​The labour contracts between formerly enslaved people and former slaveholders can give us vital information for the period 1865-1870. This is just one example. This contract was undertaken by Summer Young, Monday McConn, Cuffeee, Mike,  Ned and their families with Hope Brannen (1844-1894) of Screven County, Georgia. It makes for harrowing reading as it describes a life which is simply slavery by another name. The document clearly identifies Hope Brannen, an Irish descendant slaveholder, as the former enslaver of Summer Young, Monday McConn and Cuffee. Mike had been enslaved by M L Boykin. Ned had been enslaved by M Aldridge of South Carolina.
Hope Brannen Sr. died in 1862. His  headstone proudly states that he served in the Confederate States Army. In 1860, Hope Brannen Sr. enslaved twenty eight human beings ranging in age from a man aged 39 years to a new-born baby. His son also named Hope, took on the running of the plantation after his father's death.  
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Sources:
​Familysearch sources are free to view once you open a free account.
Labor Contract 1866
familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9GF-PCN1?i=828&cc=2331267
US Federal Census 1850 Slave Schedules ( Hope Brannen Senior, Screven County)
www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WKVD-XFPZ
Memorial
www.findagrave.com/memorial/61197352/hope-brannen

In 1870 Monday McConn, his wife Celia and their children were still living in Screven County, Georgia.  Summer Young, his wife Lucy and their children were also living in Screven County. It is important to note that both Celia and Lucy were rcorded as born in South Carolina as was Sophia E Humphries, the wife of Hope Brannen Sr. So there is a possibility that Celia and Lucy came to Georgia as part of the dowry of Sophia E Humphries in 1829. Sophia's mother was Sarah Cone which again raises the question of an older family connection as Monday chose the name McConn after Emancipation.
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Sources:
1870 US Federal Census Monday McConn
www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-XXZQ-GLM?i=18&cc=1438024
1870 US Federal Census Summer Young
​www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-XXZQ-RC5?i=22&cc=1438024

Notes
As always if you can contribute some new information or clear up any of the unresolved questions we would be delighted to hear from you. Descendants of these families are in contact with the project. If you too are a descendant please leave a contact email below so that we can pass it on. Twenty eight people were enslaved by Hope Brannen Senior in 1850 but these are the only names we have uncovered as yet.
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​​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)
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I would be glad to share my additional research notes on this subject with anyone who has an interest. Steve