About this Book

"This book is an abbreviated transcription of the Slave Statistics Record of Frederick County, Maryland. The original Record is a listing of about 50% of the slaves held in the County on November 1, 1864 ... On November 1, 1864, a new (the third) constitution of Maryland [abolished slavery in the state]. ... In 1867, the State General Assembly sought compensation from the Federal Government for the loss of personal property suffered by former slave owners in the state. ... Having thus established what it saw as a just claim for Federal compensation to the state and its former slave owners, the Assembly proceeded to establish a system whereby evidence of such losses by slaveholders would be documented. The resultant act provided for the appointment of a Commissioner of Slave Statistics for each county in Maryland. [Each Commissioner was to collect information and statistics to support the state's claim for compensation.] With the exception of [some limited] compensation ... the Federal Government never reimbursed the State or its slaveholders for their emancipated slaves. While the General Assembly's plea fell on deaf ears, the resultant documentation has left us with an important and extensive record or roughly 50% of the slaves held in Frederick County in 1864. ... In 1868, the Assembly restated the 1867 provision that Slave Commissioners be appointed, and gave them two additional years to perform their duties."--Introd., p. 5.