Aurelia,

If in 1860 Clifton consisted of only 17 acres and there were 17 slaves and three slave dwellings then it is likely that they were not too far from the main house.  Does Clifton House still exist?  If it does, the present owners or other locals might be able to tell you where they were.  Some of the very large plantations had brick slave quarters that housed multiple families but in general slave houses were small log or frame buildings, sometimes duplexes.  While some of these cabins still survive, most have simply rotted away.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely there is a specific document or map that will give you what you're looking for.  I am not familiar with survivng Lexington records so I'm going to give you a general idea of how to proceed.  Do a title search on the Clifton property -- if the 17 acres is still intact you will know that the slave houses were somewhere on that tract.   If the property was subdivided, you will have to search each parcel individually and check the land tax records the year it was sold to see if there was a building on the parcel.  If you find there was a building on a parcel, look back through the tax records to try and determine when it was built.  If you find a building on a parcel there is no guarantee that it started life as a slave cabin but it could have.  They would not necessarily have subdivided a parcel in function of a cabin but anything is possible.  Most of the cabins I am familiar with on subdivided parcels were built after the fact; the ones that remain on the original plantations (like the ones we have) were just considered outbuildings and are never mentioned anywhere.  As outbuildings they weren't assessed for taxes.

I wish I could be of more help but truthfully if you can narrow it down to 17 acres of Clifton that might be as good as it gets.

kathy


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Aurelia Brooks 
  To: [log in to unmask] 
  Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2011 9:28 PM
  Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] How To Determine an Actual Site from Census?


  Kathy,
  What you have said is quite interesting to me. I am researching in Lexington, 
  VA. The slave family I am looking for lived at Clifton House in District 7 and 
  it was a large property. At the death of the owner, Capt. John Alexander,1853, 
  parts of the property were sold and only 17 acres and Clifton House were 
  retained. In 1860 the widow Elizabeth listed about 9 slaves and 2 dwellings. 
  Her son John McDowell Alexander listed 8 slaves and 1 dwelling. They both lived 
  at Clifton. 


  In 1870 the freed family was living in the Town of Lexington District in a 
  separate house, but in 1880 they were living in a shared dwelling with three 
  other non-related families Supervisors Dist. 4, enumeration Dist. 65.
  Is it possible, based on your experience in the field, that there might be a 
  record of where those dwellings were on the Clifton property or if the land that 
  was sold, whether subdivisions for houses /tenant homes were created? (Thinking 
  this through!)
  Aurelia



To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html