Hi Pat,

There was a prominant slaveowner in Quincy, Gadsden FL named N.D. Zeigler. He was born in South Carolina. Zeigler owned a 22 year old male mulatto (among many others).
If you check the 1860 census you will find he had a next-door-neighbor, a lawyer named Sam Stephens - from NC.
Sam Stephens owned a 22 year old female mulatto and a 14 year old female mulatto in 1860 (among other slaves).

Given that ages are often off in census - I'd suggest you start looking for your folks among these slaveholdings, since they are not listed in 1860 - it means that more than likely they were slaves.

Denise