Gonzales County, Texas · 1867 voter registration

Gonzales County, Texas: freedmen, slavery and the 1867 voter registration

Slavery in Gonzales County

In 1860 the census counted 3,168 enslaved people in Gonzales County, 39% of everyone living there. Seven years later 739 freedmen registered to vote there, 41% of the county's voters. 708 reported reaching Texas before 1865.

Map of Texas counties in 1870 with Gonzales County highlighted
Gonzales County on the 1870 county map
3,168
Enslaved in 1860
39%
Of the county in 1860
1,796
Registered voters
739
Freedmen
41%
Freedmen
14 years
Median time in Texas
45
Register pages

Help finish Gonzales County. 2 freedmen registered here in 1867 and their records are still waiting to be added.

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When they arrived in Texas

Decade each registrant reported arriving in Texas, as recorded in Gonzales County.

Reported arrival decades for Gonzales County registrants
DecadeRegistrants
1820s
1
1830s
29
1840s
169
1850s
415
1860s
122

Surnames of freedmen in Gonzales County

Gonzales County genealogy: search the register by name

The first 50 names in the Gonzales County register, alphabetically. Each opens a search for that name.

Gonzales County registrants, by surname
NameBirthplaceArrivedGap
Adams, AlexanderUnited States18547
Albert, JamesUnited States1861
Allen, GeorgeUnited States1858
Allen, HenryUnited States1855
Allen, JimUnited States18642
Allison, JohnUnited States1851
Anderson, GriffinUnited States1840
Anderson, JeffersonUnited States1841
Anderson, JordonUnited States1845
Armstrong, EdwardUnited States1847
Armstrong, JacksonUnited States184720
Asken, JoeUnited States18511
Atkinson, SquireUnited States185211
Bailey, AddisonUnited States1855
Baldridge, AlfredUnited States1857
Baldridge, DickUnited States1851
Barton, Bras deUnited States1856
Bateman, LukeUnited States1845
Bates, CaesarUnited States1855
Bell, AlfredUnited States18527
Bell, RobertUnited States1861
Bend, CorderUnited States1855
Bend, DanielUnited States1854
Bend, KempUnited States1855
Bend, QuillUnited States1852
Benham, ElijaUnited States1865
Blackwell, MunchUnited States1853
Blackwell, RufusUnited States1857
Blair, SamUnited States1854
Blaky, CarralUnited States1854
Blossingame, JackUnited States1852
Blossingame, JerryUnited States1854
Blossingame, NicholasUnited States1857
Boulding, HenryUnited States1848
Bourland, JohnUnited States1851
Bowman, PinckneyUnited States18523
Boyd, AlfredUnited States1854
Boyd, JamesUnited States1851
Boyd, JohnUnited States1854
Braches, MadisonUnited States1839
Brafsfield [Brassfield], WilliamUnited States1855
Bratton, TobeUnited States1857
Brock, DanUnited States1861
Broduax, ArmistedUnited States1854
Broduax, ArmsteadUnited States1854
Broduax, ElijaUnited States1854
Broduax, HectorUnited States1854
Broduax, JesseUnited States1854
Broduax, JohnUnited States1853
Broduax, MatthewUnited States1854

Search Gonzales County freedmen records by name

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. Gonzales County's entries fill 45 pages of the handwritten register. Race was recorded for part of the statewide register, so the freedmen count is the number identified.

Questions about the Gonzales County records

How do I find African American ancestors in Gonzales County, Texas?

Search the Gonzales 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 Gonzales County in 1867?

739 freedmen registered in Gonzales County between 1867 and 1870, 41% of the county's 1,796 registered voters.

Was slavery widespread in Gonzales County, Texas?

In 1860 the census counted 3,168 enslaved people in Gonzales County, 39% of everyone living there. In 1867, 41% of Gonzales County's registered voters were freedmen, 739 of 1,796. 708 of them reported reaching Texas before 1865.

Keep looking

Counties that share a boundary history with Gonzales County: Caldwell County, DeWitt County, Guadalupe County, Lavaca County.

For African American genealogy beyond Gonzales County, browse the register by birthplace, search it by name or follow the migration map.

All countiesBrowse by birthplaceSee the migration mapSearch Gonzales County