Lavaca County, Texas · 1867 voter registration

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

Slavery in Lavaca County

In 1860 the census counted 1,707 enslaved people in Lavaca County, 29% of everyone living there. Seven years later 435 freedmen registered to vote there, 29% of the county's voters. 130 reported reaching Texas before 1865.

Map of Texas counties in 1870 with Lavaca County highlighted
Lavaca County on the 1870 county map
1,707
Enslaved in 1860
29%
Of the county in 1860
1,487
Registered voters
435
Freedmen
29%
Freedmen
13 years
Median time in Texas
38
Register pages

Help finish Lavaca County. 304 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 Lavaca County.

Reported arrival decades for Lavaca County registrants
DecadeRegistrants
1830s
5
1840s
14
1850s
84
1860s
28

Surnames of freedmen in Lavaca County

Lavaca County genealogy: search the register by name

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

Lavaca County registrants, by surname
NameBirthplaceArrivedGap
Adams, AlfredUnited States1853
Adams, CharlesUnited States1853
Adams, DanielUnited States1854
Adams, FelixUnited States1864
Adams, Jr., JosephUnited States1853
Adams, Sr., JosephUnited States1853
Allen, JohnUnited States185710
Armstrong, MitchellUnited States185214
Arnold, MathewUnited States1860
Austin, JohnUnited States18552
Bailey, Daniel (David)United States1853
Blackburn, VincentUnited States18632
Blackwell, IsaacUnited States18615
Brandon, JamesUnited States185215
Brewer, JerryUnited States1854
Brown, IrvinUnited States18516
Brown, IsaacUnited States1851
Butler, SamuelUnited States185413
Campbell, JacobUnited States1863
Cape, HenryUnited States184719
Cheny, AlexanderUnited States18643
Clark, JohnUnited States184620
Clark, SamuelUnited States185214
Clark, WashingtonUnited States185413
Clark, WileyUnited States18588
Clay, RichardUnited States1854
Cook, MosesUnited States1850
Davis, JamesUnited States185214
Debreta, HardyUnited States1861
Deval, JosephUnited States184614
Dibrell, HenryUnited States1862
Elgin, EdmundUnited States184818
Essex, SydneyUnited States1863
Fenner, EdwardUnited States1855
Fields, GrandisonUnited States1838
Fitzgerrald, AndersonUnited States185413
Foley, MackUnited States1846
Foley, MorrisUnited States1857
Garney, NelsonUnited States185412
Garrett, HenryUnited States1857
Garrett, PeterUnited States1857
Godley, AlfredUnited States1863
Godney, AugustUnited States1860
Good, ThomasUnited States1861
Goodall, JosephUnited States1854
Grant, SamuelUnited States18554
Grant, WillisUnited States1840
Green, JamesUnited States185512
Green, WilliamUnited States1863
Haines, IsaacUnited States184712

Every freedman who registered in Lavaca CountySearch Lavaca 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. Lavaca 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.

Lavaca County was formed out of Gonzales County by 1850.

Questions about the Lavaca County records

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

Search the Lavaca 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 Lavaca County in 1867?

435 freedmen registered in Lavaca County between 1867 and 1870, 29% of the county's 1,487 registered voters.

Was slavery widespread in Lavaca County, Texas?

In 1860 the census counted 1,707 enslaved people in Lavaca County, 29% of everyone living there. In 1867, 29% of Lavaca County's registered voters were freedmen, 435 of 1,487. 130 of them reported reaching Texas before 1865.

Keep looking

Counties that share a boundary history with Lavaca County: Gonzales County.

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

All countiesBrowse by birthplaceSee the migration mapSearch Lavaca County