Grayson County, Texas · 1867 voter registration

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

Slavery in Grayson County

In 1860 the census counted 1,292 enslaved people in Grayson County, 16% of everyone living there. Seven years later 377 freedmen registered to vote there, 23% of the county's voters. Many were born in Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia, and 367 reported reaching Texas before 1865.

Map of Texas counties in 1870 with Grayson County highlighted
Grayson County on the 1870 county map
1,292
Enslaved in 1860
16%
Of the county in 1860
1,621
Registered voters
377
Freedmen
23%
Freedmen
Tennessee
Largest birthplace
9 years
Median time in Texas
38
Register pages

Where Grayson County's freedmen were born

Reported birthplaces of Grayson County registrants
BirthplaceRegistrants%
Tennessee8221%
Kentucky6015%
Virginia4812%
Missouri4111%
South Carolina369%
Texas328%
Mississippi267%
Alabama215%
Arkansas144%
Georgia144%
North Carolina113%
Maryland2under 1%
Delaware1under 1%
District of Columbia1under 1%
Louisiana1under 1%

When they arrived in Texas

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

Reported arrival decades for Grayson County registrants
DecadeRegistrants
1840s
67
1850s
157
1860s
166

Surnames of freedmen in Grayson County

Grayson County genealogy: search the register by name

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

Grayson County registrants, by surname
NameBirthplaceArrivedGap
Abrista, LawyerAlabama1860
Adams, HenryTennessee185510
Adams, WestleyTennessee185510
Akers, Greenberry B. AkersKentucky1857
Alexander, DavidTennessee1857
Alexander, JackVirginia1853
Alexander, SyrusMissouri1860
Alford, R.W.Kentucky1862
Allen, DanielTexas184611
Allen, HenryMissouri1857
Ambrista, FayetteAlabama1860
Ambrista, RovertGeorgia1860
Anderson, DallasTennessee1868
Andrews, CharlesMissouri1849
Andrews, NTennessee1859
Andrews, R. C.Georgia1866
Aston, CollinsVirginia1852
Aston, MosesVirginia1852
Atkins, JamesAlabama1855
Baker, SimonVirginia1860
Banks, JamesVirginia1868
Basteel [Batsell], WilsonKentucky1851
Batty, MorrisKentucky1858
Beard, JosephTennessee18579
Belcher, AdamVirginia1864
Bell, IsaacMissouri1860
Bell, JosephMissouri1864
Bellew, CharlesNorth Carolina18602
Black, HamiltonNorth Carolina184916
Blunt, JamesVirginia1858
Boatwright, WilliamVirginia1860
Boler, ChasTennessee18523
Bordy, JordonNorth Carolina1860
Bowen, ChasSouth Carolina1854
Bowen, PeterSouth Carolina1854
Boyd, AndrewSouth Carolina1851
Boyd, DenisSouth Carolina1853
Boyd, GeorgeSouth Carolina1853
Boyd, JerrySouth Carolina1853
Boyd, RobertKentucky1854
Boyed, EliasSouth Carolina1851
Brooks, HenryMissouri1860
Brown, CharlesSouth Carolina1856
Brown, FrankLouisiana1857
Brown, GeorgeSouth Carolina1856
Brown, JVirginia1860
Brown, JesseMissouri1863
Brown, JoelTennessee1859
Brown, JordonArkansas1855
Brown, ParisKentucky18601

Search Grayson 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. Grayson County's entries fill 38 pages of the handwritten register. Race was recorded for part of the statewide register, so the freedmen count is the number identified.

Grayson County was formed out of Fannin County by 1850.

Questions about the Grayson County records

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

Search the Grayson 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 Grayson County in 1867?

377 freedmen registered in Grayson County between 1867 and 1870, 23% of the county's 1,621 registered voters.

Where were Grayson County's freedmen born?

Tennessee (82), Kentucky (60) and Virginia (48) were the birthplaces reported most often; 32 were born in Texas.

Was slavery widespread in Grayson County, Texas?

In 1860 the census counted 1,292 enslaved people in Grayson County, 16% of everyone living there. In 1867, 23% of Grayson County's registered voters were freedmen, 377 of 1,621. 367 of them reported reaching Texas before 1865.

Keep looking

Counties that share a boundary history with Grayson County: Fannin County.

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

All countiesBrowse by birthplaceSee the migration mapSearch Grayson County