Smith · Texas · 1867 voter registration · page 10 of 10

Smith in the 1867 Texas voter registration: 460 freedmen

460 freedmen named Smith registered to vote in Texas between 1867 and 1870. Many registered in Harrison County (48), Austin County (27) and Fort Bend County (24). The birthplaces they reported most often were Virginia, Tennessee and Alabama. The earliest of them reached Texas about 1829.

Map of Texas counties in 1870 with the counties where the Smiths registered highlighted
Counties where freedmen named Smith registered, on the 1870 county map
460
Freedmen
56
Counties
Virginia
Largest birthplace
1829
Earliest arrival
1860s
Fullest decade

Where the Smiths registered

Where the Smiths were born

Birthplaces the Smiths reported
BirthplaceFreedmen%
Virginia5819%
Tennessee4213%
Alabama299%
Texas279%
South Carolina268%
Georgia258%
North Carolina248%
Mississippi206%
Kentucky186%
Louisiana155%
Maryland124%
Arkansas52%
Missouri52%
Florida3under 1%
Pennsylvania2under 1%
District of Columbia1under 1%

When the Smiths reached Texas

Reported arrival decades for the Smiths
DecadeFreedmen
1820s
1
1830s
16
1840s
80
1850s
133
1860s
205

Every Smith in the register

The Smiths in the register, 451 to 460 of 460
NameCountyBirthplaceReached Texas
William SmithHays CountyTennessee1866
William SmithJackson County1863
William SmithMcLennan County1866
William SmithWalker CountyMaryland1866
William SmithWilson CountySouth Carolina1850
WIlliam SmithFalls County
William E. SmithAustin CountyMaryland1867
Willis SmithAustin CountyGeorgia1859
Willis SmithJefferson County1842
Wilson SmithMcLennan County1866

Smith genealogy in Texas

How do I find an ancestor named Smith in Texas?

Start with the county: this is African American genealogy from the register itself. Harrison County holds 48 of the 460, Austin County 27. Open a name to read the original handwritten register page and the names written around it. Names were written in more than one form, so try the sound of the name as well as its letters.

Where did the Smiths in Texas come from?

They reported Virginia (58), Tennessee (42) and Alabama (29) as their birthplaces most often, and 27 reported Texas. These are the answers the men themselves gave a board of registrars between 1867 and 1870.

Which Texas counties had the most freedmen named Smith?

Harrison County (48), Austin County (27), Fort Bend County (24). In all, 460 registered across 56 Texas counties between 1867 and 1870.

Sources

Figures come from the 1867 to 1870 Texas voter registration held by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Registrars wrote each name as they heard it, so Smith appears in the register in more than one form. About Enslaved Texas.

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