Bowie County, Texas · 1867 voter registration
Bowie County, Texas: freedmen, slavery and the 1867 voter registration
Slavery in Bowie County
In 1860 the census counted 2,651 enslaved people in Bowie County, 52% of everyone living there. Seven years later 462 freedmen registered to vote there, 55% of the county's voters. Many were born in Tennessee, Alabama and Texas, and 390 reported reaching Texas before 1865.
- 2,651
- Enslaved in 1860
- 52%
- Of the county in 1860
- 833
- Registered voters
- 462
- Freedmen
- 55%
- Freedmen
- Tennessee
- Largest birthplace
- 18 years
- Median time in Texas
- 21
- Register pages
Help finish Bowie County. 5 freedmen registered here in 1867 and their records are still waiting to be added.
Become a reviewerWhere Bowie County's freedmen were born
| Birthplace | Registrants | % |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | 67 | 15% |
| Alabama | 66 | 14% |
| Texas | 65 | 14% |
| North Carolina | 52 | 11% |
| Virginia | 47 | 10% |
| Mississippi | 38 | 8% |
| South Carolina | 31 | 7% |
| Georgia | 28 | 6% |
| Kentucky | 18 | 4% |
| Louisiana | 16 | 4% |
| Arkansas | 13 | 3% |
| Missouri | 8 | 2% |
| Maryland | 4 | under 1% |
| Africa | 1 | under 1% |
| District of Columbia | 1 | under 1% |
| Indiana | 1 | under 1% |
| Massachusetts | 1 | under 1% |
When they arrived in Texas
Decade each registrant reported arriving in Texas, as recorded in Bowie County.
| Decade | Registrants |
|---|---|
| 1830s | 1 |
| 1840s | 217 |
| 1850s | 110 |
| 1860s | 128 |
Surnames of freedmen in Bowie County
Bowie County genealogy: search the register by name
The first 50 names in the Bowie County register, alphabetically. Each opens a search for that name.
| Name | Birthplace | Arrived | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander, Aaron | Georgia | 1849 | |
| Alexander, David | Texas | 1849 | |
| Alexander, Jacob | Texas | 1849 | |
| Alexander, Lewis | Alabama | 1849 | |
| Alexander, Moses | South Carolina | 1849 | |
| Amos, Rufus | Georgia | 1862 | |
| Anthony, Washington | Missouri | 1865 | |
| Baice, Edmund | Indiana | 1849 | |
| Baigan, Wiley | Texas | 1849 | |
| Baird, David | North Carolina | 1849 | |
| Baker, Gran | Tennessee | 1849 | |
| Baker, Payne | Alabama | 1849 | |
| Ball, Frank | Alabama | 1860 | |
| Bankston, Washington | Kentucky | 1849 | |
| Bard, Alexander | Louisiana | 1849 | |
| Bard, Shadrick | Mississippi | 1849 | |
| Barnett, Peter | North Carolina | 1849 | |
| Barns, Logan | Kentucky | 1849 | |
| Baskman, Hal | Louisiana | 1849 | |
| Bataman, Green | Alabama | 1861 | |
| Battele, King | Kentucky | 1849 | |
| Battele, Ned | Tennessee | 1849 | |
| Batty, Granville | Texas | 1861 | |
| Beard, Enock | North Carolina | 1859 | |
| Bell, Ned | North Carolina | 1849 | |
| Bell, Squire | Alabama | 1849 | |
| Benjamin, Gray | Virginia | 1867 | |
| Bennett, Nicholas | Georgia | 1864 | |
| Bentin, Richmond | North Carolina | 1867 | |
| Birch, Moses | North Carolina | 1865 | |
| Bohanan, Benjamin | Alabama | 1860 | |
| Bohanan, Wilson | Alabama | 1860 | |
| Boice, David | Tennessee | 1849 | |
| Boocker, Edward | Kentucky | 1849 | |
| Boon, Henry N. | Texas | 1849 | |
| Boud, Charley | South Carolina | 1866 | |
| Bowers, George | South Carolina | 1849 | 10 |
| Bowie, William | Alabama | 1849 | |
| Boyd, Richard | Alabama | 1849 | |
| Britton, William | Mississippi | 1849 | |
| Brockman, Henry | Virginia | 1849 | |
| Brooks, Green | South Carolina | 1849 | |
| Brooks, Peter | Georgia | 1849 | |
| Brown, James | Tennessee | 1849 | |
| Brown, John | Tennessee | 1849 | |
| Brown, Louis | Louisiana | 1849 | |
| Brown, Peter | North Carolina | 1849 | |
| Bueter, Marsh | Mississippi | 1868 | |
| Burgins, Alexander | Kentucky | 1851 | |
| Burnett, Redic | North Carolina | 1849 |
Sources and county history
Figures come from the 1867 to 1870 Texas voter registration held by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. The 1860 population figures come from Population of the United States in 1860, printed by the Census Office in 1864. Bowie County's entries fill 21 pages of the handwritten register. Race was recorded for part of the statewide register, so the freedmen count is the number identified.
Bowie County was formed out of Red River County by 1840.
Questions about the Bowie County records
How do I find African American ancestors in Bowie County, Texas?
Search the Bowie County records by surname, then open the entry to read the original handwritten register page. Each entry gives the man's name, his birthplace and the year he reached Texas. Spellings vary, so try the sound of a name as well as its spelling, and names appear in the order men came to register, so a family can sit pages apart.
How many freedmen registered to vote in Bowie County in 1867?
462 freedmen registered in Bowie County between 1867 and 1870, 55% of the county's 833 registered voters.
Where were Bowie County's freedmen born?
Tennessee (67), Alabama (66) and Texas (65) were the birthplaces reported most often; 65 were born in Texas.
Was slavery widespread in Bowie County, Texas?
In 1860 the census counted 2,651 enslaved people in Bowie County, 52% of everyone living there. In 1867, 55% of Bowie County's registered voters were freedmen, 462 of 833. 390 of them reported reaching Texas before 1865.
Keep looking
Counties that share a boundary history with Bowie County: Red River County, Davis County, Marion County.
For African American genealogy beyond Bowie County, browse the register by birthplace, search it by name or follow the migration map.
All countiesBrowse by birthplaceSee the migration mapSearch Bowie County