumission scheme for the people he had enslaved. Under this scheme it usually took about 15 years for enslaved people to gain their freedom. He was also an active member of the American Colonization Society which hired ships for enslaved people to go to Liberia.
 
Sources:
US Federal Census 1830
www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHP1-J67
US Federal Census 1840
www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHTD-FSR
US Federal Census 1850
www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-68N7-35X?i=164&cc=1420440
www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-68N7-MR7?i=2&cc=1420440
www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCJ4-BWG
Robinson, Morgan, The African Colonization Society, The Whitehouse Historical Association (June 22 2020) (www.whitehousehistory.org/the-american-colonization-society) (accessed 28 Jan. 2021).

John McDonagh wrote his Will in 1838 and in it he identified the following enslaved people:
Anna/Hannah, and her unnamed children
Hagar and her unnamed children
Dolly and her unnamed children
Sophie and her unnamed children
Jerry
George Calhoun
David Crockett
Houma
Henry, occupation carpenter
William, occupation carpenter
George, occupation carpenter
Jane/Jenny and her unnamed children
Phillip, his wife Jenny, and their unnamed children
Long Mary
Richard
Old Harry
John Defage
Old John
​Mark
Noel
Tanness/Denis
James Thornton
Gabriel
​

 In a letter written 30 May 1842, to Rev. W McClain,  John McDonagh identified the following people bound for Liberia on the ship Mariposa;
James, an African by birth, Henrietta , his wife,  McGeorge, his son, Ellie, his son, Molly daughter of Henrietta
Harriet  
Emanuel 
Charity daughter of Molly  
Anne 
Willis
James Gray, Milly or Amelia, his wife, Elizabeth his daughter,  Louis their son
Richard, a minister of the gospel aged about 50 years.
Mark
Cuffy, Maria, his wife, Charles, their son, Lucy their daughter, Maria their daughter  
Sarah Anne
Peter, Diana his wife, Thomas their son 
Judy, Galloway, his son 
Juda daughter of Juda[y] ,
Jenny aged 35 years, John his son, Orleans his son, Alfred his son
Simon,  Mary wife of Simon, Winny their child a girl, Benjamin their son
George
Elisa their daughter
Phillis, George Ellis her son, 
Joshua,  Charles Mason his brother (brother of Joshua) 
Cornelius, Susan sister of Cornelius 
Augustine Lombart(d), Julia wife of Augustine Lombard,  Jonathan their son  
Dabney aged 19 years honest and faithful man.
Jack,  Becky sister of Jack, Matilda sister of Jack,  Randal a brother of Jack  
Nancy, Dime daughter of Nancy 
Katy, Henry son of Katy,  Isaac son of Katy 
Elisa, John son of Elisa 
Jenny (called little jenny),  Letty a daughter of Jenny,  Daniel a son of Jenny 
Polly  
Bridget, Bridget her daughter
Sally, Samuel his son
Rhina, Andrew age 13 son of Rhina, Caroline daughter of Rhina , Robert carter , son of Rhina,  Baltamore son of Rhina, Catherine a daughter of Rhina 
Precilla, Moses his son, William his son . 

Note: McDonagh appears to use his/her interchangeably. He also makes subtle distinctions, naming some children as  the son or daughter of one member of a couple and other children as the children of both members of the couple. As a result it is difficult at times to clearly identify family groups. Further information is available in the original letter.

Source:
Letter written 30 May 1842 by McDonagh to Rev. W McClain, African Colonization Society. Lafayette College's Special Collections and Digital Scholarship Services
(exhibits.lafayette.edu/mcdonogh/items/show/2484) (accessed 28 Jan. 2021).

Lafayette College's Special Collections and Digital Scholarship Services