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Research object · BT-CLM-00166

Was H. G. D. Brown the buyer of Hilliard in the 1856 sale?

Under Investigation· 5 sourcesLast reviewed August 9, 2026
Research & Interpretation byAmberly R. Carter-Mills— Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist

The Claim

Later records connect Hilliard to H. G. D. Brown, but the entered sale record does not name a buyer.

Public Summary

Brown is a plausible buyer on later evidence. The sale record itself does not identify him.

Evidence Reviewed

  • ContextualizesContext Only

    Hilliard was sold in 1856. The settlement does not name the buyer.

    Source: William Q. Taliaferro Estate Final Administrator's Settlement (records the 1856 sale of Hilliard) · FamilySearch (digital images of county court records)

    The transaction is documented; the purchaser is not.

  • Partially SupportsWeak

    A man of about thirty-five is entered in the H. G. D. Brown block of the 1860 slave schedule. Hilliard is recorded elsewhere as born about 1823, which would make him about thirty-seven in June 1860. The schedule records no names, so this line is age-consistent with Hilliard; it does not identify him. What gives it weight is the company it keeps: Hilliard's own later account names H. G. D. Brown as the man who held him. Read against the 1865 Freedmen's Bureau register, which names this person under the same former owner, this line is consistent with the documented household rather than standing alone.

    1 | 35 | M | B

    Source: 1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedule — H. G. D. Brown Household, Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch

    Age-consistent but unnamed. Cannot identify Hilliard on its own.

  • Partially SupportsModerate

    Hilliard is recorded as formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown.

    Source: Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration

    Later evidence connects Hilliard to Brown, making Brown a plausible buyer in the 1856 transaction. The currently entered sale record does not independently identify the buyer.

  • ContextualizesContext Only

    H. G. D. Brown is reported in a derivative transcription of the 1860 Copiah County slave schedules as holding 46 enslaved people. The schedules name no enslaved person; this does not identify Hilliard. Original 1860 slave schedule images must be reviewed for direct source verification.

    Source: Copiah County, Mississippi — Largest Slaveholders from 1860 Slave Census Schedules · RootsWeb (website)

    Contextual only. A derivative transcription reporting how many people a slaveholder held cannot identify any individual, because the 1860 slave schedules record no names.

  • ContextualizesContext Only

    R. H. Taliaferro is reported in the same derivative transcription as holding 44 enslaved people in 1860. Nothing in this transcription establishes that Hilliard was one of those 44 people. Original 1860 slave schedule images must be reviewed for direct source verification.

    Source: Copiah County, Mississippi — Largest Slaveholders from 1860 Slave Census Schedules · RootsWeb (website)

    Contextual only. A derivative transcription reporting how many people a slaveholder held cannot identify any individual, because the 1860 slave schedules record no names.

The Evidence Trail

Step 1 · Claim

Was H. G. D. Brown the buyer of Hilliard in the 1856 sale?

Under Investigation· 5 sources

BT-CLM-00166

Later records connect Hilliard to H. G. D. Brown, but the entered sale record does not name a buyer.

Step 2 · Evidence & Source

  1. Contextualizes · Context Only weight

    Hilliard was sold in 1856. The settlement does not name the buyer.

    William Q. Taliaferro Estate Final Administrator's Settlement (records the 1856 sale of Hilliard) · FamilySearch (digital images of county court records) · Digital Image

    BT-EVD-00138 ← BT-SRC-00118

    Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

    The transaction is documented; the purchaser is not.

  2. Partially Supports · Weak weight

    A man of about thirty-five is entered in the H. G. D. Brown block of the 1860 slave schedule. Hilliard is recorded elsewhere as born about 1823, which would make him about thirty-seven in June 1860. The schedule records no names, so this line is age-consistent with Hilliard; it does not identify him. What gives it weight is the company it keeps: Hilliard's own later account names H. G. D. Brown as the man who held him. Read against the 1865 Freedmen's Bureau register, which names this person under the same former owner, this line is consistent with the documented household rather than standing alone.

    “1 | 35 | M | B”

    1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedule — H. G. D. Brown Household, Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch · p. 12 (penned), right column, H. G. D. Brown entry, line 5; digital image 12 of 101 · Digital Image

    BT-EVD-00145 ← BT-SRC-00034

    Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

    Age-consistent but unnamed. Cannot identify Hilliard on its own.

  3. Partially Supports · Moderate weight

    Hilliard is recorded as formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown.

    Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81 · Digital Image

    BT-EVD-00147 ← BT-SRC-00035

    Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

    Later evidence connects Hilliard to Brown, making Brown a plausible buyer in the 1856 transaction. The currently entered sale record does not independently identify the buyer.

  4. Contextualizes · Context Only weight

    H. G. D. Brown is reported in a derivative transcription of the 1860 Copiah County slave schedules as holding 46 enslaved people. The schedules name no enslaved person; this does not identify Hilliard. Original 1860 slave schedule images must be reviewed for direct source verification.

    Copiah County, Mississippi — Largest Slaveholders from 1860 Slave Census Schedules · RootsWeb (website) · Copiah County table · Transcription

    BT-EVD-00256 ← BT-SRC-00242

    Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

    Contextual only. A derivative transcription reporting how many people a slaveholder held cannot identify any individual, because the 1860 slave schedules record no names.

  5. Contextualizes · Context Only weight

    R. H. Taliaferro is reported in the same derivative transcription as holding 44 enslaved people in 1860. Nothing in this transcription establishes that Hilliard was one of those 44 people. Original 1860 slave schedule images must be reviewed for direct source verification.

    Copiah County, Mississippi — Largest Slaveholders from 1860 Slave Census Schedules · RootsWeb (website) · Copiah County table · Transcription

    BT-EVD-00257 ← BT-SRC-00242

    Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

    Contextual only. A derivative transcription reporting how many people a slaveholder held cannot identify any individual, because the 1860 slave schedules record no names.

Step 3 · Conclusion

No conclusion has been published. This remains an open research question. Does a bill of sale, deed, note, or estate voucher identify the purchaser of Hilliard in 1856?

How the Evidence Sits Together

What supports the claim

Observations that carry the claim forward.

  • A man of about thirty-five is entered in the H. G. D. Brown block of the 1860 slave schedule. Hilliard is recorded elsewhere as born about 1823, which would make him about thirty-seven in June 1860. The schedule records no names, so this line is age-consistent with Hilliard; it does not identify him. What gives it weight is the company it keeps: Hilliard's own later account names H. G. D. Brown as the man who held him. Read against the 1865 Freedmen's Bureau register, which names this person under the same former owner, this line is consistent with the documented household rather than standing alone.

    1 | 35 | M | B

    Partially Supports · Weak weight

    1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedule — H. G. D. Brown Household, Copiah County, Mississippi

    Age-consistent but unnamed. Cannot identify Hilliard on its own.

  • Hilliard is recorded as formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown.

    Partially Supports · Moderate weight

    Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation

    Later evidence connects Hilliard to Brown, making Brown a plausible buyer in the 1856 transaction. The currently entered sale record does not independently identify the buyer.

What complicates or contradicts it

Kept in view rather than discarded.

  • Nothing in this column for this claim.

What only provides context

Consistent, but not identifying or probative on its own.

  • Hilliard was sold in 1856. The settlement does not name the buyer.

    Contextualizes · Context Only weight

    William Q. Taliaferro Estate Final Administrator's Settlement (records the 1856 sale of Hilliard)

    The transaction is documented; the purchaser is not.

  • H. G. D. Brown is reported in a derivative transcription of the 1860 Copiah County slave schedules as holding 46 enslaved people. The schedules name no enslaved person; this does not identify Hilliard. Original 1860 slave schedule images must be reviewed for direct source verification.

    Contextualizes · Context Only weight

    Copiah County, Mississippi — Largest Slaveholders from 1860 Slave Census Schedules

    Contextual only. A derivative transcription reporting how many people a slaveholder held cannot identify any individual, because the 1860 slave schedules record no names.

  • R. H. Taliaferro is reported in the same derivative transcription as holding 44 enslaved people in 1860. Nothing in this transcription establishes that Hilliard was one of those 44 people. Original 1860 slave schedule images must be reviewed for direct source verification.

    Contextualizes · Context Only weight

    Copiah County, Mississippi — Largest Slaveholders from 1860 Slave Census Schedules

    Contextual only. A derivative transcription reporting how many people a slaveholder held cannot identify any individual, because the 1860 slave schedules record no names.

Research Conclusion

No conclusion has been published for this claim. It remains an open research question.

Amberly's Research Notes

No research note has been published for this claim yet.

From the research notebook ofAmberly R. Carter-Mills— Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist

What We Still Need to Find

Does a bill of sale, deed, note, or estate voucher identify the purchaser of Hilliard in 1856?

Provenance, Access and Use

Source creator
Varies by record — see each source
Who made the original record.
Researcher of record
Amberly R. Carter-Mills — Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist
Located, transcribed, weighed and interpreted the evidence.
Publishing archive
BEFORE TILL: The Living Evidence Archive
Holds the object, its identifiers and its revision history.

William Q. Taliaferro Estate Final Administrator's Settlement (records the 1856 sale of Hilliard)

BT-SRC-00118
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. Digital image of original recordOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.
Creator
Not recorded
Date created
Not recorded
Repository
FamilySearch (digital images of county court records)
Collection
Copiah County, Mississippi, County Court probate records
Record form
Digital Image
Source type
Probate
Accessed
Not recorded

Access and use

No rights statement has been recorded for this source. Verify rights with the holding repository before republication.

BEFORE TILL publishes description, transcription and analysis. Reuse of the underlying record is governed by the holding repository. Cite this archive by its persistent identifier when quoting our reading of the record.

1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedule — H. G. D. Brown Household, Copiah County, Mississippi

BT-SRC-00034
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. Digital image of original recordOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.
Creator
Not recorded
Date created
Not recorded
Repository
FamilySearch
Collection
U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, slave schedule
Record form
Digital Image
Source type
Census
Accessed
Not recorded

Access and use

No rights statement has been recorded for this source. Verify rights with the holding repository before republication.

BEFORE TILL publishes description, transcription and analysis. Reuse of the underlying record is governed by the holding repository. Cite this archive by its persistent identifier when quoting our reading of the record.

Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation

BT-SRC-00035
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. Digital image of original recordOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.
Creator
Not recorded
Date created
Not recorded
Repository
FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration
Collection
Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872
Record form
Digital Image
Source type
Freedmens Bureau
Accessed
Not recorded

Access and use

No rights statement has been recorded for this source. Verify rights with the holding repository before republication.

BEFORE TILL publishes description, transcription and analysis. Reuse of the underlying record is governed by the holding repository. Cite this archive by its persistent identifier when quoting our reading of the record.

Copiah County, Mississippi — Largest Slaveholders from 1860 Slave Census Schedules

BT-SRC-00242
Evidentiary weight 2 of 4. Derivative sourceOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA transcription, abstract or index standing in for a record BEFORE TILL has not yet examined directly.
Creator
Not recorded
Date created
Not recorded
Repository
RootsWeb (website)
Collection
Largest slaveholders transcription project
Record form
Transcription
Source type
Census
Accessed
Not recorded

Access and use

No rights statement has been recorded for this source. Verify rights with the holding repository before republication.

BEFORE TILL publishes description, transcription and analysis. Reuse of the underlying record is governed by the holding repository. Cite this archive by its persistent identifier when quoting our reading of the record.

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