one more thing Re: African American Lattas in Orange County, NC
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In reply to:
Re: African American Latta
Roxanna Latta 4/18/08
I forgot to mention that there are several NC Latta families that were listed as slave-owners on the 1850 and 1860 Census Slave Schedules. It's altogether possible that your Lattas were enslaved by one of these families, as opposed to having been on the Latta Plantation. Basically, all of this is anybody's guess, given the overwhelming absence of detailed records that were kept on the enslaved population. However, the more information you are able to gather--especially as it pertains to where your ancestors lived--the easier it might be to actually pinpoint who might have "owned" them during the antebellum era.
I was able to track down the Hogan family that had enslaved my ggg-grandmother because I knew for a fact that I had A-A Hogan ancestors who lived in Goldsboro after Emancipation. I then tracked them backward to Orange County, where I learned that the house in which my ggg-grandmother, Harriet, was enslaved was still standing--although it's slated to be either moved or completely demolished in the next few months. I've twice had the PRIVILEGE to visit that house and to, literally, walk in Harriet's footsteps; climb the same stairs she climbed, and touch the same banister she touched. It was, by far, the MOST moving experience I've ever had...