Chambers County, Texas · 1867 voter registration
Chambers County, Texas: freedmen, slavery and the 1867 voter registration
Slavery in Chambers County
In 1860 the census counted 513 enslaved people in Chambers County, 34% of everyone living there. In 1867, 297 men registered to vote there. Most were born in Texas, Louisiana and Virginia, and 121 reported reaching Texas before 1865.
- 513
- Enslaved in 1860
- 34%
- Of the county in 1860
- 297
- Registered voters
- Texas
- Largest birthplace
- 20 years
- Median time in Texas
- 8
- Register pages
Help finish Chambers County. 297 men registered here in 1867 and their records are still waiting to be added.
Become a reviewerWhere Chambers County's freedmen were born
| Birthplace | Registrants | % |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 35 | 28% |
| Louisiana | 25 | 20% |
| Virginia | 19 | 15% |
| South Carolina | 12 | 10% |
| Alabama | 10 | 8% |
| Georgia | 5 | 4% |
| Mississippi | 5 | 4% |
| Maryland | 4 | 3% |
| Kentucky | 3 | 2% |
| Tennessee | 3 | 2% |
| Missouri | 2 | 2% |
| Arkansas | 1 | under 1% |
| New York | 1 | under 1% |
| North Carolina | 1 | under 1% |
When they arrived in Texas
Decade each registrant reported arriving in Texas, as recorded in Chambers County.
| Decade | Registrants |
|---|---|
| 1810s | 1 |
| 1820s | 7 |
| 1830s | 10 |
| 1840s | 52 |
| 1850s | 34 |
| 1860s | 22 |
Surnames of freedmen in Chambers County
Chambers County genealogy: search the register by name
The first 50 names in the Chambers County register, alphabetically. Each opens a search for that name.
| Name | Birthplace | Arrived | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| , | Texas | 21 | |
| Abraham, Moses | South Carolina | 1860 | 1 |
| Abrahams, Frank | Texas | 1848 | 11 |
| Alexander, Louis | Texas | 1848 | 11 |
| Alexander, Solomon (Washington) | Louisiana | 1847 | |
| Alphord, Phillip | Mississippi | 1858 | |
| Andrew, George | Texas | 1857 | |
| Asku, Antonia | North Carolina | 1855 | 7 |
| Baley, Arnos | South Carolina | 1860 | 1 |
| Banks, Isaam | Alabama | 1840 | |
| Barrett, Samuel | Louisiana | 1847 | |
| Barrett, Simon | Louisiana | 1843 | 11 |
| Barrow, Benjamin | Tennessee | 1829 | |
| Barrow, Solomon | 1846 | ||
| Battist, Sam | Louisiana | 1847 | |
| Bell, Harry | South Carolina | 1860 | 9 |
| Berry, Frank | Louisiana | 1844 | 12 |
| Blue, Jacob | Louisiana | 1827 | |
| Blue, Samuel | Texas | 1845 | |
| Bonser, Edmond | Virginia | 1857 | 3 |
| Booker, Moses | Virginia | 1837 | 22 |
| Bowie, Andrew | Texas | 1846 | |
| Bowie, Henry | Texas | 1846 | |
| Bowie, Moses | Louisiana | 1837 | |
| Bowser, Edmond | Virginia | 1857 | 3 |
| Brown, Elias | Texas | 1840 | |
| Brown, Nathaniel | South Carolina | 1827 | |
| Brown, Thompson | Louisiana | 1854 | 1 |
| Bryant, Aron | Texas | 1848 | |
| Cartridge, Jacob | South Carolina | 1855 | 7 |
| Clay, Henry | Texas | 1842 | |
| Cooper, Daniel | Virginia | 1858 | |
| Cooper, Morgan | Virginia | 1849 | 10 |
| Cooper, William | Virginia | 1857 | 3 |
| Curtis, Henry | Tennessee | 1851 | 16 |
| Davis, Charles | Virginia | 1863 | 1 |
| Davis, Nathan | Georgia | 1864 | 3 |
| Ellis, David | South Carolina | 1862 | |
| Foster, Thomas | Louisiana | 1847 | 8 |
| Gibson, Peter | Texas | 1845 | |
| Godfrey, Josephus | Texas | 1844 | |
| Godfrey, Zacary | Alabama | 1837 | 15 |
| Hall, Henry | Mississippi | 1850 | |
| Hampton, Wade | South Carolina | 1854 | 11 |
| Harrison, Sam | Louisiana | 1859 | 6 |
| Hart, Jackson | Alabama | 1859 | 9 |
| Hart, James | Alabama | 1852 | 14 |
| Harvey, William | Alabama | 1867 | |
| Henderson, Ellis | Louisiana | 1838 | 18 |
| Henderson, Henry | Louisiana | 1847 | 19 |
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. Chambers County's entries fill 8 pages of the handwritten register.
Chambers County was formed out of Liberty County by 1860.
Questions about the Chambers County records
How do I find African American ancestors in Chambers County, Texas?
Search the Chambers 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.
Where were Chambers County's freedmen born?
Texas (35), Louisiana (25) and Virginia (19) were the birthplaces reported most often; 35 were born in Texas.
Keep looking
Counties that share a boundary history with Chambers County: Liberty County.
For African American genealogy beyond Chambers County, browse the register by birthplace, search it by name or follow the migration map.
All countiesBrowse by birthplaceSee the migration mapSearch Chambers County