Sabine County, Texas · 1867 voter registration

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

Slavery in Sabine County

In 1860 the census counted 1,150 enslaved people in Sabine County, 42% of everyone living there. Seven years later 10 freedmen registered to vote there, 1% of the county's voters. Most were born in Texas, Georgia and Mississippi, and 30 reported reaching Texas before 1865.

Map of Texas counties in 1870 with Sabine County highlighted
Sabine County on the 1870 county map
1,150
Enslaved in 1860
42%
Of the county in 1860
704
Registered voters
10
Freedmen
1%
Freedmen
Texas
Largest birthplace
14 years
Median time in Texas
17
Register pages

Where Sabine County's freedmen were born

Reported birthplaces of Sabine County registrants
BirthplaceRegistrants%
Texas1638%
Georgia1024%
Mississippi614%
Virginia512%
South Carolina25%
Kentucky12%
Louisiana12%
Tennessee12%

When they arrived in Texas

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

Reported arrival decades for Sabine County registrants
DecadeRegistrants
1820s
1
1830s
1
1840s
18
1850s
6
1860s
16

Surnames of freedmen in Sabine County

Sabine County genealogy: search the register by name

The first 42 names in the Sabine County register, alphabetically. Each opens a search for that name.

Sabine County registrants, by surname
NameBirthplaceArrivedGap
Adkinson, JohnGeorgia1866
Ballin [Balam], MarchTexas1847
Bartel, ThomasVirginia184422
Bartlett, AdamKentucky1866
Beardon, MarkusTennessee1862
Brown, A.K.Virginia1859
Canton, RandallTexas1846
Cartwright, HenryMississippi182820
Ceasen, JuliusVirginia1837
Cook, EllisGeorgia1856
Cummins, WilliamGeorgia1859
Dennis, DavidTexas1846
Elee, GeorgeGeorgia1866
Franklin, Benjm.Georgia1867
Gordon, RichardVirginia1855
Halbert, WilliamVirginia1867
Hynes [Haynes], SpencerTexas1846
Jenkins, OffaGeorgia1863
Johnson, AbrahamTexas1865
Johnson, CorneliusSouth Carolina1865
Lafayette, RichardTexas1842
Lee, DavidTexas1867
Lee, GilbertMississippi1867
Lee, RichardTexas184720
Lingleton Jr, DavidTexas1847
Manuel, S.Mississippi1866
Martin, NanGeorgia1848
Moon, LewisTexas1847
Muse, Watl.Texas1847
Nelson, GeorgeLouisiana1848
Patent, JohnTexas1847
Randall, JackTexas1847
Robison, W WGeorgia1846
Seastrunk, WilliamSouth Carolina1867
Smiley, BenjaminMississippi1852
Speights, AlickTexas184620
Strawd, SamTexas18641
Swindle, RobhGeorgia1860
Thom, CuriesTexas184026
Williams, ClarkMississippi1848
Williams, JohnMississippi1858
Wright, StephenGeorgia1866

Search Sabine 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. Sabine County's entries fill 17 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 Sabine County records

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

Search the Sabine 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 Sabine County in 1867?

10 freedmen registered in Sabine County between 1867 and 1870, 1% of the county's 704 registered voters.

Where were Sabine County's freedmen born?

Texas (16), Georgia (10) and Mississippi (6) were the birthplaces reported most often; 16 were born in Texas.

Was slavery widespread in Sabine County, Texas?

In 1860 the census counted 1,150 enslaved people in Sabine County, 42% of everyone living there. In 1867, 1% of Sabine County's registered voters were freedmen, 10 of 704. 30 of them reported reaching Texas before 1865.

Keep looking

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

All countiesBrowse by birthplaceSee the migration mapSearch Sabine County