During the colonial and antebellum periods in America, several states and counties, especially in the South, kept records that included the baptism of enslaved people. These records often come from church archives, county records, and private collections. The existence of baptismal records for enslaved individuals was primarily a result of the influence of European Christian denominations (like Anglican, Catholic, and Baptist churches), which considered baptism essential and thus extended the practice to enslaved Africans and African Americans. Here are some states and counties where these records are known to exist:
- Counties: St. Johns County (particularly in St. Augustine).
- Under Spanish rule, St. Augustine’s Catholic churches recorded the baptisms of enslaved individuals. Florida’s Catholic diocesan records often contain detailed accounts of these sacraments.
- Counties: Chatham County (especially Savannah) and Liberty County.
- Baptismal records from Georgia’s churches in Savannah, like those from Christ Church (Episcopal), contain records of the enslaved. Savannah was a religiously active city with Anglican, Methodist, and Baptist churches that sometimes recorded enslaved individuals in baptismal entries.
- Counties/Parishes: The state’s parish records (equivalent to counties) like Orleans Parish, St. Charles Parish, and St. John the Baptist Parish.
- Under both French and Spanish rule, Louisiana recorded sacramental acts, including baptism, for enslaved people, especially in Catholic churches. Many of these records still exist in New Orleans, and Catholic dioceses maintained extensive documentation.
- Counties: St. Mary's County, Anne Arundel County, and Prince George's County.
- Catholic and Anglican churches in Maryland sometimes recorded the baptism of enslaved people. Maryland had a significant Catholic population, and Catholic sacraments, including baptism, were occasionally administered to enslaved people.
- Counties: Suffolk County (including Boston).
- Though Massachusetts moved toward early abolition, church records in Boston and other areas occasionally contain baptisms of enslaved people, particularly among Congregational and Anglican churches.
- Counties: Kings County (Brooklyn) and New York County (Manhattan).
- While New York eventually moved toward abolition earlier than the Southern states, it was a slaveholding colony and early state where Anglican and Dutch Reformed churches baptized enslaved people. New York churches occasionally included these baptisms in their records, especially in areas with large estates.
- Counties: Craven County and New Hanover County.
- Records from Anglican and later Methodist and Baptist churches sometimes included enslaved individuals. In some cases, parish records show not only baptisms but also marriages and other sacraments involving enslaved people.
- Counties: Charleston County and Beaufort County.
- Charleston, with its large Anglican and later Baptist population, has some of the most comprehensive records. The records of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Charleston, for example, include enslaved individuals. Later, the First African Baptist Church also kept baptismal records of Black congregants, many of whom had been enslaved.
- Counties: Many counties in Virginia, especially those with large Anglican and Episcopal communities, have baptism records that mention enslaved people. Notable records have been found in York County, James City County, and Henrico County.
- The Anglican Church was prominent in colonial Virginia, and its parish records often recorded the baptisms of enslaved individuals. These records were sometimes detailed, including names and occasionally parentage (often identifying only the mother).