Following Emancipation, enslaved African Americans in Liberty County, Georgia, were able to take surnames for the first time, just like in other places. Thanks to the hard work of Dr. Peggy Hargis, then associate professor at Georgia Southern University (now retired), we have a list of formerly enslaved individuals with their post-Emancipation names and the names of their last enslaver. Dr. Hargis compiled the list based on the Southern Claims Commission petitions, in which formerly enslaved people made claims for property confiscated by Union soldiers during the Civil War and in the process had to give a great deal of information, including their enslaver’s name. [NOTE: Dr. Hargis kindly gave her permission to use this list on TheyHadNames.net in an email dated April 22, 2019. Please credit her work if you use it!]

This list represents your key to finding information on your ancestor from prior to the Civil War. However, remember that these enslavers would have been alive during the Civil War. Since most of the documents on this site are from probate documents involving deceased slaveowners, this means that having the name of the last enslaver may not help  much with searching this site. What you need to do is research that last enslaver. It is very likely that he or she inherited the enslaved person you are researching.  If you find your enslaved ancestor on this list, enter the last name of the enslaver and the first name of the enslaved person in the search bar of this site. This very well may find you a will or other estate document. If this does not work, research the enslaver to find his or her parents’ and grandparents’ names and look for probate documents involving them. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us for help!