The 1870 census does not list him as owning real estate.

Te "value of real estate" column is blank.

He does have $150 in personal property.

have you checked probate records at the Cape Girardeau site?

THe link above (if you remove the extra Https ) only is for current property.

In 1870 he was living next to Harriet Alton and kids, who is likely a cousin -- I checked pages before & after and they were the only 2 black families on 4 pages.