In a message dated 8/11/99 6:24:34 PM Central Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: << The slave schedules I've looked at only list the numbers not the names. Is there a way I might find the names? >> Charlotte, According to Tony Burroughs, a nationally renowned instructor on African American Genealogy, the 1850 & 1860 US Census listed names of slave owners only. In a few cases did the census taker make a mistake and listed the slaves by name. If you go back and look at the census schedule instructions, where there are several owners only one is listed. If a person or family employed or rented out a slave then the employing family got credited with the number of slaves, not the real owner. Many small poor farmers rented slaves. They were not the owners. The Slave schedule doesn't prove who the slave owner is. You have to look elsewhere for proof. The schedule can be a guide. If the owning family you are looking for was a large slave owning family, them perhaps a library, history society, university or family may still have some old plantation papers. If you know who the family is, maybe they can tell you who may still have the plantation owner's papers. Bibles, diaries and plantation log books, day books, or personal letters may help. Hope I've helped, [email protected] Baker, LA Researching Southwest Louisiana Parishes surnames of MERCIER, WILTZ, ESCLAVON, DECLOUET, MASSE, JEAN LOUIS, SHAY (CHAIX), GUIDRY, BASILE(CHIASSON), BARRAS, LeBLANC, FONTENETTE, BROUSSARD and HENRY. Also researching old west Florida Parishes surnames of FORBES, DUNN, CARTER, SCOTT, DeARMOND, EVANS, GAINES, CURRY and PATTERSON.