Alan Pitts-
"Since this message board promotes discussion of any issue related to Alabama and the Civil War, anyone could ask about the percentage of families living in Alabama in 1860 who owned slaves. If I remember, the ratio was something like two out of every five families in the state -- about forty percent."

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But using what is counted as 'family' by the census takers can skew the number up.

Check the census record of any large town or city of the South to see what is counted as 'family.'