[1][2][3][4] Thomas McCargo was enumerated in the 1810 census of Charlotte County, Virginia, at which time he was between 16 and 25 years old; there was one enslaved person living in his household.

[6] As a property-owning white adult male, McCargo was legally permitted to participate in democratic processes in the U.S. state of Virginia in the early Republic era, and as such, in December 1827 he was appointed to a committee of correspondence, which was intended to generate support for the candidacy of Andrew Jackson and in oppose to that of John Quincy Adams in anticipation of the 1828 Presidential election.

[8] Also in 1830, Thomas McCargo was enumerated in the fifth census of the United States as a resident of Halifax County, Virginia; his household consisted of three free whites and 41 black slaves, including 11 children under the age of 10.

In 1831 McCargo and other passengers traveling north from New Orleans signed an open letter published in the Louisville Courier-Journal, which was addressed to Captain Shalcross and crew of the steamer Hibernia for their "energy, industry, and perseverance, in encountering the ice and other difficulties, which they have done to a more than common extent.

[11] Cholera was epidemic that year, and a shipment from Alexandria, Virginia to the Delta region arrived with a number of sick and dying enslaved passengers.

[11] To placate the citizens of Natchez, 10 slave traders, including McCargo, signed a public letter agreeing to relocate outside the city limits.

[15] He invited potential sellers to visit his premises near Seabrook's Warehouse in Richmond, "where we are prepared to keep them safe and comfortable, whether for sale or otherwise.

"[15] The University of Virginia Libraries hold a collection of letters to slave trader William Crow; according to a collection guide created by the library, a trader named Thomas Jackson wrote to Crow in autumn 1839 that the Richmond market was weak in both price and sales volume, but that "McCargo and Purvis had sold all of their slaves.

"[16] At the time of the 1840 census, McCargo was resident in Halifax County, Virginia, in a household with two free whites and 29 enslaved blacks, 15 of whom were engaged in agriculture.

[24] The rebels were primarily "owned" by just three of the several traders using the Creole for transport: Robert Lumpkin, George W. Apperson, and Thomas McCargo.

[23] The rebels Richard Butler, Pompey Garrison, Williams Jenkins, Elijah Morris, George Portlock, Warner Smith, and Madison Washington were all shipped by McCargo.

[23] Attorney Judah P. Benjamin, later of the Confederate cabinet, represented the insurance company in its successful appeal before the Louisiana Supreme Court.