Pioneer settlers of the
Pittsburgh Region
Slaveholders
as recorded in slave and Negro birth registries, the U.S. Census, and Allegheny County slave papers
| Name | Occupation | 1780–1813 County slave/Birth registries | 1790 Census |
1800 Census |
1810 Census |
1820 Census |
1830 Census |
Appearance in County slave papers | Historical Significance |
David Bradford 1760-1808 |
Lawyer, deputy attorney general for Washington County, businessman |
No listing |
1 slave |
No listing |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Prominent historic home in Washington County; original trustee of Pittsburgh Academy |
Edward Cook |
Military officer, politician, real estate speculator, judge |
7 slaves |
6 slaves |
6 slaves; |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Original trustee of Pittsburgh Academy; founded Fayette City around 1794 |
Isaac Craig |
Revolutionary War officer, U.S. Quartermaster, glass manufacturer with James O'Hara, land speculator, carpenter, owner of distillery and sawmill with Stephen Bayard |
No listing |
8 slaves |
1 slave; |
4 indentures |
No listing |
Deceased |
None |
Commander of Fort Pitt; cofounded first glass factory in Pittsburgh; married into Neville family; father of Pittsburgh Gazette owner Neville Craig; supervised construction of Fort Fayette; Craig Street named for him |
William Croghan Jr. |
Lawyer, real estate speculator |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No slaves |
Manumits, then indentures Gouldman and Richardson | Father of Mary Schenley |
Samuel Ewalt |
Innkeeper, soldier, merchant, politician |
1 slave |
2 slaves |
2 slaves |
2 slaves |
No listing |
No listing |
None |
First sheriff of Allegheny County; owned entire block of downtown Pittsburgh; Assemblyman |
Rev. James Finley |
Minister |
7 slaves |
No listing |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Original trustee of Pittsburgh Academy |
Robert Galbreath |
Lawyer |
1 slave |
2 slaves |
1 slave; |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
None |
Original trustee of Pittsburgh Academy; first deputy attorney general of Allegheny County |
John Gibson |
French-Indian War soldier, Revolutionary War officer, politician, secretary to governor of Indiana Territory |
1 slave |
3 slaves |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
Deceased |
None |
Commander at Fort Pitt; original trustee of Pittsburgh Academy |
Henry Heath |
Soldier, real estate speculator |
3 slaves |
3 slaves |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
None |
Major land owner in Friendship area of East End of Pittsburgh |
Margaret Hutton |
Farmer |
9 slaves |
9 slaves |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Widow; one of the largest slave owners in Fayette County |
Abraham Kirkpatrick |
Revolutionary War officer, justice of the peace, farmer |
1 slave |
2 slaves |
1 indenture |
1 indenture |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Married into Neville family; important role in Whiskey Rebellion; Kirkpatrick Street named for him |
Aeneas MacKay |
Soldier, real estate speculator |
1 slave |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Father-in-law to Stephen Bayard, who founded Elizabeth, Pa. |
John McKee |
Soldier, real estate speculator |
1 slave |
2 slaves |
No slaves |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Permits Cosco to buy his freedom; manumits then indentures Suck | Son of David McKee, the first White settler of McKeesport; laid out the future borough of McKeesport |
Dunning McNair |
Militia officer, state legislator, real estate speculator |
No listing |
1 slave |
3 slaves; |
2 slaves; |
No listing |
Deceased |
None |
Early settler of Wilkinsburg (originally called McNairstown) |
Isaac Meason |
Iron manufacturer, real estate speculator, soldier, owner of gristmill |
8 slaves |
No slaves |
3 slaves |
3 slaves; |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Pioneer iron manufacturer in Fayette County; built mansion, the Meason House, c. 1804 |
John Neville |
Revolutionary War officer, farmer, distiller, inspector of revenue |
21 slaves |
18 slaves; |
No listing |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Role in the Whiskey Rebellion; Neville Island and Neville Avenue named for him |
Presley Neville |
Revolutionary War officer, farmer, state legislator, burgess of Pittsburgh, U.S. census taker |
1 slave |
9 slaves; |
1 slave; 6 indentures |
9 indentures |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Slaveholder of Walls; witness to indenture of Lucy; certifies the freedom of Holt | Owner of Woodville Plantation; original trustee of Pittsburgh Academy |
Dr. Thomas Parker |
Physician |
1 slave |
2 slaves |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
None |
Original trustee of Pittsburgh Academy; early medical doctor |
Dorsey Pentecost |
Revolutionary War officer, real estate speculator in Washington County, judge |
15 slaves |
No listing |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Founding family of Strabane Township, Washington County |
Devereux Smith |
Justice of the peace, Indian trader |
2 slaves |
No listing |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
James O'Hara's first job was with him; Smithfield Street is named for him |
George Wallace |
Judge |
1 slave |
No listing |
4 slaves |
2 slaves; |
No listing |
No listing |
Justice of the peace for Cosco's self-purchase from John McKee | First judge of Allegheny County; original trustee of Pittsburgh Academy |
Conrad Winebiddle |
Farmer, tanner, real estate speculator |
1 slave |
5 slaves |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Pioneer settler of East Liberty; daughter married Jacob Negley; Winebiddle Street is named for him; estate known as "Friendship" |
George Woods |
Military officer, judge, surveyor |
No listing |
Two George Woods, father and son, are listed in Bedford, one with two slaves—most likely the elder listed here—and one without. |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Surveyed Pittsburgh with Thomas Vickroy for the Penn family; settler of Hazelwood; Wood Street, downtown, and Wood Street, Wilkinsburg are named for him; Hazelwood mansion still stands |
John Woods |
Lawyer, politician, surveyor |
1 slave |
No slaves |
No listing |
4 indentures |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Son of George Woods; speaker of the state senate; law partner with Hugh Henry Brackenridge in the city's first law firm; founder of First Presbyterian Church; early settler of Hazelwood |
Non-Slaveholders
as recorded in slave and Negro birth registries, the U.S. Census, and Allegheny County slave papers
| Name | Occupation | 1780–1813 County slave/birth registries |
1790 Census |
1800 Census |
1810 Census |
1820 Census |
1830 Census |
Appearance in County slave papers | Historical Significance |
Alexander Addison 1759-1807 |
Minister, lawyer, judge |
No listing |
No slaves |
No listing |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
First judge in Allegheny County with legal training; impeached from the bench; staunch Federalist |
Stephen Bayard 1744-1815 |
Revolutionary War officer, real estate speculator, owner of distillery and sawmill with Isaac Craig |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No slaves |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Commander at Fort Pitt; founder of Elizabeth, Pa. (1788); Bayard Street is named for him; original trustee of Pittsburgh Academy |
Dr. Nathaniel Bedford |
Doctor, real estate speculator |
No listing |
No listing |
No slaves |
No slaves |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
First medical doctor in Pittsburgh; designed Birmingham (now South Side); Bedford Square; original trustee of Pittsburgh Academy |
Melchoir Beltzhoover |
Farmer; real estate speculator |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Indenture holder of Deemer | Beltzhoover neighborhood is named for him |
Hugh H. Brackenridge |
Lawyer, author, judge, politician |
No listing |
No slaves |
2 indentures |
No slaves |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Founder of Pittsburgh Academy; founder of the Pittsburgh Gazette; founder of Allegheny County;opens first law firm in Pittsburgh; novelist; exonerated by Alexander Hamilton in Whiskey Rebellion hearing; assemblyman; Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice; Brackenridge, Pa. is named for his family. |
Robert Bruce |
Educator, minister |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No slaves |
No listing |
No listing |
None |
First chancellor of Western University of Pennsylvania, now the University of Pittsburgh |
Richard Butler |
Revolutionary officer, Indian agent, judge |
No listing |
No slaves |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Butler Street, Butler County named for family |
Christopher Cowan |
Iron manufacturer, bank director |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
None |
Owned the iron rolling and splitting mill in Pittsburgh (1812); third owner of Neville's Woodville estate |
Neville Craig |
Editor, publisher, historian, author |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No slaves |
None |
In 1851, wrote first history of Pittsburgh; editor of the Pittsburgh Gazette |
Zadok Cramer |
Publisher, bookbinder, editor |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Wrote three popular river guides; published many early texts in Pittsburgh |
Ebenezer Denny |
Revolutionary War officer, politician, glass manufacturer, farmer |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
Deceased |
E. Denny is alderman in Lucy indenture | First appointed city mayor in 1816; Denny Street is named for him |
Jacob Ewart |
Farmer |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No slaves |
None |
Early settler of Minersville, now in Oakland; Ewart Street is named for him |
William Gazzam |
Justice of the peace |
No listing |
No listing |
No slaves |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
Buys indenture of Tunnel and frees her when indenture ends | Officer of the court |
Dr. Peter Mowry 1770-1833 |
Physician |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
1 indenture |
No listing |
No slaves |
None |
Pupil of Dr. Nathaniel Bedford; pioneer city doctor |
Jacob Negley |
Farmer, real estate speculator |
No listing |
No listing |
1 indenture |
No slaves |
No listing |
Deceased |
None |
From pioneer East Liberty family; Negley Street is named for him; married Barbara Winebiddle |
James O'Hara |
Revolutionary War officer, U.S. Quartermaster, glass and iron manufacturer, owner of brewery, real estate speculator, bank president |
No listing |
No slaves |
5 indentures |
5 indentures |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Indentures Tunnel, then sells her indenture | Cofounded glass industry; first Pittsburgh capitalist; O'Hara Street; O'Hara Township are named for him |
John Ormsby |
Soldier, real estate speculator, teacher, merchant |
No listing |
No slaves |
No listing |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Received land grant to what became South Side; streets in South Side named for family members |
James Ross |
Lawyer, Pennsylvania senator |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
1 indenture |
No listing |
No listing |
None |
Prominent lawyer; O'Hara's lawyer; Ross Township and Ross Street are named for him; original trustee of Pittsburgh Academy |
John Scull |
Editor, publisher, bank president |
No listing |
No slaves |
2 indentures |
No slaves |
No slaves |
Deceased |
None |
Founded the Pittsburgh Gazette with Joseph Hall and Hugh Henry Brackenridge |
Arthur St. Clair |
Revolutionary War officer, politician, iron manufacturer |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
President of the Continental Congress; surveyor for William Penn; Upper St. Clair and St. Clair Street are named for him |
Adamson Tannehill |
Revolutionary War officer, lawyer, politician, farmer, bank president |
No listing |
No listing |
1 indenture |
1 indenture |
No listing |
Deceased |
None |
Prominent lawyer; Congressman |
John Wilkins Sr. |
Soldier, merchant, politician |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Deceased |
Imprisons James Cooper on suspicion of being a runaway slave; presides as justice of the peace over indenture of Kut and manumission of Caleb Mills | Bought land to establish Allegheny County courthouse and jail; treasurer of Allegheny County; chief burgess of Pittsburgh; father of John Jr. and William |
John Wilkins Jr. |
Soldier, U.S. Quarter Master General, bank president |
No listing |
No listing |
No slaves |
No listing |
Deceased |
Deceased |
None |
Bank president |
William Wilkins |
Lawyer, judge, politician, real estate speculator, diplomat, businessman |
No listing |
No slaves |
No listing |
No listing |
No listing |
No slaves |
None |
U.S.;tornaeS U.S.Secretary ofWar;Wilkins Township and Wilkins;mihfor deg namrbu Homewood Cemetery builton his property |