For my parents 50th anniversary I compiled some genealogical information into a book along with family stories and photos. While doing this research, I uncovered one line that had actually owned slaves (we had previously thought that we had no American slave owners). The family lived in Pitt County, N.C. and were of mixed English/French ancestry. I looked through a few years worth of census data and the data only shows 1 or 2 slaves at each census. How common would this have been? What would the relationship between a family and just 1 or 2 slaves have been like? Would the slave(s) have lived in separate quarters given that there was frequently only one slave? That seems like a big expense (maintaining a separate residence for one person). Are there any sources I could look at to find out more about my ancestors and their relationship with their slaves?
I should point out that this family voluntarily gave up slavery. My direct ancestors experienced a religious conversion in the late 1840s and gave up slavery though the source is unclear if they sold their slaves or freed them.
While this is a fascinating question, I do believe that /u/rittermeister would be most capable of handling it, for he works both in small slavery and North Carolina. Cheers
A large majority of slave owners owned ten or fewer slaves, and half owned five or fewer. Owners in the Upper South (North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland) generally had fewer slaves than those in the more profitable Lower South. Your ancestor's ownership of one and two slaves at a time is perfectly normal for a wealthy yeoman farmer. They might have been extra hands to supplement the farmer and his sons' labor, a personal servant, a cook, etc; I can't say without having looked at your information.
Small farms with few slaves were more integrated than the large plantations, at least to the extent that both blacks and whites lived in close proximity to and labored alongside each other. The slaves likely slept in the house, perhaps on the floor, perhaps on a small bed. A certain level of familiarity very often developed, but it was one underwritten by masterly dominance.
However, it should not be assumed that slaves on small farms lived entirely better lives than slaves on large plantations. One major benefit the plantation offered was the possibility of a black community of sorts. Slaves on small farms lacked this social network. They inhabited a white world, all the time conscious of the fact that it was not theirs. Slaves on these small farms might only rarely seeing other black people. If they wished to marry and have children, they would likely have to go through the long process of finding a slave on a neighboring property with a master who was amenable.