Hi Mona,

I too am dealing with a possible slave owner who died after 1880. My approach is to look for deeds that might mention slaves. Deeds describe legal activities of the living...such as slave sales, gifts, and sometimes slave hires. Here are some suggestions...

1. Make a brief family tree for the slave owner (father, mother's maiden name, children, and children's spouses). Where was the owner born? his parents? his children? Chances are, the possible slave owner is already in an extensive gedcom at www.rootsweb.com
2, Find out if there is a book of "deed abstracts" for Franklin county (ask message boards, call the courthouse, etc.)
2. Collect deed records (the Franklin County Courthouse or the state archive should have these) that mention Robertson for the years covering your ancestor's death - 1865.
3. If those do not provide good leads, collect the deeds that mention his mother's maiden surname, his daughters married surnames, and his sons' wives maiden surnames.

Step three might sound a little "out-there" but case in point...a person by the name of Nobles, the married granddaughter of a Jesse C. Knight, could be the last owner of my ancestor Thomas Knight. The deed was listed as "Nobles". I am still following up on this lead. I'll keep everyone posted.