names of families that owned slaves in texas

The last frontier of slavery was by no means closed on the eve of the Civil War. [51], The long-term effects of slavery can be seen to this day in the state's demographics. [47] The last battle of the war was fought at Palmito Ranch near Brownsville, in 1865. People of color who had been servants for life under Mexican law would become property. Before The Guardian interviewed him for the story, he said neither he nor Amy knew that side of their heritage. WebThe U.S. census tracked the growth that followed, reporting 207 enslaved people in 1850 who made up 8% of the countys population and 1,074 enslaved people owned by 228 Americans of European extraction and enslaved people contributed greatly to the population growth in the Republic and State of Texas. [22] From 1849 until 1860, Texas tried to convince the United States government to negotiate a treaty with Mexico to permit extradition of runaways, but it did not succeed. Daina Ramey Berry is a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, and says addressing ones lineage of slavery is difficult, but ORourkes response helped bring the issue out into the open. The disturbances were resolved through a combination of arms and political maneuvering. Some hid in the bayous for a time, while others lived among the Indians, and a few managed to board ships bound for northern or foreign ports. Sean M. Kelley, Los Brazos de Dios: A Plantation Society in the Texas Borderlands, 1821- 1865 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2010). Between 1816 and 1821, Louis-Michel Aury and Jean Lafitte smuggled enslaved people into the United States through Galveston Island. In other words, it was an underlying cause of the struggle in 18351836. [30] As planters increased cotton production, they rapidly increased the purchase and transport of enslaved workers. WebCategory: Texas, Slave Owners. Although not considered equals in the tribes, they were generally treated well. [11] By 1825, however, a census of Austin's Colony showed 1,347 Anglo-Americans and 443people of African descent, including a small number of free blacks. Slavery formally ended in Texas after June 19, 1865 (Juneteenth), when Gen. Gordon Granger arrived at Galveston with occupying federal forces and announced emancipation. White Texans were fearful about revolts, and as in other southern states, rumors of uprisings took hold rapidly, often in times of economic and social tension. Several confessed to a plot by white abolitionists to avenge John Brown's execution by burning food supplies and poisoning slaveowners. The number He tried to create a Republic of Sierra Madre in Northern Mexico but was defeated by the Mexican Army.[41]. Arthur Blake of Charleston, South Carolina: 538 slaves. FS Library 973 D25ngs. Moreover, once the revolution came, slavery was very much on the minds of those involved. Dennis. As a free lady, she was an astute entrepreneur as well as a social climber. Planters, for example, being generally satisfied with their lives as slaveholders, were largely unwilling to involve themselves in commerce and industry, even if there was a chance for greater profits. hbbd```b``N+$,>D2E6H0Y N `sA$C8t?"A"j`&`sJ'zziHg` ` -q Jubilee - The end of slavery in America! In part this limited autonomy was given by the masters, and was taken by slaves in the slave quarters which provided them resilience to assert self-determination within the confine of bondage. Most worked as house servants or on farms on the edges of towns, but others served as cooks and waiters in hotels, as teamsters or boatmen, or as coachmen and skilled artisans, such as blacksmiths, carpenters, and barbers. AAGIG@dallasgenealogy.org, "African American Records: Freedmen's Bureau," "African American Heritage,", African American Online Genealogy Records, George Washington Carver Museum and Genealogy Center, Texas State Historical Association: African Americans, The McGowan Funeral Home Records, 1956-1995, The Southern Migration of the Keeton and Chafer Family, Slavery Statutes - Texas: ca. See also AGRICULTURE, AFRICAN AMERICANS, CIVIL WAR, RECONSTRUCTION, and SLAVE INSURRECTIONS. Every dollar helps. One result was the Turtle Bayou Resolutions, which were an explanation of the grievances that had led to the disturbances. [17] Most of the settlers Austin recruited came from the southern slave-owning portions of the United States. If you change your mind, you can easily unsubscribe. Although no major rebellions occurred, individual acts of violence against owners were carried out. A slave had a right to trial by jury and a court-appointed attorney when charged with a crime greater than petty larceny. Sugar and cotton plantations. Slavery was a labor system and although slaves obviously freed their owners from the drudgery of manual labor and daily chores, they were a troublesome property in many ways. Marie Therese Metoyer was born into slavery but died a rich woman. Slave owners had broad powers of discipline subject only to constitutional provisions that slaves be treated "with humanity" and that punishment not extend to the taking of life and limb. Like Georgia, the Texas Democratic Party adopted a whites-only primary. Many former enslaved people fought with the Cherokee against the Texan army that drove the tribe from East Texas in 1838. William Fletcher 4 6. The men sold enslaved people to James Bowie and others, who brought them directly to a customhouse and informed on themselves. Religion and music were also key elements of slave culture. [38] Unlike most southern states, Texas did not explicitly ban education of enslaved people, but most slaveholders did not allow the practice. White society as a whole in antebellum Texas was dominated by its slaveholding minority. Other FamilySearch collections not included: More collections are available in the FamilySearch Catalog. Although Mexican governments did not adopt any consistent or effective policy to prevent slavery in Texas, their threats worried slaveholders and possibly retarded the immigration of planters from the Old South. In 1850 the number was 2,852. WebWhat percentage of Texas families owned slaves? Cotton. In some cases, whites with the same name may be members of the former slave holding family. Abraham Kuykendall 5 5. This did not mean that the majority of slaves were content with their status. To Anglo-American slave owners slavery was a practical necessity in Texas the only way to grow cotton profitably on its vast areas of fertile land. In 1836 Texas had approximately 5,000 enslaved persons in a total population estimated at 38,470. [24], In 1845 the state legislature passed legislation further restricting the rights of free blacks. [50], Slavery was officially abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment which took effect on December 18, 1865. The following information is included: The records are categorized by county. Early books sometimes contained the name of the former master or mistress and the name of the plantation. FS Library976.4 D2rte Vol 1-3. MP for Horsham in 1808 and Sandwich (18121824). By 1840 there were 11,323 enslaved people in Texas. [13], The United States outlawed the importation of enslaved people in 1808, but domestic trade flourished, especially in New Orleans during the antebellum decades. Amid talk of reparations, political figures contend with their slave-owning ancestors. I look at this and many of these opportunities as a place to teach and educate our country on our history because this is a part of our history that weve often sort of tucked under the rug or didnt give the details of that history, Berry says. This entry belongs to the following Handbook Special Projects: We are a community-supported, non-profit organization and we humbly ask for your support because the careful and accurate recording of our history has never been more important. African Americans immediately started raising legal challenges to disfranchisement, but early Supreme Court cases, such as Giles v. Harris (1903), upheld the states. Advocates are pushing for legislation to help them. Instead, the majority recognized all the controls such as slave patrols that existed to keep them in bondage and saw also that runaways and rebels generally paid heavy prices for overt resistance. WebList of members of the United States Congress who owned slaves A James Abercrombie (congressman) Adelicia Acklen Joseph Alexander Smith Acklen Joseph H. Acklen George Madison Adams Green Adams James Uriah Adams Joel Adams Samuel Adams (Arkansas politician) William Wirt Adams Henry Addison (mayor) Thomas Affleck (planter) D. Wyatt When Bradburn arrested Travis on suspicion of plotting an insurrection, settlers rebelled. Disputes over slavery did not constitute an immediate cause of the Texas Revolution, but the institution was always in the background as what the noted Texas historian Eugene C. Barker called a "dull, organic ache." This was 15 percent of the total 2,992 people living in Spanish Texas. With reparations legislation on the table, Berry says conversations about slavery in history is fundamental. In general, Texas slaves continued to work and live as they had before the war. Although the law contained some recognition of their humanity, slaves in Texas had the legal status of personal property. [8] There was intermarriage among blacks, Indians and Europeans. The 1867 Voter Registration includes names of voters who registered in the period between 1867 and 1869. I think [the conversation] happens in a number of spaces, Berry says. The supposed "poison" found in enslaved quarters was baby powder. Phone: (214) 565-9026, African American Community Archives Program, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc.Willie Lee Gay - H-Town Chapter11100 Braesridge, Suite 2202Houston, Texas 77071aahgshtown@yahoo.com, Houston Museum of African American Culture Brazoria County, for example, was 72 percent slave in 1860, while north central Texas, the area from Hunt County west to Jack and Palo Pinto counties and south to McLennan County, had fewer slaves than any other settled part of the state, except for Hispanic areas such as Cameron County. Slaves increased their minimal self-determination by taking what they could get from their owners and then pressing for additional latitude. After slavery, African Americans went on to establish towns in Texas. WebThe 1860 slave schedule was used in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah Territory and Virginia. On the other hand, the legislature created political segregation; it classified free residents with at least 1/8 African heritage (the equivalent to one great-grandparent) as a separate category, and abrogated their citizens' rights, prohibiting them from voting, owning property, testifying against whites in court, or intermarrying with whites. If I can figure out where an earlier County Coordinator found this I will properly reference it. [11] Anglo-American immigration to the province slowed at this point, with settlers angry about the changing rules. [41] See Underground Railroad South to Mexico. Before The Guardian interviewed him for the story, he said neither he nor Amy knew that side of their heritage. This is a mid-level category and should not have individual profiles added to it. [33] Enslaved people were not held between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. Alfred V. Davis, Concordia, Louisiana: 500+ slaves. . 3536 Grand Avenue Sugar. [14][15], In 1821 at the conclusion of the Mexican War of Independence, Texas was included in the new nation. Sizable numbers, however, came through the domestic slave trade. Many owners encouraged worship, primarily on the grounds that it would teach proper subjection and good behavior. Vol 3 contains contains mostly translated summaries documenting the Black experience in Texas. The issue of slavery became a source of contention between the Anglo-American settlers and Spanish governors. 5.3 Census Records. LEVI JORDAN HISTORY Levi Jordan arrived in Texas in 1848. Both the Baptist and Methodist churches appointed missionaries to the enslaved people and allowed active participation by them. The effect of the institution on the state's general economic development is less clear. An excellent source is the Freedmans Savings and Trust Company (visit the African American Freedman's Savings and Trust Company Records page to learn more). As news of emancipation spread across the state, a few owners angrily told their slaves to leave immediately, but most asked the freedmen, as they soon became known, to stay and work for wages. In Texas, like other southern states, the treatment of slaves varied from plantation to plantation, from master to master. Stephen F. Austin made this clear in 1824: The principal product that will elevate us from poverty is cotton, he wrote, and we cannot do this without the help of slaves. (see BLACKS IN COLONIAL SPANISH TEXAS andANGLO-AMERICAN COLONIZATION). Millions of Texans have rare diseases. There they were raised to be servants. This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 11:16. 535 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<511162D97422004CA0FA8843222F25B6>]/Index[509 45]/Info 508 0 R/Length 121/Prev 271316/Root 510 0 R/Size 554/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream Levi Anderson 1 13. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. Mention is made of Henry being a judge.The following is from Rootsweb: Residents of Texas, 1782-1836. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. Slavery was thus a constant source of tension in the lives of slaveholders. In comparison, good Texas cotton land could be bought for as little as six dollars an acre. 4 History. Leaders of the Mexican nation tended to oppose slavery, in part from revolutionary idealism and in part because slavery was not essential to the new nations economy, and therefore regularly threatened to limit or abolish the institution. FS Library976.4F2bjm 1970 These records often include full names, former masters and plantations, and current residences. By Laura RiceJuly 17, 20191:49 pmArts & Culture, History, Race & Identity. Geni requires JavaScript! Samuel King 3 7. A list of resources for African American research of ancestors who lived in Texas. The Neal family owned a plantation in Louisburg, Franklin County, N.C. Family members who went west all trafficked enslaved people with them and had the cash to buy good farm land. Was Section 1325 Of The US Immigration Code Sponsored By A Segregationist Lawmaker? [46], Unlike in other Southern states, only a small number of enslaved Texans, estimated at 47, joined the Union Army. American slave owners or slaveholders were owners of slaves in the United States which typically worked either as agriculture laborers or house servants. The greatest concentration of large slave plantations was along the lower Brazos and Colorado rivers in Brazoria, Matagorda, Fort Bend, and Wharton counties. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) Joseph Henry 8 3. [citation needed]. [43] Later newspaper accounts revealed that most of what was confessed under torture appeared to be false. The news organization used documents from, to confirm the connection. Slaveholders in those areas often moved their enslaved to Texas to avoid having them freed. Search for "FREEDMEN - TEXAS" in the Subjects search bar to find. States that had used it adopted other means to keep most African Americans from voting. CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. Dirt floors were common, and beds attached to the walls were the only standard furnishings. [33], Many churches in Texas accepted enslaved people as members. They had no property rights themselves and no legal rights of marriage and family. WIKITREE HOME | ABOUT | G2G FORUM | HELP | SEARCH. The Comanche indiscriminately killed enslaved people and their white owners during raids. Basically if we did that then wed have to rewrite American history because most public officers particularly, our first president, George Washington, owned enslaved people, Berry says. Slavery expanded rapidly during the period of the republic. Some felt well-treated by their owners and generally behaved as loyal servants. Col. Joshua John Ward of Georgetown, South Carolina: Many of the fires had coincided with a summer drought, and new matches were susceptible to spontaneous combustion. [5], Both the civil and religious authorities in Spanish Texas officially encouraged freeing enslaved people, but the laws were often ignored. [11] To encourage citizens to report unlawful activity, most southern states allowed anyone who informed on a slave trader to receive half of what the imported enslaved people would earn at auction. Box 12446 Slaveowners may not free their enslaved servants without Congressional approval unless the freed people leave Texas. They survived with the help of Castillo's faith healing among the Indians. In short, from 1821 to 1836, the national government in Mexico City and the state government of Coahuila and Texas often threatened to restrict or destroy African American servitude, but always allowed settlers in Texas a loophole or an exemption. Politically, slaveholders dominated public office holding at all levels. They therefore followed a basic human instinct and sought to survive on the best terms possible. [7], Importation of enslaved Africans was not widespread in Spanish Texas. [24] Fifty percent of the enslaved people worked either alone or in groups of fewer than 20 on small farms ranging from the Nueces River to the Red River, and from the Louisiana border to the edge of the western settlements of San Antonio, Austin, Waco, and Fort Worth. WebList of the largest American slave owners The list below is compiled from the 1860 United States Slave Census Schedule. WebThe Confederate gov ernment required many slave holders to provide slaves to work at military fortifications and other facilities throughout the South. [31], By 1850, the enslaved population in Texas had increased to 58,161; in 1860 there were 182,566 enslaved, 30 percent of the total population. Welcome to Geni, home of the world's largest family tree. Married Elizabeth Towles 1803. Most Whites thought that Blacks were inferior and wanted to be sure that they remained in an inferior social position. Freedmans Savings and Trust Company signature cards or registers from 3 March 1865 to 25 July 1874 may list the name of the depositor, date of entry, age, birthplace, residence, complexion, name of employer or occupation, wife or husbands name, death information, childrens names, name of father and mother, brothers and sisters names, remarks, and signature. Slaves who did not work satisfactorily or otherwise displeased their owners were commonly punished by whipping. Randolph B. Campbell, An Empire for Slavery: The Peculiar Institution in Texas, 18211865 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1989). Others hated their masters and their situation and rebelled by running away or using violence. Free blacks also emigrated to Texas. The governors feared the growth in the Anglo-American population in Texas, and for various reasons, by the early 19th century, they and their superiors in Mexico City disapproved of expanding slavery. One of the resolutions challenged Bradburn for "advising and procuring servants to quit the service of their masters, and offering them protection; causing them to labor for his benefits, and refusing to compensate them for the same. A survey of Texas in 1834 found that the department of Bexar, which was mostly made up of Tejanos, had exported no goods. Sugar. The census of 1850 reported 58,161 slaves, 27.4 percent of the 212,592 people in Texas, and the census of 1860 enumerated 182,566 slaves, 30.2 percent of the total population. Slaves adjusted their behavior to the conditions of servitude in a variety of ways. The customs officers offered the enslaved people for auction, and Bowie would buy them back. [3] American Indians captured and enslaved the party, putting them to work as laborers. After statehood, in antebellum Texas, slavery grew even more rapidly. Jerrett Brown of Sumter, Alabama: 540 slaves. Such documents include censuses, marriage records, and medical records. This fact is not a tribute to the benevolence of slavery, but a testimony to the human spirit of the enslaved African Americans. [19] In 1832, the state passed legislation prohibiting worker contracts from lasting more than tenyears. In rural areas, counties often set up patrols to enforce restrictions on enslaved people traveling without passes from planter owners. Slavery was a complex institution that varied according to time and place. This page has been accessed 1,367 times. Moreover, individuals with family ties were probably more easily controlled than those who had none. 5.2 Cemeteries. Before being brought to Texas, enslaved persons signed contracts with their masters by which they technically became free but, in return for their "freedom," agreed that they and their children would, in effect, be indentured to the master for life. [18] Slaveholders trying to enter Mexico would force the people they enslaved to sign contracts claiming that they owed money and would work to pay the debt. Houston, Texas 77004, African American Genealogical Interest Group They knew that they controlled their own bodies and therefore were free to move about as they chose and not be forced to labor for others. A small minority (about 6 percent) of the slaves in Texas did not belong to farmers or planters but lived instead in the state's towns, working as domestic servants, day laborers, and mechanics (see SLAVERY, URBAN). [24], Exportation in the slave-owning areas of the state surpassed that of the non-slave-owning areas. [1] For 1865 and 1866, the section on abandoned and confiscated lands includes the names of the owners of the plantations or homes that were abandoned, confiscated, or leased. Sugar plantations. Almost certainly, however, many came to believe that they would be free if the South lost. For the first time, free persons were listed individually instead of by family. Texas was a colonial territory, then part of Mexico, later Republic in 1836, and U.S. state in 1845. To circumvent the law, numerous Anglo-American colonists converted their enslaved people to indentured servants, but with life terms. The great majority of slaves in Texas came with their owners from the older slave states. Many worked in other parts of the state as cowboys herding cattle or migrated for better opportunities in the Midwest, California, or southward to Mexico. They were not, and even the best-treated slaves dreamed of freedom. Slave clothing was made of cheap, coarse materials; shoes were stiff and rarely fitted. They fought bitterly against the disruption of their families by sale or migration and at times virtually forced masters to respect family ties. They listened as best they could for any war news and passed it around among themselves, and no doubt many heard of Abraham Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation, announcing that all slaves behind Confederate lines on January 1, 1863, would be freed. [25] The department of Texas, which included the eastern settlements, expected to export 2,000 bales of cotton and 5,000 head of cattle. 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