Page 133 - The Ancestry of Francis Bryan (1770-1863)

PART F: THE 1870 CENSUS
I hold out some hope that Francis was an abolitionist, despite being a slaveholder. On the 1840 Census he no longer lists any “slaves”. Before 1860, manumission of the enslaved in North Carolina was very difficult. North Carolina had adopted laws restricting the ability of slaveholders to free the enslaved. If freed the enslaved would be arrested and sold to others. By 1840 Francis most likely had the clout in his community to ensure that any enslaved person to whom he granted manumission was safe, especially if they remained in close proximity to him.
Francis gave land to both Lem and John Bryan, carved out of his acreage. Small reparation for what Lem and John’s ancestors had endured. But something, none the less. The 1870 Census (above) was the first census to list the Black citizens in each district. Lem (Lenon) and John are listed between Francis' sons Abraham and Francis, Jr.
121