IPUMS Full Count Datasets of Enslaved Persons and Slaveholders in the United States in 1850 and 1860

This article describes the development of IPUMS full count datasets of the censuses of enslaved inhabitants of the United States in 1850 and 1860 and their enslavers. These data are a result of two collaborations. The 1850 dataset stems from a collaboration between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose volunteers transcribed the original manuscript forms, and IPUMS, which enhanced the raw data with editing, standardized coding procedures, constructed variables, and documentation. The 1860 dataset was the result of a similar collaboration between the genealogical company Ancestry and IPUMS. The article discusses the features of these datasets, their limitations, and suggests possible research uses.