Hello, Lisa. Yes, there were many Mitchells who were slaveholders. Many Mitchells lived in Virginia and raised tobacco and cotton. These crops, as cultivated in the colonies and later, required much manual labor. This was furnished by African slaves. It was the common practice. Some of my Mitchell ancestors from Virginia were planters (thus slave owners). They "wore out the land", and then moved south. Some may have brought their slaves -- I don't have this information. But certainly freed slaves often took their ex-master's surnames. Bill Mitchell BrElyoung@aol.com wrote: > My father was a Mitchell and immigrated to America in the 1920's from > Scotland. His family settled in Chicago. One thing that I have noticed, is > that there are many a Mitchell in America from African American descent. > Please no one take offense, but there seem to be many Mitchell's on this list > from the south that have lived in this country for many generations. I was > wondering if these Mitchell's were slave owners, and thus might explain. > Again, I intend no offense, just curious of the Mitchell surname amongst > African Americans and their history in America. > > Liza > > ==== MITCHELL Mailing List ==== > To UNSUBSCRIBE, please send an unsubscribe message to: Mitchell-L-request@rootsweb.com. If on digest, substitute a D for the L.