| Term | Definition | Source |
| Role within event | |
| Enslaver | Person or organization who owns or has dominion over the body, labor, and reproductive rights of another person in a social or legal system of involuntary servitude. Includes prior enslaver and owner. | Enslaved.org Controlled Vocabulary |
| Runaway | Person listed in a document as having fled or possibly disappeared | Enslaved.org Controlled Vocabulary |
| Court Member | A person who was listed as present at court the day of the legal proceedings in the source | |
| Servant | A person whose role in an event relates to their status as a servant | |
| Witness | A person who provided witness testimony in court related to the event or the signing of a document | |
| Constable | | |
| Sheriff | | |
| Transporter | A person who transports an escaped person from one location to another | |
| Participant | A person or organization involved in an event in an unspecified way or in a non-primary role | Enslaved.org Controlled Vocabulary |
| Lawyer | A person acting on behalf of another person in court | |
| Event Type | | |
| Legal Proceeding | Event involving civil or criminal actions to apply, enforce, or interpret laws, including freedom suits | Enslaved.org Controlled Vocabulary |
| Narrative | An oral or written account of a life experience or portion thereof in the first or third person | Enslaved.org Controlled Vocabulary |
| Embarkation | Event in which one or more enslaved persons are taken aboard a vessel for transport | Enslaved.org Controlled Vocabulary |
| Document Type | | |
| Recording | A source detailing testimony or an event with no known order or decision made | |
| Order | A court decision or judgment, often compelling action or behavior of persons involved in a case | |
| Deposition | Testimony by an person or persons witness to an event | |
| Method of Transportation | | |
| Boat | A method of transportation involving some watercraft (i.e., canoe, boat, pinnace, merchant vessel, etc.) mentioned in the event | |
| Race (Controlled) | | |
| African | A person is listed as “negro” or “mulatto” in this event or in another event | |
| Indigenous | A person is listed as “Indian” or “savage” in this event or in another event. Nation or other origin should be noted in the “Race” column | |
| White | A person listed as of European ancestry, including English, Irish (“Irishman” or “Irish”) or Dutch. Ethnicity or other origin should be noted verbatim in the “Race” column. | |
