Major Slade Branches in the United States
During our early research on the Slade family, we recorded information about every Slade we found in the United States, regardless of their location. After a few years these people began to fit into geographic patterns and we found the majority was related to one of the six major Slade families in the United States. Further research found that each of these major branches traced back to a progenitor who was in the United States during or prior to colonial times. Cataloging every Slade over 30 years has consequently produced several large databases of Slades. This is the largest single collection of information compiled about Slade families in the USA that we know of. Eventually, we hope to have all of these major branches, as well as many smaller ones as a part of this web page.
The paragraphs below give a short overview of each of the six major branches of Slades in the United States.
William Slade of Windsor, Connecticut
William was born in England in the 1690's and was a weaver by trade, emigrated to America at the age of 19. William was married 1761 in Lebanon, Connecticut to Thankful Hutchinson, where sons Samuel, William and Aaron were born. The family also resided in Hebron and later Windsor, Connecticut. Immigrant William’s great-grandson William Slade was born 1786 and was elected to Congress from Vermont in 1831. He was Governor of Vermont in 1844. Dana and Ira Slade went to Detroit, MI in 1851 and opened Slade Brothers business. The majority of descendants of the immigrant William were living in Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont as late as 1910. This family genealogy is well documented in the book: William Slade of Windsor Connecticut And His Descendants by Thomas Bellows Peck, published 1910 by Sentinel Printing Company, Keene, N.H.
John Slade of Chelsea, Massachusetts, also known as The Spice Slades
John Slade was first found in Boston before the American Revolution. He was likely born in England about 1739. His grandsons David, Levi and Charles founded the D. & L. Slade Spice Co. of Chelsea & Boston, Massachusetts. The Spice Company was well known and continued in business until after 1900. Descendants lived in the general area for several generations but have since scattered. The original mill building located at 770 Revere Beach Parkway, Revere, MA has been restored as Slade’s Mill, a lodging house and exhibition area. This family was researched by Alfred L. Skinner, M.D., of Mercer Island, Washington in collaboration with Susan Slade Carr and Arthur Slade, III, descendants of John Slade. A limited number of books resulting from this research were privately published in 2001 by the authors under the title: The Spice Slades of Chelsea, Massachusetts and Their Ancestors and Descendants.
William Slade of Swansea, Massachusetts
William Slade, reputedly the son of Edward S. Slade of Wales, is first mentioned as of Newport, Rhode Island in 1659. By 1680, he was in Swansea, Massachusetts, in that part later known as Somerset. He was a large land owner and operated Slade’s Ferry across the Taunton River. Ownership of the ferry remained in the family until 1876. While many of the descendants of William remained in Massachusetts, others removed to Troy, New York and later westward. A good genealogy of this family is found in these books; The Slade-Babcock Genealogy, 1970 and Ancestral Lines: 206 Families in England, 2003. both authored by Carl Boyer, III, Newhall, CA. Also in Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts, J.H. Beers & Co., Chicago, 1912
William Slade of Anne Arundel Co, Maryland
William Slade was likely born in England, came to America before 1650 and settled on Chesapeake Bay in Ann Arundel County, Maryland. Later, they moved north to Baltimore and Harford County, Maryland. William’s grandson, Josias Slade was owner of Slade’s Tavern in My Lady’s Manor, Maryland. Some descendants still live in that general area, however others migrated to North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio and Texas. About 1763, William’s grandson Thomas Slade removed to Orange, later Caswell County, North Carolina. Ezekiel Slade removed to Harrison County, Kentucky. Ezekiel had seven sons. Many of their descendants still live in Harrison Co, KY, however, many of them live in Ohio. Son James removed to Mississippi. The descendants of this family was well researched by John H. Pearce of Maryland. Unfortunately, John died in 1998 before his work could be published, however, he did share a copy of his research with this author and it has been compiled into a database.
Henry Slade of Hyde County, North Carolina
Henry Slade came from England before 1700 and settled on the east side of the Pungo River at the mouth of a creek, later called Slade’s Creek in what later became Hyde County, North Carolina. Many of Henry's descendants still reside in coastal North Carolina. Jeremiah Slade, b 1775, great-great-grandson of the immigrant Henry, served as a Brigadier General in War of 1812. He owned large tracts of land in Martin County, which his Slade descendants are still farming today. Thomas Bog Slade, son of Jeremiah, migrated to Jones Co, Georgia where he founded Clinton Female Academy, which later became Wesleyan College in Macon. T.B. Slade later moved to Muskogee County, Georgia where he died. William Slade settled in Dooly County, Georgia where his descendants spread to Crisp and Pulaski Counties. Samuel Slade was in Cheraw, South Carolina in 1800 and his son Hezekiah migrated on to Marion County, Mississippi where many descendants still live. Henry Blount Slade migrated to Washington County, Alabama and has many descendants in that general area. The only known publication about any of this branch is Samuel Slade of Cheraw District, South Carolina by Leonard L. Slade. Sr., 1975, Gateway Press, Inc., Baltimore. This possibly the largest of all the branches in the US. Click here to learn more about Henry Slade and his descendants
Samuel Slade of Southampton County, Virginia
Samuel Slade was likely born in Virginia about 1720. He owned land on Nottaway River in Southampton County, Virginia. His will was filed 1789 in Southampton County naming his wife Mary and sons: Joshua, William, Samuel Jr, Jethro, along with 7 unnamed younger children. Sons Joshua, William and Samuel, Jr. remained in Virginia, however, Jethro was drawn to Georgia about 1805 by the Georgia land lottery. Jethro died soon after settling in central Georgia, leaving orphans William, Harris, Simon and Samuel. William remained in Washington County, GA where his descendants lived for several generations. Harris removed to Talbot County, Simon removed to Pike County and Samuel removed to Jones, then later to Pike County. Many of descendants of Simon and Samuel stayed in Pike and nearby counties, however others scattered to Alabama, Florida, and North Carolina. About 1855, Samuel’s eldest son Joseph H married Elizabeth Dumas and removed to Union Parish, Louisiana with the Dumas family. Subsequent descendants of Joseph spread to Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.
