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Join us for a look inside the lives of the enslaved Stepney family of Liberty Hall Historic Site.

Our research is difficult and an ongoing process. Not much is known about the enslaved families at our property but our staff and volunteers have been tracking leads often. What is known comes from family letters, census documents, military records, and other public records.
References in Brown family letters provide glimpses of the daily lives of the enslaved but often omit surnames. One that is known is Stepney, in part because John filed deeds of manumission for eight members of this family. Miles Stepney, born in North Carolina or Virginia around 1770, was first mentioned in the letters in 1811. His wife Hannah’s name first appeared in an 1819 letter, but between 1808 and 1826, she gave birth to at least eight children: Rose, Joseph, Selim, George, Mary, James, Mourning, and Edwin. They cooked, did household chores, and labored in the garden, stable, and laundry. At least two Stepney sons worked away from home, Joseph in another Frankfort household and Selim on a steamboat. Henry was sent to Alabama with Orlando. Mary Stepney accompanied Margaretta on trips northeast. When John’s sons Mason and Orlando became adults, they too became slaveholders. In 1833, two years before his home was built, Orlando was taxed for seven slaves. Mason was taxed for one. After their parents’ deaths in 1837 and 1838, both sons continued to add slaves to their households. Like many Kentuckians, Mason and Orlando supported the Union during the Civil war but continued to hold people in bondage.
Other enslaved people mentioned in family letters include Ashtin, Emma, Jim, Judy, Julia, Lewis, Malinda, Rachel, Rose, Sampson, Sarah, Simon, and Westin. With continued research, we hope to learn more about them and others enslaved by the Brown family.

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