Wilson County, Texas · 1867 voter registration

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

Slavery in Wilson County

In 1867 Wilson County registered 418 voters, and 97 of them, 23%, were freedmen. Many were born in Mississippi, Tennessee and South Carolina, and 88 reported reaching Texas before 1865.

Map of Texas counties in 1870 with Wilson County highlighted
Wilson County on the 1870 county map
418
Registered voters
97
Freedmen
23%
Freedmen
Mississippi
Largest birthplace
12 years
Median time in Texas
11
Register pages

Help finish Wilson County. 1 freedman registered here in 1867 and their records are still waiting to be added.

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Where Wilson County's freedmen were born

Reported birthplaces of Wilson County registrants
BirthplaceRegistrants%
Mississippi2022%
Tennessee1213%
South Carolina1112%
Texas910%
Virginia89%
Kentucky78%
North Carolina67%
Alabama56%
Louisiana44%
Georgia22%
Maryland22%
Missouri22%
Arkansas11%

When they arrived in Texas

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

Reported arrival decades for Wilson County registrants
DecadeRegistrants
1820s
2
1830s
1
1840s
13
1850s
61
1860s
19

Surnames of freedmen in Wilson County

Wilson County genealogy: search the register by name

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

Wilson County registrants, by surname
NameBirthplaceArrivedGap
Abney, RichardVirginia18653
Adams, JohnKentucky18653
Applewaite, AlfredMississippi1854
Applewaite, GeorgeLouisiana18541
Baldwin, JosephTexas184621
Bonny, ThomasSouth Carolina1855
Braxton, BurfordKentucky185512
Bristow, CharlesKentucky1864
Brooks, JordanTexas185412
Brooks, NelsonTexas185412
Calvin, WilliamAlabama1853
Carter, DerrohTennessee185512
Clark, RansomTexas184722
Clay, HenryMaryland18635
Cruz, JamesSouth Carolina1851
Daisedo, Henry183928
Dickee, WilliamMississippi1855
Durham, JohnNorth Carolina1856
Edwards, AndrewMississippi18557
Fields, BenjaminMississippi1863
Fields, Benjamin18643
Gates, MiltonSouth Carolina1865
Gibson, JeffersonKentucky1864
Goody, WashingtonArkansas18652
Grundy, FelixTennessee1861
Hardin, AndersonTennessee18634
Harris, AugustusSouth Carolina1853
Harris, GovernorLouisiana184719
Harris, JacksonMississippi1858
Harris, JamesSouth Carolina1858
Henderson, RobertVirginia184820
Henrics, GabrielSouth Carolina18559
Herron, AlbertMississippi1857
Hightower, ReubenTennessee1852
Hunt, OvertonTennessee1849
Jackson, George AnthonyMissouri18615
Jackson, JohnGeorgia185312
Jackson, LeeKentucky1864
Jenkins, ThomasMississippi185215
Jenkins, Jr., JohnNorth Carolina185215
Jenkins, Sr., JohnMississippi185215
Johnson, JamesVirginia185213
Johnson, WilliamAlabama1852
Johnson, WilliamAlabama185512
Kendrick, TollyAlabama1851
Landrum, RichardTexas1857
Lias, JosephSouth Carolina185310
Mahon, WashingtonVirginia185017
Masson, RobertKentucky18662
Mathews, WilliamVirginia1855

Search Wilson 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. Wilson County's entries fill 11 pages of the handwritten register. Race was recorded for part of the statewide register, so the freedmen count is the number identified.

Wilson County was formed out of Bexar County by 1860.

Questions about the Wilson County records

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

Search the Wilson 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 Wilson County in 1867?

97 freedmen registered in Wilson County between 1867 and 1870, 23% of the county's 418 registered voters.

Where were Wilson County's freedmen born?

Mississippi (20), Tennessee (12) and South Carolina (11) were the birthplaces reported most often; 9 were born in Texas.

Was slavery widespread in Wilson County, Texas?

In 1867, 23% of Wilson County's registered voters were freedmen, 97 of 418. 88 of them reported reaching Texas before 1865.

Keep looking

Counties that share a boundary history with Wilson County: Bexar County.

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

All countiesBrowse by birthplaceSee the migration mapSearch Wilson County