Johnson County, Texas · 1867 voter registration

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

Slavery in Johnson County

In 1860 the census counted 513 enslaved people in Johnson County, 12% of everyone living there. Seven years later 88 freedmen registered to vote there, 11% of the county's voters. Many were born in Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia, and 73 reported reaching Texas before 1865.

Map of Texas counties in 1870 with Johnson County highlighted
Johnson County on the 1870 county map
513
Enslaved in 1860
12%
Of the county in 1860
814
Registered voters
88
Freedmen
11%
Freedmen
Tennessee
Largest birthplace
10 years
Median time in Texas
20
Register pages

Help finish Johnson County. 8 freedmen registered here in 1867 and their records are still waiting to be added.

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Where Johnson County's freedmen were born

Reported birthplaces of Johnson County registrants
BirthplaceRegistrants%
Tennessee1620%
Alabama1418%
Virginia911%
Georgia810%
North Carolina79%
South Carolina79%
Mississippi68%
Texas56%
Kentucky34%
Missouri34%
Arkansas11%
Maryland11%

When they arrived in Texas

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

Reported arrival decades for Johnson County registrants
DecadeRegistrants
1830s
2
1840s
13
1850s
37
1860s
28

Surnames of freedmen in Johnson County

Johnson County genealogy: search the register by name

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

Johnson County registrants, by surname
NameBirthplaceArrivedGap
Anderson, SamuelAlabama1860
Ashley, SNorth Carolina184122
Ashton, JamesGeorgia18469
Barnes, GreenAlabama1863
Beechum, AllenAlabama1864
Burrell, FranklinTennessee184125
Burton, StephenVirginia1865
Caldwell, SamuelSouth Carolina1854
Clarke, LewisTexas184617
Clements, DennisMaryland1859
Clements, RobertAlabama1863
Coakley, JohnTennessee184911
Coakley, William M.Tennessee1849
Criner, WardAlabama1856
Davis, JudsonNorth Carolina1867
Eckles, HenryGeorgia1862
Faires, KVirginia1853
Golden, LewisSouth Carolina1862
Griggs, FrederickTennessee1855
Haley, WilliamMissouri1863
Hardee, RobertMississippi18622
Hardy, TMississippi1866
Hix, BenKentucky1863
Ingram, JohnSouth Carolina1864
Jacobs, NNorth Carolina18508
Johnson, EdwardGeorgia1863
Jones, PeterGeorgia18615
Kennard, ATexas184515
Kennard, KAlabama185211
Killough, GilbertTennessee185212
Killough, JerryTennessee185210
Ligon, HarrisonSouth Carolina1854
Majors, DanielAlabama18596
Mathis, ETexas183726
Maxwell, LayfayetteArkansas18579
Mayfield, JamesTennessee1857
McGraw, DanielSouth Carolina1861
McKinney, PeterMississippi18579
Mills, GeorgeVirginia1863
Moore, HenrySouth Carolina1865
Moore, JeffMissouri1861
Moore, TAlabama1866
Nelson, AlbertTennessee1863
Norton, LouTennessee184912
Owen, NVirginia18615
Page, AlfredVirginia1858
Pierce, LewisAlabama1852
Pollard, GGeorgia1849
Pollard, RGeorgia1849
Pollard, SGeorgia184916

Search Johnson 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. Johnson 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.

Johnson County was formed out of Navarro County by 1855.

Questions about the Johnson County records

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

Search the Johnson 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 Johnson County in 1867?

88 freedmen registered in Johnson County between 1867 and 1870, 11% of the county's 814 registered voters.

Where were Johnson County's freedmen born?

Tennessee (16), Alabama (14) and Virginia (9) were the birthplaces reported most often; 5 were born in Texas.

Was slavery widespread in Johnson County, Texas?

In 1860 the census counted 513 enslaved people in Johnson County, 12% of everyone living there. In 1867, 11% of Johnson County's registered voters were freedmen, 88 of 814. 73 of them reported reaching Texas before 1865.

Keep looking

Counties that share a boundary history with Johnson County: Navarro County, Hood County.

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

All countiesBrowse by birthplaceSee the migration mapSearch Johnson County