Historians In Awe Over Discovery At Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Property

Earliest Slave-Owning Settlers in South Carolina

Joseph Blake was a member of the Blake family, some of the earliest settlers in South Carolina. The first settler, Joseph Blake immigrated from England and became the governor of colonial South Carolina in 1694. The family continued to own slaves for generations in the South Carolina area throughout the Civil War.

The family’s business continued to grow and they ended up owning two plantations one was located in Prince William’s Parish and another in St. Peter’s Parish. They were said to have enslaved over 575 black human beings.