This index offers an efficient method of finding slave owners in the Amherst County, Virginia, slave schedules of 1850 and 1860. It covers 591 slave owners in alphabetical order for 1850 and 701 for 1860. In 1850, the total population count for Amherst County was 12,699 and its slave count was 5,953 (2,981 males and 2,972 females). In 1860, the total population for Amherst County had increased to 13,742 with a slave count of 6,278 (3,240 males and 3,038 females). There are nine columns of information for the 1850 index and ten for the 1860 index. Column headings include: numerical order; full name of slave owner or employer (listed alphabetically by surname); number of slaves owned; number of male slaves; number of female slaves; number of slaves considered black; number of slaves considered mulatto; if deaf, dumb, blind, insane, or idiotic; and the microfilm page number (1850 census) or number of slave houses (1860 census). Fugitives of the state are listed in the tenth column of the actual 1860 census record; however, this index lists the microfilm page reference number(s) in this column. The information on overseers includes: the numerical order of entries, the family member as it is written in the regular Amherst County census microfilm, full name of overseer (listed alphabetically by surname), and the page number. This work also includes additional sections on overseers and slaves who have reached their centennial years for both 1850 and 1860, an Enumeration Calendar for 1850, and a bibliography.