When the first federal census of Alabama was enumerated in 1820, 2755 people were counted in Wilcox County by census taker Ephraim Pharr. The total population figure was certified by Pharr on October 4, 1820.

According to the numbers gathered by Pharr, the white population stood at 1395 with the blacks numbering 1360. The 1820 Census enumerated the white population by sex and age. The groups counted included: males over 21, males under 21, females over 21, and females under 21. Slaves in each household were numbered without regard to age.

The heads of households in 1820 numbered 249 men and two women. Of this number 133 were slaveholders. The majority of slave owners listed 15 or less in their households with the largest number having only one or two. Eighteen heads of households, including one woman counted 15 to 20 slaves as part of their households. Fourteen men owned from 21 to 69 slaves.

Slave owners with the largest numbers listed were:

	James Asbury Tait - 69
	Thomas Evans - 53
	George Williamson - 46
	John Beck - 40
	John Eades - 38
	John Blackmon - 33
	Charles Capell - 30
	John D. Chatterlin - 30
	William McKerrall - 27
	Charles Thaxton - 26
	Charles L. Mathews, Jr. - 21
	Ephraim Pharr - 21
	John H. McConnell - 21
	Harry G. Williams - 21
	

Those heads of households listing from 15 to 20 slaves were:

	Mathew Wood - 15
	Aaron Baldwin - 15
	R. H. Scott - 15
	John Huff - 15
	Henry Taylor - 16
	Abner Cleveland - 16
	Walter Taylor - 16
	James Nettles - 16
	Isaac Handley - 17
	Charles L. Hillman - 17
	William Mason - 17
	Joseph Gee - 18
	Lucy Strother - 18
	R. H. Gregg - 18
	A. C. Horn - 20
	Obediah Duman - 21
	Samuel Q.J. Bone - 20

By 1830, the population of Wilcox County had grown by over 6500 persons. These figures show a total white population of 5442 with the blacks numbering 4106. In 1840, the numbers had increased to 5060 whites and 9318 blacks. By 1850, the numbers were 5,517 whites and 11, 835 blacks. In 1860, there were 6,767 whites and 17,823 blacks.

Original Source: Wilcox County Census of 1820
Quoted from Within The Bend, Stories of Wilcox County by Ouida Starr Woodson
Contributed by Elizabeth Graham Chatterjee, descendant of the Thomas Blackmon and Rev. John Cargill Jones families of Wilcox County