names of families that owned slaves in texas

Currently, there are only plantations listed for Chicot County, Jefferson County, Ouachita County, and Phillips County. 2008 - 2023 INTERESTING.COM, INC. The progress of the Civil War did not drastically affect slavery in Texas because no major slaveholding area was invaded. [27] Other enslaved people joined the Texan forces, with some killed while fighting Mexican soldiers. 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. For example, Jared Groce arrived from Alabama in 1822 with ninety slaves and set up a cotton plantation on the Brazos River. Schedule No. In fact, at the turn of the 18 th century, Marie Therese was one of the richest ladies in Louisiana. As in other southern states, however, the enslaved people made Christianity their own and they developed strong religious faith. Slavery in Early Texas. In 1829 the Guerrero decree conditionally abolished slavery throughout Mexican territories. Samuel Murray 3 9. By 1865 there were an estimated 250,000enslaved people in Texas. He tried to create a Republic of Sierra Madre in Northern Mexico but was defeated by the Mexican Army.[41]. Slaves increased their minimal self-determination by taking what they could get from their owners and then pressing for additional latitude. Marie Therese Metoyer was born into slavery but died a rich woman. 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. 5.4 Church Records. Music and song served to set a pace for work and to express sorrow and hope (see AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHURCHES). 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. Cotton. 509 0 obj <> endobj Thomas Justice 2 11. He 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. [17] At the same time, however, Mexico offered full citizenship to free blacks, including land ownership and other privileges. 5.2 Cemeteries. Texas slaves had a family-centered social life and culture that flourished in the slave quarters, where slaves were largely on their own, at least from sundown to sunup. WebAmerican Slave Narratives - An Online Anthology. 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. Levi Anderson 1 13. 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. [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. In comparison, good Texas cotton land could be bought for as little as six dollars an acre. The census in Slavery certainly promoted development of the agricultural economy; it provided the labor for a 600 percent increase in cotton production during the 1850s. The census for 1840 in Henderson County included 4,662 whites, 466 slaves, 35 free blacks. Sugar. Samuel King 3 7. Abraham Kuykendall 5 5. William Brittain 1 14. In 1829, President Vicente Guerrero issued a decree abolishing slavery in all of Mexico, but within months he exempted Texas from that order. [47] The last battle of the war was fought at Palmito Ranch near Brownsville, in 1865. By Laura RiceJuly 17, 20191:49 pmArts & Culture, History, Race & Identity. IMPORTANT PRIVACY NOTICE & DISCLAIMER: YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO USE CAUTION WHEN DISTRIBUTING PRIVATE INFORMATION. The number likely would have been larger but for the attitude of the Mexican federal and state governments. See the Heritage Exchange Portal for more information on how to document slaves and slave owners. Dennis. John J. Middleton of Beaufort, South Carolina: 530 slaves. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) WebThe British newspaper The Guardian reported this week that Democratic presidential candidate, and former Texas Congressman Beto ORourke, and his wife Amy, are 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. Instead, slaves exercised a degree of agency in their lives by maximizing the time available within the system to maintain physical, psychological and spiritual strength. Such documents include censuses, marriage records, and medical records. Profiles are placed in this category with this text [[Category:Texas, Slave Owners]] . The African American Library at the Gregory SchoolHouston's first colored public school, located in historic Freedmen's Town, serves as a resource and repository to preserve, promote and celebrate the rich history and culture of African Americans in Houston, the surrounding region and the African Diaspora. Slavery, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was confronted with similar information about his ancestors this month, but had a different reaction. Slavery was present in Spanish America and Mexico prior to the arrival of American settlers, but it was not highly developed, and the Spanish did not rely on it for labor during their years in Spanish Texas. The news organization used documents from, to confirm the connection. P.O. After slavery, African Americans went on to establish towns in Texas. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. In 1865, 95% of the enslaved were illiterate.[39]. It is a tough history and its a hard history and its a history that many Americans are not comfortable with, Berry says. The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry. A survey of Texas in 1834 found that the department of Bexar, which was mostly made up of Tejanos, had exported no goods. I think thats what was interesting about his response, is that he didnt acknowledge that there was a history there, and that was brought out, and we know a lot more about his family history and about the enslaved people his family owned, Berry says. Trying to get around the Gulf Coast, they built five barges, but in November 1528 these went aground off the coast of Texas. In 1900, African Americans comprised 20% of the state's population of 3,048,710. 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. The Gregory School Historical collections at The Gregory School include: Access to Houston Public Library databases and indexes Books Pamphlets Periodicals Photographs Oral history recordings Manuscripts Newspapers and clippings Personal family archives and Ephemera documenting Houstons African American History and culture. It could happen in public spaces with town halls and forums, it could happen in our own homes at our dining room tables and have a conversation about what does it mean to be part of this lineage?. In the fall of 1835, a group of almost 100enslaved people staged an uprising along the Brazos River after they heard rumors of approaching Mexican troops. New Orleans was the center of this trade in the Deep South, but there were slave dealers in Galveston and Houston, too. In cases where African Americans registered, their race is specified as "colored." 7 rolls, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, New England Historic Genealogical Society, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library at Colonial Williamsburg, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Libraries, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, Natchitoches Genealogical and Historical Association, https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/index.php?title=African_American_Resources_for_Texas&oldid=5253354. 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. 42 (June, 1948): 510, 511-12. William Mills 20 2. J. C. Jenkins of Wilkinson, Mississippi: 523 slaves. Slave auction in Austin, Texas, circa 1850-1860. John Burneside of Ascension, Louisiana: 753 slaves; Saint James: 187 slaves. 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. These films do not appear to contain the names of former slaves. [10], In 1823, Mexico forbade the sale or purchase of people, and required that the children of the enslaved be freed when they reached age fourteen. R. R. Barrow, Lafourche, Louisiana: 74 slaves; Terrebonne: 399 slaves. The motivation for bringing slaves to Texas was primarily economic using their labor to grow cotton, which was by 1820 the most valuable commodity in the Atlantic world. 5.3 Census Records. West Feliciana: 127 slaves. [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. Three enslaved people were known to be at the Battle of the Alamo; a boy named John was killed, while William B. Travis's enslaved person, Joe, and James Bowie's enslaved person, Sam, survived to be freed by the Mexican Army. The number The men sold enslaved people to James Bowie and others, who brought them directly to a customhouse and informed on themselves. 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. The majority of adult slaves were field hands, but a sizable minority worked as skilled craftsmen, house servants, and livestock handlers. 1836-1864 (10 fiche) FS Library 6118915, Oral Histories Recorded at the Gregory School, African American Freedman's Savings and Trust Company Records, United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874, U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1871 ($), United States, Freedmen's Bureau Claim Records,1865-1872, United States, Freedmen's Bureau Hospital and Medical Records, 1865-1872, United States, Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contracts, Indenture and Apprenticeship Records, 1865-1872, United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872, United States, Freedmen's Bureau Ration Records,1865-1872, United States, Freedmen's Bureau Records of Persons and Articles Hired, 1865-1872, United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Freedmen's Court Records, 1865-1872, United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Land and Property Records, 1865-1872, United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen's Complaints, 1865-1872, United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education, 1865-1872, United States Freedmen's Bureau Miscellaneous Records,1865-1872, United States Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen, 1865-1872, African American Freedmen's Bureau Records. LEVI JORDAN HISTORY Levi Jordan arrived in Texas in 1848. [4] His account, along with those of the others, led to more extensive Spanish exploration of the new territory. On the other hand, western parts of Texas were still a frontier during the American Civil War. On June 19, 1865 word of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached enslaved African Early and family life Almost certainly, however, many came to believe that they would be free if the South lost. FS Library976.4F2bjm 1970 Eliza Denwoo Henry David Rhodes, planter, was born in Alabama about 1819. Slaves, however, tended to hear the message of individual equality before God and salvation for all. [17] Most of the settlers Austin recruited came from the southern slave-owning portions of the United States. The 1867 Voter Registration includes names of voters who registered in the period between 1867 and 1869. 4 History. The central part of the state was dominated by subsistence farmers. Signup today for our free newsletter, Especially Texan. https://www.tshaonline.org, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/slavery. Slaves freed in America before the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. The first non-Native slave in Texas was Estevanico, a Moor from North Africa who had been captured and enslaved by the Spanish when he was a child. 4 Cotton plantations. Several enslaved people ran away to serve with Mexican forces. Mario Marcel, "Foundation Myth in Political Thought: The Racial Moorings of Foundation Myth", Dubugue:Kendal Hunt Publishers,2011, This page was last edited on 8 January 2023, at 01:53. Favorable conditions for free blacks continued into the 1830s. Most lived with a certain amount of fear of their supposedly happy servants, for the slightest threat of a slave rebellion could touch off a violent reaction. And when they declared independence and wrote a constitution for their new republic, they made every effort, in the words of a later Texas Supreme Court justice, to "remove all doubt and uneasiness among the citizens of Texas in regard to the tenure by which they held dominion over their slaves." [40] As early as 1836, Texas slaveholders sent representatives to Matamoros to try to reclaim their runaways, but Mexico refused. FS Library976.4 D2rte Vol 1-3. [9] Of these, only 15 were enslaved, 4males and 11females. Since the U.S. government was not in effective control of many of these territories until later in the war, many of these people proclaimed to be free by the Emancipation Proclamation were still held in servitude until those areas came back under Union control. For example, it subjected them to punishments, such as working on road gangs if convicted of crimes, similar to those of enslaved rather than free men. WebReturn to Slave Manifests main page Click on each Slave name to view information on that voyage. With reparations legislation on the table, Berry says conversations about slavery in history is fundamental. 3 Research Strategy. Wood was born into slavery in the early 19th century on a Kentucky farm owned by a man named Moses Tousey, McDaniel writes. Arthur Blake of Charleston, South Carolina: 538 slaves. Jerrett Brown of Sumter, Alabama: 540 slaves. In 1850 the number was 2,852. [18] A small number of enslaved were imported illegally from the West Indies or Africa. [10], When the United States purchased Louisiana in 1803, Spain declared that any enslaved person who crossed the Sabine River into Texas would be automatically freed. [22], By the 1800s, most enslaved people in Texas had been brought by slaveholders from the United States. John Butler of McIntosh, Georgia: 505 slaves. Married Elizabeth Towles 1803. Slavery was thus a constant source of tension in the lives of slaveholders. hbbd```b``N+$,>D2E6H0Y N `sA$C8t?"A"j`&`sJ'zziHg` ` -q African Americans immediately started raising legal challenges to disfranchisement, but early Supreme Court cases, such as Giles v. Harris (1903), upheld the states. Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke holds a rally at Scholz Garten in Austin. Enslaved African Americans had maintained human strength and dignity even in bondage, and Texas could not have grown as it had before 1865 without the slaves' contributions. A service of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin | Contact us, this week that Democratic presidential candidate, and former Texas Congressman. The Bureau created a wide variety of records extremely valuable to genealogists. Handbook of Texas Online, On the other hand, the institution may well have contributed in several ways to retarding commercialization and industrialization. 3536 Grand Avenue Texans worried constantly that the Mexicans were going to free their slaves or at least cause servile insurrection. When Bradburn arrested Travis on suspicion of plotting an insurrection, settlers rebelled. Several confessed to a plot by white abolitionists to avenge John Brown's execution by burning food supplies and poisoning slaveowners. In part due to the trade in enslaved people, New Orleans was the fourth largest city in the US in 1840 and one of the wealthiest. 389-412)Page Count: 24, Texas Runaway Slave Project. Although not considered equals in the tribes, they were generally treated well. Over 30 of the fugitives made it safely to freedom in Mexico. Although the law contained some recognition of their humanity, slaves in Texas had the legal status of personal property. Samuel Allen 1 12. Samuel Edney 1 After, ORourke shared his reaction on the blog site. Like Georgia, the Texas Democratic Party adopted a whites-only primary. Despite the fact that Texas was a slave state, however, most Texans did not own slaves. [33] Enslaved people were not held between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. The practice was common until its abolition in 1865 with the end of the Civil War and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. For example, slaves worked hard, sometimes at their own pace, and offered many forms of nonviolent resistance if pushed too hard. The Slave Narratives of Texas. Randolph B. 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. Charles Heyward of Colleton, South Carolina: 491 slaves. Yet, they did not live every day in helpless rage. As Texas was much more distant from the Union Army lines for much of the war, enslaved people were unable to reach them. laws in Texas. WebTexas Slave Codes 1821. To find Freedmen's Bureau records: Visit the African American Freedmen's Bureau Records page to learn more about utilizing these records. [33], Although most enslaved people lived in rural areas, more than 1000 resided in both Galveston and Houston by 1860, with several hundred in other large towns. [11] Under Austin's development scheme, each settler was allowed to purchase an additional 50 acres (20ha) of land for each enslaved person he brought to the territory. University of Virginia. Most of the early slaveholders owned only a few enslaved people, but a few brought enough to build plantations immediately. After statehood, in antebellum Texas, slavery grew even more rapidly. Many owners wished to appear as benevolent fathers, and yet most knew that there would be times when they would treat members of their families as property pure and simple. Voters' Registrations of 1867 are available on microfilm at the Texas State Archives. Sam Houston made illegal importation from Mexico a crime in 1836. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. If you change your mind, you can easily unsubscribe. House servants and craftsmen worked long hours, too, but their labor was not so burdensome physically. At first, the practice involved primarily Apaches; eventually Comanche children were likewise "adopted" as servants. We need your support because we are a non-profit organization that relies upon contributions from our community in order to record and preserve the history of our state. WebSince there were no major battles during the war in Texas, slave life in the state continued relatively unaffected, other than the influx of refugee slaves. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/slavery. In 1792 there were 34 blacks and 414 mulattos in Spanish Texas, some of whom were free men and women. Vol 3 contains contains mostly translated summaries documenting the Black experience in Texas. In some cases, whites with the same name may be members of the former slave holding family. [24], Forty percent of Texas enslaved people lived on plantations along the Gulf Coast and in the East Texas river valleys, where they cultivated cotton, corn, and some sugar. There were a few slaves in Texas while it was a Spanish province, but slavery did not really become an institution of significance in the region until the arrival of AngloAmerican settlers. We'll send you a couple of emails per month, filled with fascinating history facts that you can share with your friends. Many owners encouraged worship, primarily on the grounds that it would teach proper subjection and good behavior. [16] That year, the American Stephen F. Austin was granted permission by Mexican authorities to bring Anglo settlers into Texas. The payrolls for that slave [25] The department of Texas, which included the eastern settlements, expected to export 2,000 bales of cotton and 5,000 head of cattle. Slavery expanded rapidly during the period of the republic. Africans and the descendants of Africans and Indians were excluded from the class of 'persons' having rights. Up to 80enslaved people and 37whites may have been executed as a result of the supposed plot. The promise of ultimate deliverance helped many to resist the psychological assault of slavery. At the start of the Civil War, _____ was the commander of Union troops in Texas. Through organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), African Americans continued to work to regain their ability to exercise their civil and voting rights as citizens. 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