For the first time, free persons were listed individually instead of by family. [18] A small number of enslaved were imported illegally from the West Indies or Africa. Such documents include censuses, marriage records, and medical records. 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. Email: info@aamdallas.org 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. [43] Later newspaper accounts revealed that most of what was confessed under torture appeared to be false. Texas 1867 Special Voter's Registration: includes information for 1867 - 1869. [44] Slave auction in Austin, Texas, circa 1850-1860. 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 Since they politically dominated the state for decades after 1900, the only contest for office was at the primary level. D. F. Kenner, Ascension, Louisiana: 473 slaves. WebTruly giant slaveholders such as Robert and D. G. Mills, who owned more than 300 slaves in 1860 (the largest holding in Texas), had plantations in this area, and the population [17] In 1827, the legislature of Coahuila y Tejas outlawed the introduction of additional enslaved people and granted freedom at birth to all children born to an enslaved person. [50], Slavery was officially abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment which took effect on December 18, 1865. Between 1816 and 1821, Louis-Michel Aury and Jean Lafitte smuggled enslaved people into the United States through Galveston Island. 4 Cotton plantations. [30] As planters increased cotton production, they rapidly increased the purchase and transport of enslaved workers. Slave clothing was made of cheap, coarse materials; shoes were stiff and rarely fitted. Some enslaved people became ministers, but their masters often tried to instruct them in what they were supposed to preach. Others hated their masters and their situation and rebelled by running away or using violence. Slavery thus linked Texas inextricably with the Old South. 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. WebWhat percentage of Texas families owned slaves? Slavery spread over the eastern two-fifths of Texas by 1860 but flourished most vigorously along the rivers that provided rich soil and relatively inexpensive transportation. [27] Other enslaved people joined the Texan forces, with some killed while fighting Mexican soldiers. 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. Later he was given leadership of a Spanish expedition. [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. . Randolph B. Campbell, An Empire for Slavery: The Peculiar Institution in Texas, 18211865 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1989). Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), Constitution of the State of Coahuila and Texas, http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. 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. These tensions came to a head in the Anahuac Disturbances. All slaves had to live with the knowledge that their families could be broken up, and yet the basic social unit survived. O. J. Morgan, Carroll, Louisiana: 500+ slaves. 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. 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. WebOne in four families owned slaves. [52] By the late 19th century, Texas passed other Jim Crow laws. On the other hand, the institution may well have contributed in several ways to retarding commercialization and industrialization. Nevertheless, slavery was a curse to Texans, Black and White alike, until 1865 and beyond. Slave plantations were concentrated along the low-lying farmlands of East Texas. 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. University of Texas (San Antonio). Institute of Texas Cultures. WebThe slaves who remained on properties in South Carolina are counted on the South Carolina reports. 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). He and his wife Mary moved there themselves and he died Update 12/7/2016(CLM): I have found various references of military rank from Captain to Brigadier General. 25 percent. Every dollar helps. But Texas was once the site of an illegal racket led by pirates who brought slaves into the state and sold them throughout the United These films do not appear to contain the names of former slaves. Sugar. Black Texans: A History of African Americans in Texas, 1528-1995 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996, 2nd Edition). Slave labor produced cotton (and sugar on the lower Brazos River) for profit and also cultivated the foodstuffs necessary for self-sufficiency. Despite the fact that Texas was a slave state, however, most Texans did not own slaves. [24], Exportation in the slave-owning areas of the state surpassed that of the non-slave-owning areas. Texans worried constantly that the Mexicans were going to free their slaves or at least cause servile insurrection. The Brazos department, including Austin's colonies and those of Green DeWitt, had exported 600,000 pesos worth of goods, including 5,000 bales of cotton. The average price of a slave, regardless of age, sex, or condition, rose from approximately $400 in 1850 to nearly $800 by 1860. Leaders of the Mexican nation tended to oppose slavery, in part from revolutionary idealism and in part because slavery was not essential to the new nations economy, and therefore regularly threatened to limit or abolish the institution. Few battles took place in Texas, which acted as a supply state to the Confederacy. But how would they make their way in the world after 1865? African American Museum, Dallas [16] That year, the American Stephen F. Austin was granted permission by Mexican authorities to bring Anglo settlers into Texas. One way or another they had to endure. The list below is compiled from the 1860 United States Slave Census Schedule. hbbd```b``N+$,>D2E6H0Y N `sA$C8t?"A"j`&`sJ'zziHg` ` -q Austin County, Texas, Slave Owners (0, 0, 1) B. Bandera [9] Of these, only 15 were enslaved, 4males and 11females. Some felt well-treated by their owners and generally behaved as loyal servants. Instead, place individual profiles into the category corresponding to the county of Texas where they held enslaved persons. The TSHA makes every effort to conform to the principles of fair use and to comply with copyright law. There, he proclaimed his "General Order No. The promise of ultimate deliverance helped many to resist the psychological assault of slavery. [9] When some French and Spanish slaveholders moved to Texas, they were allowed to retain their enslaved people. Sources Taken from Szucs, Loretto Dennis, "Research in Census Records." Texan forces executed one runaway taken prisoner and resold another into slavery. Brewer, John Mason. . [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. Included are land grant requests, wills, and testaments, letters of freedom and contracts of the sale of slaves. 5.2 Cemeteries. P.O. Slaves freed in America before the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. They were not, and even the best-treated slaves dreamed of freedom. 3 Research Strategy. Only one in every four families in antebellum Texas owned slaves, but these slaveholders, especially the planters who held twenty or more slaves, generally constituted the state's wealthiest class. [46], Unlike in other Southern states, only a small number of enslaved Texans, estimated at 47, joined the Union Army. Free blacks also emigrated to Texas. The use of slavery expanded in the mid-nineteenth century as White American settlers, primarily from the Southeastern United States, crossed the Sabine River and brought enslaved people with them. Moreover, once the revolution came, slavery was very much on the minds of those involved. 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. [12] His nephew, governor of Texas Manuel Mara de Salcedo, interpreted the order as allowing slaveholders from the United States to enter Texas to reclaim runaways. [35] Enslaved people often lived similarly to poor whites in Texas, especially those new to the territory and just getting started. Every penny counts! 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. Joseph Henry 8 3. 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). Married Elizabeth Towles 1803. Mention is made of Henry being a judge.The following is from Rootsweb: Slave owners and male Most of the early slaveholders owned only a few enslaved people, but a few brought enough to build plantations immediately. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. 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. It was a decision that increased tensions with slave-holders among the Anglo-Americans. 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. [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. As is apparent from the attached list of slave owners on this web site, many people in the county who owned slaves only had one or two. The payrolls for that slave Marie Therese Metoyer. Early and family life Dallas Genealogical Society "Mike" Campbell, Some slaveowners did not free their enslaved people until late in 1865. 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. [42] Two years later, Colorado County hanged several enslaved people and drove one white man and several Mexicans from the area after uncovering a plot to equip 200enslaved people with pistols and knives to escape into Mexico. 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. [33], Many churches in Texas accepted enslaved people as members. [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. 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. 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. Millions of Texans have rare diseases. WebJoseph Marryat (17571824), owned slaves in Grenada, Trinidad, St. Lucia, and Jamaica. The men sold enslaved people to James Bowie and others, who brought them directly to a customhouse and informed on themselves. 509 0 obj <> endobj The civil rights movement led to the U.S. Congress and President Lyndon Johnson passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which protected the rights of all citizens to integrated public facilities and enforcement of voting rights. Austin: Encino Press, 1974. After, ORourke shared his reaction on the blog site Medium. 2 Online Resources. 5 Resources. The news organization used documents from Ancestry.com to confirm the connection. Categories: Texas, Slavery | United States of America, Slave Owners. Field hands generally labored "from sun to sun" five days a week and half a day on Saturday. The slaveholder hired William Barret Travis, a local lawyer, in an attempt to retrieve the men. Most slaves, however, supplemented their basic diet with sweet potatoes, garden vegetables, wild game, and fish and were thus adequately fed. John Robinson of Madison, Mississippi: 550 slaves. Most slaves in Texas worked: On plantations and farms. 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 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. African Americans immediately started raising legal challenges to disfranchisement, but early Supreme Court cases, such as Giles v. Harris (1903), upheld the states. Slavery had been theoretically abolished by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation which proclaimed, in 1863, that only those enslaved in territories that were in rebellion from the United States were free. [7], Importation of enslaved Africans was not widespread in Spanish Texas. [45][i][ii][iii], Texas seceded from the United States in 1861 and joined the Confederate States of America on the eve of the American Civil War. In 1865, 95% of the enslaved were illiterate.[39]. [13], The United States outlawed the importation of enslaved people in 1808, but domestic trade flourished, especially in New Orleans during the antebellum decades. Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke holds a rally at Scholz Garten in Austin. It was Sarah Devereux that kept the plantation producing after Julien's death. For a time, many enslaved ran away to Texas. [29], The following year all those who had been living in Texas at the time of independence were allowed to remain. 42 (June, 1948): 510, 511-12. [34], Plantation enslaved people generally lived in one or two-room log cabins. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) Like Georgia, the Texas Democratic Party adopted a whites-only primary. Texas, Special Voter Registration, 1867-1869. Theirs was apparently a favored position, at least in this regard. The eastern quarter of the state, where cotton production depended on thousands of slaves, is considered the westernmost extension of the Deep South. 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. The effect of the institution on the state's general economic development is less clear. Many owners encouraged worship, primarily on the grounds that it would teach proper subjection and good behavior. John Butler of McIntosh, Georgia: 505 slaves. Economically, slave owners had a disproportionately large share of the state's wealth and produced virtually all of the cash crops. Free persons of African descent were required to petition the. ILester G. BugbeePolitical Science QuarterlyVol. Alwyn Barr. 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. In rural areas, counties often set up patrols to enforce restrictions on enslaved people traveling without passes from planter owners. As a free lady, she was an astute entrepreneur as well as a social climber. White society as a whole in antebellum Texas was dominated by its slaveholding minority. Questions concerning its profitability are complex and always open to debate. They could be bought and sold, mortgaged, and hired out. Family ties were a source of strength for people enduring bondage and a mark of their humanity, too. 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. In 1860 there were 3,017 slaves in Marion county 1,406 males, 1,611 females. 3 (Sep., 1898) (pp. Randolph B. Charles Heyward of Colleton, South Carolina: 491 slaves. Music and song served to set a pace for work and to express sorrow and hope (see AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHURCHES). [48], On some plantations, many enslaved people left immediately after hearing of the emancipation, even if their former owners offered to pay them wages. Slaves who did not work satisfactorily or otherwise displeased their owners were commonly punished by whipping. They therefore followed a basic human instinct and sought to survive on the best terms possible. The last frontier of slavery was by no means closed on the eve of the Civil War. [3] American Indians captured and enslaved the party, putting them to work as laborers. Dallas, TX [33] Enslaved people were not held between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. 4 History. 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 They had no property rights themselves and no legal rights of marriage and family. 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. [8] A 1777 census of San Antonio showed a total of 2,060people, with 151 of African descent. In 1854, citizens in Austin and other towns drove many poor Mexicans from the area in fear that they might assist in revolts. Sizable numbers, however, came through the domestic slave trade. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. In 1860, the Methodists claimed 7,541enslaved people among their members in Texas. WebThe British newspaper The Guardian reported this week that Democratic presidential candidate, and former Texas Congressman Beto ORourke, and his wife Amy, are Even as Austins colonists began to establish slavery on the lower Brazos and Colorado rivers, the independence of Mexico cast doubt on the future of the institution in Texas. People of color who had been servants for life under Mexican law would become property. "The Texas Slave Insurrection of 1860," by William White. These records often include full names, former masters and plantations, and current residences. In 1860, mass hysteria ensued after a series of fires erupted throughout the state. A Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Dallas Genealogical Society 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. 3 Vol. The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry. 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. [25] The department of Texas, which included the eastern settlements, expected to export 2,000 bales of cotton and 5,000 head of cattle. In cases where African Americans registered, their race is specified as "colored." [2] Estevanico, Dorantes, and Alonso Castillo Maldonado, the only survivors, spent several months living on a barrier island (now believed to be Galveston Island) before making their way in April 1529 to the mainland. The supposed "poison" found in enslaved quarters was baby powder. 4807 Caroline 3536 Grand Avenue The original empresario commission given Moses Austin by Spanish authorities in 1821 did not mention slaves, but when Stephen F. Austin was recognized as heir to his father's contract later that year, it was agreed that settlers could receive eighty acres of land for each enslaved person they brought to the colony. The son of Capt. Married Margaret French Strother 1778. Meredith Calhoun of Rapides, Louisiana: 709 slaves. I think [the conversation] happens in a number of spaces, Berry says. In 1836 Texas had approximately 5,000 enslaved persons in a total population estimated at 38,470. Most field hands received two sets of clothing twice each year, with a hat and coat for winter. This fact is not a tribute to the benevolence of slavery, but a testimony to the human spirit of the enslaved African Americans. The first census in Austin's colony in 1825 showed 443 slaves in a total population of 1,800. [26], The abolition of slavery created tensions between the Mexican government and slave-holding settlers from the United States. Several confessed to a plot by white abolitionists to avenge John Brown's execution by burning food supplies and poisoning slaveowners. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. Texas had many runaways and thousands escaped to Mexico. Slavery expanded rapidly during the period of the republic. 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. https://www.tshaonline.org, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/slavery. [citation needed], June 19, the day of the Emancipation announcement, has been celebrated annually in Texas and other states as Juneteenth. There was an auction block next to the Menger Hotel and near the Alamo. John Marshall (17551835), 4th 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. 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). 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. 2008 - 2023 INTERESTING.COM, INC. For a complete list, please see: American slave owners Project Profiles. Before The Guardian interviewed him for the story, he said neither he nor Amy knew that side of their heritage. Elisha Worthington of Chicot, Arkansas: 529 slaves. With reparations legislation on the table, Berry says conversations about slavery in history is fundamental. Slaves ate primarily corn and pork, foods that contained enough calories to provide adequate energy but were limited in essential vitamins and minerals. You can also look up Charleston Manifests by Slave Owner [table striped="true" This page has been accessed 1,367 times. The collection is organized alphabetically by state, then city where the bank was located, then date the account was established, then account number. A group of enslaved people killed the sheriff of Gonzales when he attempted to stop their going to Matamoros. By the end of 1845, when Texas joined the United States, the state was home to at least 30,000 enslaved people. WebList of the largest American slave owners The list below is compiled from the 1860 United States Slave Census Schedule. It contains a very significant number of Texas' African-American population. 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. Over 30 of the fugitives made it safely to freedom in Mexico. 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. If I can figure out where an earlier County Coordinator found this I will properly reference it. In 1860, the biggest slaveholders were Robert and D.G. [28], The Section 9 of the General Provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas, ratified in 1836, made slavery legal again in Texas and defined the status of the enslaved and people of color in the Republic of Texas. Many enslaved people ran away. 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. A slave had a right to trial by jury and a court-appointed attorney when charged with a crime greater than petty larceny. As in other southern states, however, the enslaved people made Christianity their own and they developed strong religious faith. John Burneside of Ascension, Louisiana: 753 slaves; Saint James: 187 slaves. 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. We'll send you a couple of emails per month, filled with fascinating history facts that you can share with your friends. WebThe Confederate gov ernment required many slave holders to provide slaves to work at military fortifications and other facilities throughout the South. Handbook of Texas Online, He tried to create a Republic of Sierra Madre in Northern Mexico but was defeated by the Mexican Army.[41].
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