Cooke County, Texas · 1867 voter registration
Cooke County, Texas: freedmen, slavery and the 1867 voter registration
Slavery in Cooke County
In 1860 the census counted 369 enslaved people in Cooke County, 10% of everyone living there. Seven years later 89 freedmen registered to vote there, 11% of the county's voters. Many were born in Tennessee, Missouri and Kentucky, and 84 reported reaching Texas before 1865.
- 369
- Enslaved in 1860
- 10%
- Of the county in 1860
- 813
- Registered voters
- 89
- Freedmen
- 11%
- Freedmen
- Tennessee
- Largest birthplace
- 9 years
- Median time in Texas
- 20
- Register pages
Where Cooke County's freedmen were born
| Birthplace | Registrants | % |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | 17 | 19% |
| Missouri | 15 | 17% |
| Kentucky | 12 | 14% |
| Alabama | 9 | 10% |
| Mississippi | 7 | 8% |
| Texas | 7 | 8% |
| Virginia | 6 | 7% |
| Georgia | 4 | 5% |
| North Carolina | 4 | 5% |
| South Carolina | 4 | 5% |
| Arkansas | 3 | 3% |
When they arrived in Texas
Decade each registrant reported arriving in Texas, as recorded in Cooke County.
| Decade | Registrants |
|---|---|
| 1830s | 1 |
| 1840s | 15 |
| 1850s | 43 |
| 1860s | 31 |
Surnames of freedmen in Cooke County
Cooke County genealogy: search the register by name
The first 50 names in the Cooke County register, alphabetically. Each opens a search for that name.
| Name | Birthplace | Arrived | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allen, Anthony | Kentucky | 1852 | |
| Allen, Evans | Arkansas | 1864 | 2 |
| Baily, Thomas | Texas | 1844 | 10 |
| Baird, Joseph | Tennessee | 1857 | 11 |
| Banks, James | South Carolina | 1861 | |
| Black, Basil | Kentucky | 1858 | |
| Black, Benjamin | North Carolina | 1852 | 3 |
| Black, Peter | South Carolina | 1858 | 8 |
| Blankenbaker, Ritchard | Kentucky | 1865 | |
| Bonland, Peter | Kentucky | 1858 | |
| Carter, Wm. | Missouri | 1857 | |
| Clarke, Ivey | Alabama | 1857 | 9 |
| Climmons, Benjamin | Kentucky | 1865 | 1 |
| Clond, Charles | Alabama | 1864 | |
| Coal, Edward | Tennessee | 1855 | |
| Coffee, Joseph | Kentucky | 1853 | 12 |
| Coil, Henry | Mississippi | 1864 | 2 |
| Coker, Nelson | Arkansas | 1865 | |
| Cole, Clark | Georgia | 1849 | 12 |
| Cole, Samuel | South Carolina | 1853 | |
| Culver, Thm Ross | Kentucky | 1862 | |
| Daly, Hanabal | Texas | 1846 | 6 |
| Davidson, Franklin | Georgia | 1857 | |
| Davidson, Gabriel | Tennessee | 1852 | 3 |
| Davis, Allen | Alabama | 1861 | |
| Davis, Lewis | Alabama | 1861 | |
| Davis, Madison | Missouri | 1864 | 2 |
| Diamond, Nelson | Georgia | 1849 | 17 |
| Dobkins, Lazarus | Tennessee | 1852 | |
| Doss, Simon | Missouri | 1851 | 8 |
| Duncan, James | Missouri | 1861 | |
| Fletcher, Benjamin | Tennessee | 1851 | 13 |
| Foreman [Forman], Stephen | South Carolina | 1847 | 12 |
| Foruman, Edward | Texas | 1845 | 14 |
| Foster, Andrew | Tennessee | 1857 | 8 |
| Freeman, Peter | Texas | 1841 | 18 |
| Frowman, George | Tennessee | 1847 | |
| Frowman, Robert | Tennessee | 1854 | |
| Gahagan, Squire | Tennessee | 1847 | |
| Gaines, Edward | Chickasaw Nation | 1866 | |
| Girem, James | Missouri | 1860 | |
| Gooch [Gouch], Jesse | Georgia | 1857 | 7 |
| Goodner, William | Missouri | 1862 | |
| Harwell, Stith | Tennessee | 1858 | 8 |
| Herd, Green | Alabama | 1866 | |
| Him, Howard | Missouri | 1862 | |
| Horn, Jack | Virginia | 1841 | 20 |
| Hutchinson, Noah [Mark] | Texas | 1862 | |
| Jackson, Campbell | Tennessee | 1860 | |
| Jackson, I.H. | Tennessee | 1860 |
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. Cooke County's entries fill 20 pages of the handwritten register. Race was recorded for part of the statewide register, so the freedmen count is the number identified.
Cooke County was formed out of Fannin County by 1850.
Questions about the Cooke County records
How do I find African American ancestors in Cooke County, Texas?
Search the Cooke 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 Cooke County in 1867?
89 freedmen registered in Cooke County between 1867 and 1870, 11% of the county's 813 registered voters.
Where were Cooke County's freedmen born?
Tennessee (17), Missouri (15) and Kentucky (12) were the birthplaces reported most often; 7 were born in Texas.
Was slavery widespread in Cooke County, Texas?
In 1860 the census counted 369 enslaved people in Cooke County, 10% of everyone living there. In 1867, 11% of Cooke County's registered voters were freedmen, 89 of 813. 84 of them reported reaching Texas before 1865.
Keep looking
Counties that share a boundary history with Cooke County: Fannin County, Jack County, Montague County, Wise County.
For African American genealogy beyond Cooke County, browse the register by birthplace, search it by name or follow the migration map.
All countiesBrowse by birthplaceSee the migration mapSearch Cooke County