slavery in pennsylvania

Beaver County

slaveholders listed on this page

Dungan, Levi (Slaves listed: Lynn, Fortune)
Johnson, Samuel (Slaves listed: one unnamed slave)
Nicholson, James (Slaves listed: Pompey Frazier, Tamar Frazier, Betty Mathers)

enslavement data

Slaveholder Name: Dungan, Levi
City or Township: Hanover Township
County: Beaver County
Occupation: Farmer
Notes: From History of Beaver County, by J. F. Richard (1888), chapter 3:
Levi Dungan was born and reared on a farm about nine miles from Philadelphia...In the spring of 1772, Levi located a tract of one thousand acres purchased from a man named Stephens, on the head waters of King's creek, in what is now Hanover township, on the edge of which tract the village of Frankfort is located. He brought with him a slave by the name of Lynn, and began at the spring which subsequently fed Stephenson's steam mill, an improvement which consisted in building a cabin, clearing some land and planting it with corn, potatoes and other vegetables.

See also the listings in Washington County for Levi Dungan.
1. Slave Name: Lynn (aka Lunn or London)
  Slave Sex: Male
  Slave Age: About 17 years old when Dungan emigrated to Beaver County.
  Slave Date of Birth: 1760 (calculated from his registration, in Washington County, in 1782)
  Slave Status: Slave for life
  Slave Description: "slave"
  Slave Notes: Brought to Hanover Township by Dungan from near Philadelphia in 1772.
  Date of Record: Township history written in 1888.
  Source: The History of Beaver County, by J. F. Richard (1888), chapter 3.
2. Slave Name: Fortune
  Slave Sex: Male
  Slave Age: 13
  Slave Date of Birth: 1769 (calculated)
  Slave Status: Slave for life
  Slave Description: "Negro man"
  Slave Notes: Levi Dungan probably brought Fortune to western Pennsylvania from the Philadelphia area in 1772. Historian J. F. Richard, in History of Beaver County (1888, A. Warner and Co.) notes that Fortune and another slave from Philadelphia, Lunn (London), remained with Dungan until they died.
  Date of Record: (Registration) December 31, 1782
  Source: Negro (Slave) Register of Washington County Pennsylvania, From 1782 to 1851
Slaveholder Name: Johnson, Samuel
City or Township: Beaver Borough
County: Beaver County
Occupation:
Notes: History of Beaver County, by J. F. Richard (1888), chapter 3, notes that Samuel Johnson was enumerated in 1802 with seven and one-half acres, a horse ferry and one slave. Total value of all of this property was $247.
1. Slave Name: Not reported
  Slave Sex: Not reported
  Slave Age: Not determined, but born prior to 1802.
  Slave Date of Birth: Not known, but prior to 1802.
  Slave Status: Not reported
  Slave Description: "slave"
  Slave Notes: Enumerated in tax lists of 1802.
  Date of Record: Township history written in 1888.
  Source: The History of Beaver County, by J. F. Richard (1888), chapter 3.
Slaveholder Name: Nicholson, James
City or Township: Big Beaver
County: Beaver County
Occupation: Farmer
Notes: History of Beaver County, by J. F. Richard (1888), chapter 5, notes that James Nicholson willed a farm to his three servants, Pompey Frazier, Tamar Frazier and Betty Mathers in 1819, and that the will was proved in 1829.
1. Slave Name: Pompey Frazier
  Slave Sex: Male
  Slave Age: Not determined, but born prior to 1819.
  Slave Date of Birth: Not known, but prior to 1819.
  Slave Status: Manumitted (date not known)
  Slave Description: "slave," "servant"
  Slave Notes: Historian Richard notes: "Pompey and Betty continued to reside with Mrs. Nicholson until she died, after which they became complete possessors of the farm. Pompey died without offspring."
  Date of Record: Township history written in 1888.
  Source: The History of Beaver County, by J. F. Richard (1888), chapter 5.
2. Slave Name: Tamar Frazier
  Slave Sex: Female
  Slave Age: Not determined, but born prior to 1819.
  Slave Date of Birth: Not known, but prior to 1819.
  Slave Status: Manumitted (date not known)
  Slave Description: "slave," "servant"
  Slave Notes: Historian Richard notes: "Ten years after the date of the deed Mr. Nicholson died. Shortly after, Tamar, one of the 'servants,' also died." (see notes for James Nicholson, above)
  Date of Record: Township history written in 1888.
  Source: The History of Beaver County, by J. F. Richard (1888), chapter 5.
3. Slave Name: Betty Mathers (Jordan); Possibly went by the name of Elizabeth, after marriage
  Slave Sex: Female
  Slave Age: Not determined, but born prior to 1819.
  Slave Date of Birth: Not known, but prior to 1819.
  Slave Status: Manumitted (date not known)
  Slave Description: "slave," "servant"
  Slave Notes: Historian Richard notes: "Betty, having married a man named Henry Jordan, in 1840, had several sons and daughters. Betty, who died in 1872, sold the land referred to, and upon it has since been built the greater part of New Galilee." The census of 1850 shows the Henry Jordan family living in Big Beaver Township. Henry, aged 39, was born in Virginia. Elizabeth, aged 42, and all of the children, were enumerated as having been born in Pennsylvania. The children were Ruth A., age 8; Martha M., age 7; William Henry, age 5; Mary E. N., age 3; and Joshua R. G., age 1.
  Date of Record: Township history written in 1888.
  Source: The History of Beaver County, by J. F. Richard (1888), chapter 5. | 1850 Census of Big Beaver Township, Beaver County, page 107.