Arthur Blake of Charleston, South Carolina: 538 slaves. 5.4 Church Records. This fact is not a tribute to the benevolence of slavery, but a testimony to the human spirit of the enslaved African Americans. WebLand Records Names & Surnames Slavery & Servitude Claim Listing Sankofagen Wiki run by Karmella Haynes has a list of Arkansas Plantations and Slave Names listed by county, for counties formed prior to 1865. By 1860, that number had increased to 182,566. Although slave marriages and families had no legal protections, the majority of slaves were reared and lived day to day in a family setting. Andrew J. Torget, Seeds of Empire: Cotton, Slavery, and the Transformation of the Texas Borderlands, 1800-1850 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2015). After slavery, African Americans went on to establish towns in Texas. MP for Horsham in 1808 and Sandwich (18121824). See also AGRICULTURE, AFRICAN AMERICANS, CIVIL WAR, RECONSTRUCTION, and SLAVE INSURRECTIONS. In 1792 there were 34 blacks and 414 mulattos in Spanish Texas, some of whom were free men and women. The history of slavery in Texas began slowly at first during the first few phases in Texas' history. In 1860, the biggest slaveholders were Robert and D.G. A. Anderson County, Texas, Slave Owners. Nevertheless, slavery was a curse to Texans, Black and White alike, until 1865 and beyond. Dallas Genealogical Society 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. University of Texas (San Antonio). Although Estevanico was still enslaved, after these events the Spaniards treated him more as an equal. 5.5 Emancipation Records. In 1829, President Vicente Guerrero issued a decree abolishing slavery in all of Mexico, but within months he exempted Texas from that order. Samuel Murray 3 9. Music and song served to set a pace for work and to express sorrow and hope (see AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHURCHES). West Feliciana: 127 slaves. Elisha Worthington of Chicot, Arkansas: 529 slaves. See the Heritage Exchange Portal for more information on how to document slaves and slave owners. Since they politically dominated the state for decades after 1900, the only contest for office was at the primary level. A service of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, After The Debates, Beto ORourkes Fundraising Slumped, While Julin Castros Jumped, Billionaire Ross Perot Remembered As Patriot, Family Man, Experts Say The Current Plastic Industry Boom Will Be A Bust In Five Years, News Roundup: New Initiative Aims To Register More Texans With Disabilities To Vote, San Antonio Migrant Resource Center Has Helped 30,000 Since March. If I can figure out where an earlier County Coordinator found this I will properly reference it. Slavery guaranteed that. Institute of Texas Cultures. [3] Five years later, in September 1534, they escaped to the interior. Slavery, Samuel Allen 1 12. After that, he could legally transport the enslaved people and sell them in New Orleans or areas further up the Mississippi River. Later he was given leadership of a Spanish expedition. Free blacks also emigrated to Texas. They often made matches with slaves on neighboring farms and spent as much time as possible together, even if one owner or the other could not be persuaded to arrange for husband and wife to live on the same place. Blacks, however, could not testify against Whites in court, a prohibition that largely negated their constitutional protection. The low wages the enslaved person would receive made repayment impossible, and the debt would be inherited, even though no enslaved person would receive wages until age eighteen. 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." [13], The United States outlawed the importation of enslaved people in 1808, but domestic trade flourished, especially in New Orleans during the antebellum decades. It gives the county and location, a description of the house, the number of acres owned, and the number of cabins of former slaves. Included are land grant requests, wills, and testaments, letters of freedom and contracts of the sale of slaves. At first, the practice involved primarily Apaches; eventually Comanche children were likewise "adopted" as servants. Almost certainly, however, many came to believe that they would be free if the South lost. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was confronted with similar information about his ancestors this month, but had a different reaction. To find Freedmen's Bureau records: Visit the African American Freedmen's Bureau Records page to learn more about utilizing these records. The emancipated slaves celebrated joyously (if Whites allowed it), but then they had to find out just what freedom meant. The slaves were owned by Julien Devereux and used to work an almost 11,000-acre plantation. Randolph B. Campbell, An Empire for Slavery: The Peculiar Institution in Texas, 18211865 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1989). 2) THIS PATRIOT HAD TWO DAUGHTERS NAMED MARY, ONE BY EACH WIFE; Daniel French Slaughter (October 15, 1799 October 13, 1882) was Virginia planter and politician from two distinguished families of politicians and soldiers. University of Virginia. Texas did not, however, employ techniques common in other Southern states such as complex voter registration rules and literacy tests; even the "white primary" was not implemented statewide until 1923.[53]. 553 0 obj <>stream [8] There was intermarriage among blacks, Indians and Europeans. These films do not appear to contain the names of former slaves. . Sugar. While settled chiefly by Anglo-Southerners after the war; with the history of ranching, some of these parts have been more associated with the Southwest than the South. [citation needed], In the 1870s, a system of legalized racial segregation and white supremacy was enforced. [8] A 1777 census of San Antonio showed a total of 2,060people, with 151 of African descent. Several confessed to a plot by white abolitionists to avenge John Brown's execution by burning food supplies and poisoning slaveowners. On June 19, 1865 word of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached enslaved African Texas ranked 10th in total enslaved population and 9th in percentage enslaved (30 percent of all residents). Like Georgia, the Texas Democratic Party adopted a whites-only primary. Socially, slaveholders, at least the large planters, embodied an ideal to most Texans. They survived with the help of Castillo's faith healing among the Indians. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), Constitution of the State of Coahuila and Texas, http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. Once established as an economic institution, slavery became a key social institution as well. [58][failed verification]. The Mexican government was opposed to slavery, but even so, there [8] There was intermarriage among blacks, Indians and Europeans. Moreover, once the revolution came, slavery was very much on the minds of those involved. WebSouth Carolina's slave population in 1790 was 107,094, around 43 percent of the state population; by 1860 it was 402,406, around 57 percent of the total population. Handbook of Texas Online, 3536 Grand Avenue %%EOF Theirs was apparently a favored position, at least in this regard. This page has been viewed 87,667 times (5,509 via redirect). [23] By 1836, there were approximately 5,000 enslaved people in Texas. Sam Houston made illegal importation from Mexico a crime in 1836. You can also look up Charleston Manifests by Slave Owner [table striped="true" A large supply of cheap Mexican labor in the area made the purchase and care of a slave too expensive. WebAfrican American Resources for Texas. [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. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. 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. [5], Both the civil and religious authorities in Spanish Texas officially encouraged freeing enslaved people, but the laws were often ignored. Texans worried constantly that the Mexicans were going to free their slaves or at least cause servile insurrection. 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. The Comanche sold any captured enslaved people to the Cherokee and Creek in Indian Territory, as they were both slaveholding tribes. Web1800 Slave Owners 1. One way or another they had to endure. P Denwood was a Quaker and in early days often was in trouble with the court as he was suspected of harboring Quakers on their way up to Maryland. The province continued to attract free blacks and escaped enslaved people from the Southern United States. Alfred V. Davis, Concordia, Louisiana: 500+ slaves. hbbd```b``N+$,>D2E6H0Y N `sA$C8t?"A"j`&`sJ'zziHg` ` -q Slaves were increasing faster than the population as a whole. 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). Sean M. Kelley, Los Brazos de Dios: A Plantation Society in the Texas Borderlands, 1821- 1865 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2010). Voters' Registrations of 1867 are available on microfilm at the Texas State Archives. Residents of Texas, 1782-1836. African Americans immediately started raising legal challenges to disfranchisement, but early Supreme Court cases, such as Giles v. Harris (1903), upheld the states. [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. The number of enslaved people in the state increased dramatically as the Union Army occupied parts of Arkansas and Louisiana. Yet, they did not live every day in helpless rage. [32] Some enslaved people lived among the cattlemen along the southern Gulf Coast and helped herd sheep and cattle. Jerrett Brown of Sumter, Alabama: 540 slaves. There, he proclaimed his "General Order No. Wood was born into slavery in the early 19th century on a Kentucky farm owned by a man named Moses Tousey, McDaniel writes. Field hands generally labored "from sun to sun" five days a week and half a day on Saturday. They fought bitterly against the disruption of their families by sale or migration and at times virtually forced masters to respect family ties. %PDF-1.6 % Many of the fires had coincided with a summer drought, and new matches were susceptible to spontaneous combustion. 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 It was Sarah Devereux that kept the plantation producing after Julien's death. Slavery may have thus hindered economic modernization in Texas. Rarely, an enslaved person also broke horses, but generally only white men were used for that dangerous task. The slave population of Texas from 1850 to 1860 increased from 58,161 to 182,566, bringing the slave population from 27 percent to 30 percent of the state total. 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. Categories: Texas, Slavery | United States of America, Slave Owners. WebThe 1783 census for all of Texas listed a total of 36 enslaved people. Mrs. Mary C. Stirling/Sterling, Pointe Coupee (2), Louisiana: 338 slaves. Greg Abbott says if these corporate tax breaks return, renewable energy should be excluded, At these old-school restaurants in Texas, you feel like its an extension of your home, Gulf of Mexico warming at faster rate than global ocean, study finds. On the other hand, western parts of Texas were still a frontier during the American Civil War. In 1860, mass hysteria ensued after a series of fires erupted throughout the state. Marr. The evidence is strong, however, that in Texas slaves were generally profitable as a business investment for individual slaveholders. Thus, slavery was not the immediate cause of the revolution, but the institution was always there as an issue, and the revolution made it more secure than ever in Texas. For a complete list, please see: American slave owners Project Profiles. Joseph Henry 8 3. Sizable numbers, however, came through the domestic slave trade. For example, Jared Groce arrived from Alabama in 1822 with ninety slaves and set up a cotton plantation on the Brazos River. Few battles took place in Texas, which acted as a supply state to the Confederacy. To circumvent the law, numerous Anglo-American colonists converted their enslaved people to indentured servants, but with life terms. 3 Research Strategy. The customs officers offered the enslaved people for auction, and Bowie would buy them back. For the first time, free persons were listed individually instead of by family. Later they were joined by lvar Nez Cabeza de Vaca. 5.3 Census Records. Instead, place individual profiles into the category corresponding to the county of Texas where they held enslaved persons. This did not mean that the majority of slaves were content with their status. After Jos Mara Jess Carvajal promised to return all escapees, more than 400Texans joined his revolt of 1851. [4] His account, along with those of the others, led to more extensive Spanish exploration of the new territory. In the 1830s, the British consul estimated that approximately 500enslaved people had been illegally imported into Texas. WebThe Neals, Foxes, and Timberlakes were all white families of at least moderate wealth that was dependent upon the forced labor of enslaved people. The slavery categories exist to help with tracking the genealogy and family history of pre-Civil War era slaves. The first census in Austin's colony in 1825 showed 443 slaves in a total population of 1,800. [24], In 1845 the state legislature passed legislation further restricting the rights of free blacks. For a time, many enslaved ran away to Texas. Slavery thus linked Texas inextricably with the Old South. American slavery was preeminently an economic institutiona system of unfree labor used to produce cash crops for profit. However, the north central region held much excellent cotton land, and slavery would probably have developed rapidly there once rail transportation was built. Before The Guardian interviewed him for the story, he said neither he nor Amy knew that side of their heritage. 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. Of course, because Texas did not consider itself part of the United States, Lincolns proclamation could have no effect until federal troops gained control of the state. Officials and Employees [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. Slavery formally ended in Texas after June 19, 1865 (Juneteenth), when Gen. Gordon Granger arrived at Galveston with occupying federal forces and announced emancipation. [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. [47] The last battle of the war was fought at Palmito Ranch near Brownsville, in 1865. [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. 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. Gleaning Information about Enslaved Ancestors from Probate Files NGS Magazine 48 #2 (April-June 2022): 2327. In cases where African Americans registered, their race is specified as "colored." [26], The abolition of slavery created tensions between the Mexican government and slave-holding settlers from the United States. Welcome to Geni, home of the world's largest family tree. African American Museum, Dallas By Laura RiceJuly 17, 20191:49 pmArts & Culture, History, Race & Identity. Slave owners and male [11], In 1829, Mexico abolished slavery, but it granted an exception until 1830 to Texas. New Orleans was the center of this trade in the Deep South, but there were slave dealers in Galveston and Houston, too. Tyler, Ronnie C. and Lawrence R. Murphy. Farmers. This company was created to assist African American soldiers of the Civil War and freed slaves. John J. Middleton of Beaufort, South Carolina: 530 slaves. Questions concerning its profitability are complex and always open to debate. [11] In 1809, the Commandant General of the Interior Provinces, Nemesio Salcedo, ordered the Texas-Louisiana border to be closed to everyone, regardless of ethnic background. 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 WebThe Confederate gov ernment required many slave holders to provide slaves to work at military fortifications and other facilities throughout the South. Andrew Lyda 3 8. WebReturn to Slave Manifests main page Click on each Slave name to view information on that voyage. Every dollar helps. laws in Texas. LEVI JORDAN HISTORY Levi Jordan arrived in Texas in 1848. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. This was in the slave owners' self-interest, for marriage encouraged reproduction under socially acceptable conditions, and slave children were valuable. [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. Slaves, however, tended to hear the message of individual equality before God and salvation for all. Trying to get around the Gulf Coast, they built five barges, but in November 1528 these went aground off the coast of Texas. [17] At the same time, however, Mexico offered full citizenship to free blacks, including land ownership and other privileges. Signup today for our free newsletter, Especially Texan. Most Whites thought that Blacks were inferior and wanted to be sure that they remained in an inferior social position. The news organization used documents from, to confirm the connection. As Texas was much more distant from the Union Army lines for much of the war, enslaved people were unable to reach them. At the start of the Civil War, _____ was the commander of Union troops in Texas. [46], Unlike in other Southern states, only a small number of enslaved Texans, estimated at 47, joined the Union Army. 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.