Inferring relationships in inventories of enslaved persons
I've been working on going through some old will/probate documents from the 1850s (Mississippi, USA) and came across this individual's inventory of enslaved persons that he owned at the time of his death. I know these documents don't necessarily include or denote any familial relationships of the enslaved persons, but as this document includes such a large list, I was curious if it does. If nothing else, I'm interested if the underlines under the appraisals have any particular significance?
If I can figure out familial relationships here that would be ideal, any help is appreciated though.
Answers
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The lines aren't really underlines, but "total" lines: the numbers in the third and sixth columns are the sum of the numbers between the lines in the second and fifth columns. It's probably at least partly an accounting self-check (add the numbers up two ways, make sure the totals match), but there had to be some kind of reasoning behind the groupings, and given the random sizes and likely genders, family groups seems the most logical.
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@Bennett Matheson Graff Normally, I would say "Yes" there are implied familial relationships found in these documents, although of course it cannot be guaranteed to be so (just like the 1850-1870 census). However in the case of Nathaniel Hoggatt, his 1850 slave schedule shows he has a vast quantity of slaves and there is at least one other Hoggatt with an equally large number. That, to my mind, lessens the chance that inferences will be accurate.
eta: And I agree with @Julia Szent-Györgyi about the underlines. To my eye, that would likely signify a deliberate grouping of individuals and it looks (to me) likely to be at least some family groupings. However all bets are off because of his practices.
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