All Remaining Surnames
Knowles · Crutcher · Butler · Drane · Wheeler & More

Anderson

Anderson families were among the primary Scots-Irish settlers in the Virginia and Carolina backcountry from the 1720s–1750s. Their migration into Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas brought enslaved people with them. Anderson County, South Carolina is named for Robert Anderson (1741–1813), a Revolutionary War general documented as a slaveholder in the Upstate SC area. His estate and probate records, held at the SC Department of Archives and History, may contain named enslaved individuals — critical for Anderson-surnamed researchers with Upstate SC roots. [SC Dept. of Archives and History]

Anderson Research Resources

• SC Department of Archives and History online index (archivesindex.sc.gov) — search Anderson in Anderson, Pickens, and Greenville counties
• SC Enslaved Persons and Slaveholders database — Anderson entries documented
• Lowcountry Africana (lowcountryafricana.com) — Anderson estate records
• Library of Virginia — Anderson among "Ancient Planter" class; Virginia Untold database

Knowles

The Knowles surname is of Old English origin, a topographic name for someone who lived near a hillock or rounded hill. American Knowles families settled primarily in New England, Virginia, and the Carolinas in the colonial era. Southern branch Knowles families are documented as slaveholders in South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi from the late 1700s through 1865. A distinct Loyalist Knowles branch — families who supported the British during the American Revolution — relocated to the Bahamas and Caribbean; if your Knowles ancestor has Caribbean connections, this is a separate research pathway.

Knowles Research

• SC Department of Archives and History — SC Enslaved Persons database; Knowles entries in appraisal and inventory books
• FamilySearch 1860 slave schedule — With 4 occurrences in the dataset, search all Southern states; results will be limited and manageable
• Georgia coastal counties (Chatham, Liberty) — Multiple Knowles families documented in GA county slave schedules
• Freedmen's Bureau labor contracts — May name Knowles freedpeople with former enslaver's name

Crutcher

Crutcher families settled primarily in Virginia and the Carolinas, with significant migration into Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi by the early 1800s. The Crutcher surname is notable in Kentucky history — multiple Crutcher families were prominent slaveholders in Bourbon County, Kentucky, one of the most intensely slaveholding counties in the Commonwealth. Their enslaved people and descendants migrated into Tennessee and Mississippi along established routes. [3 occurrences in dataset — variant spellings Croucher, Croutcher documented]

Crutcher Research

• Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (kdla.ky.gov) — Bourbon County probate records; African American research guides
• Tennessee State Library & Archives — Multiple Crutcher families in middle TN counties; TN Freedmen's Bureau labor contracts
• FamilySearch Mississippi slave schedules (1850, 1860) — By 1850–1860, Crutcher families had migrated into MS
• Freedman's Bank records — Savings accounts may include former employer/enslaver information

Bills

The Bills surname is of English origin, a variant of Bill — itself a diminutive of William. Bills families settled primarily in New England, Virginia, and the Carolinas. The presence of this surname in the dataset with 3 occurrences suggests a specific Bills slaveholding family in the relevant county. Because Bills is an uncommon surname, the slave schedule search is straightforward — a comprehensive search of all Southern state slave schedules on FamilySearch should be achievable in a single research session.

Hunt

Hunt families held enslaved people across Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Notable Hunt slaveholders include members of the Hunt family of Mississippi and Louisiana, where Hunt planters were documented as large-scale cotton and sugar producers by 1840–1860. Hunt County, Texas is named for Memucan Hunt, a Texas Republic official who was a documented slaveholder. The Texas State Library and Archives (tsl.texas.gov) holds Freedmen's Bureau records for Texas, including Hunt County-area records of formerly enslaved Hunt-surnamed people who may have migrated from Mississippi or Alabama.

Munn

The Munn surname is quite rare, which provides a significant research advantage. There were very few Munn slaveholding families in any given county — a comprehensive search across all Southern state slave schedules on FamilySearch should yield very limited results that can be evaluated individually. Begin with the county where your ancestor appears in 1870, then search all Southern state slave schedules for "Munn."

Butler

Pierce Butler (1744–1822), a South Carolina politician and signer of the U.S. Constitution, was one of the most documented Butler slaveholders in the South, holding approximately 500 enslaved people across plantations in South Carolina and Georgia (Butler Island, GA). His granddaughter's husband, Pierce Mease Butler, sold 436 enslaved people in the infamous "Weeping Time" auction of 1859 at the Savannah race track — the largest single slave auction in American history.

Actress Fanny Kemble, who married Pierce Mease Butler, documented enslaved life on Butler Island, Georgia in her Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838–1839, published in 1863. This journal names enslaved individuals and describes conditions in detail:

Butler Research Resources

• Georgia Historical Society (georgiahistory.com) — Butler Island plantation records; "Weeping Time" auction records
• Lowcountry Africana (lowcountryafricana.com) — SC and GA estate records with named enslaved individuals; includes Butler records
• Kemble, Fanny. Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838–1839. Harper & Brothers, 1863. Available via Project Gutenberg.
• College of Charleston Library guides (libguides.charleston.edu) — African American genealogy in SC including Butler family connections

Gill

Gill slaveholders are documented in Virginia and the Carolinas. Because Gill is a relatively short and common-seeming name, search all variants: Gill, Giles, Gills, Gil. The rarity of 1 occurrence in the dataset makes county-level research tractable — start with the 1860 slave schedule for the county where your ancestor appears in the 1870 census.

West

The West family of Virginia was among the founding plantation families — Lord De La Warr (Thomas West, 3rd Baron) gave his name to the state of Delaware and was an early colonial governor of Virginia. West slaveholding families are documented across all major Southern states. The West family of Virginia is particularly notable for its colonial-era slaveholding records, searchable in the Library of Virginia's colonial-era databases.

Wheeler

Wheeler families arrived in the American colonies in the early 1600s. General Joseph Wheeler (1836–1906) of the Confederate Army — later a U.S. general in the Spanish-American War — came from a Wheeler family with documented Georgia slaveholding connections. Wheeler County, Georgia is named for General Wheeler and contains records of formerly enslaved Wheeler-surnamed people. Wheeler slaveholders are documented in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Wheeler Research Resources

• Georgia Archives (georgiaarchives.org) — Wheeler County estate and probate records; Vanishing Georgia collection
• Georgia Historical Society online finding aids — Wheeler slaveholder documentation
• Georgia Freedmen's Bureau records on FamilySearch — Wheeler-surnamed freedpeople and former enslavers
• Confederate pension records (Georgia Archives) — Context for Wheeler family history

Drane

The Drane surname is of primarily Norse-Viking origin, derived from the pre-7th century personal name Dreng — meaning "freeman who held lands." Recorded variants include Drane, Drain, Dran, Drayn, Dreng, Drains. Alternative origins include a topographic name near a major drained waterway, Old English dron (a drone bee), or in Ireland an anglicization of the Gaelic names O'Dreain and Drohan. The earliest recorded spelling is William Dreng, dated 1155, in the feudal rolls of County Durham, England, during the reign of King Henry II. [SurnameDB]

Drane Slaveholding in the American South

The Drane surname appears in Southern slaveholding records primarily in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee:

• Maryland Drane records — The Drane family had significant presence in colonial Maryland; search Maryland State Archives (msa.maryland.gov) slave records
• Virginia Drane records — Library of Virginia's "Virginia Untold" database; search "Drane" as slaveholder name
• Tennessee Drane records — Tennessee State Library & Archives; Freedmen's Bureau TN records may name Drane freedpeople
• North Carolina Drane records — NC State Archives; Digital Library on American Slavery (dlas.uncg.edu) for Drane petitions

Pinkston (Extended Research)

See the Paternal Surnames post for the full Pinkston dossier. Additional research notes: Pinkston families appear in antebellum Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama records. Search also under the variant Pinckston — this spelling appears in some census records and is easy to miss if searching only "Pinkston." The Freedmen's Bureau records for Georgia (NARA M1903) and Alabama (NARA M809) are particularly valuable given Pinkston's distinctive rarity.

Ross (Extended Research)

See the Paternal Surnames post for the full Ross dossier. Additional note on John Ross (Cherokee): John Ross (1790–1866), Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, held a documented enslaved workforce on his Cherokee plantation — an important and complex case of Indigenous slaveholding. If your Ross ancestor has Cherokee connections, research both standard Southern slave records AND National Archives Record Group 75 (Bureau of Indian Affairs), which contains Cherokee enrollment records and related documents.

Summary — Complete Surname Frequency Table