Watson · Texas · 1867 voter registration · page 1 of 2

Watson in the 1867 Texas voter registration: 83 freedmen

83 freedmen named Watson registered to vote in Texas between 1867 and 1870. Many registered in Grayson County (11), Brazoria County (8) and Caldwell County (5). The birthplaces they reported most often were Texas, North Carolina and Tennessee. The earliest of them reached Texas about 1827.

Map of Texas counties in 1870 with the counties where the Watsons registered highlighted
Counties where freedmen named Watson registered, on the 1870 county map
83
Freedmen
30
Counties
Texas
Largest birthplace
1827
Earliest arrival
1860s
Fullest decade

Where the Watsons registered

Where the Watsons were born

Birthplaces the Watsons reported
BirthplaceFreedmen%
Texas1320%
North Carolina812%
Tennessee812%
Virginia711%
Georgia69%
Mississippi69%
Alabama58%
South Carolina58%
Kentucky46%
Louisiana23%
Arkansas12%
Florida12%

When the Watsons reached Texas

Reported arrival decades for the Watsons
DecadeFreedmen
1820s
1
1830s
2
1840s
24
1850s
23
1860s
30

Every Watson in the register

The Watsons in the register, 1 to 50 of 83
NameCountyBirthplaceReached Texas
Aaron WatsonGuadalupe CountyVirginia1866
Alexander WatsonLeon CountyVirginia1837
Alfred WatsonGuadalupe CountyNorth Carolina1866
Alfred WatsonHill CountyTexas1846
Anderson WatsonCollin CountyKentucky1846
Anderson WatsonGrayson CountyTexas1846
Andrew WatsonBastrop CountyAlabama1855
Augustus WatsonCaldwell CountySouth Carolina1866
Austin WatsonBrazos County1861
Auther WatsonBrazoria CountyTexas1843
Butler WatsonFreestone CountyVirginia1867
Carter WatsonFalls County
Charles WatsonBastrop CountyGeorgia1860
Charles WatsonBastrop CountyGeorgia1864
Charles WatsonBrazoria CountySouth Carolina1857
Charles WatsonGrayson CountyNorth Carolina1855
Charles WatsonMatagorda CountyVirginia1846
Cornelius WatsonHouston CountyMississippi1846
Cyprus WatsonBrazos County1858
Dame WatsonBell County1865
Dock WatsonColorado CountyArkansas1864
Edwin WatsonGrayson CountyTexas1846
Elijah WatsonBrazoria CountyNorth Carolina1842
George WatsonCameron CountyVirginia1866
German WatsonBexar CountyTennessee1862
Green WatsonDavis CountyTennessee1859
Gus WatsonWharton County1866
Haliard WatsonCaldwell CountyAlabama1866
Henry WatsonFalls County
Henry WatsonFreestone CountyTennessee1867
Henry WatsonGrayson CountyKentucky1846
Henry WatsonHays CountyNorth Carolina1866
Henry WatsonMcLennan County1866
Henry WatsonTarrant CountyAlabama1861
Houston WatsonWalker CountyNorth Carolina1852
Hutchings WatsonGrayson CountyTexas1846
Isaac WatsonDavis CountyTennessee1854
Isaac WatsonGonzales County1855
Jack WatsonGuadalupe CountyTennessee1866
Jacob WatsonHarrison CountyGeorgia1854
James WatsonHarrison CountyGeorgia1846
James WatsonHarrison CountySouth Carolina1852
Jeff WatsonFayette CountyGeorgia1857
John WatsonBrazoria CountyVirginia1855
John WatsonDavis CountyLouisiana1851
John WatsonFreestone CountyMississippi1851
John WatsonGrayson CountyTexas1846
John WatsonLeon CountyMississippi1855
Joseph WatsonCaldwell CountyKentucky1866
Joseph WatsonFayette CountyTexas1837

Watson genealogy in Texas

How do I find an ancestor named Watson in Texas?

Start with the county: this is African American genealogy from the register itself. Grayson County holds 11 of the 83, Brazoria County 8. 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 Watsons in Texas come from?

They reported Texas (13), North Carolina (8) and Tennessee (8) as their birthplaces most often. These are the answers the men themselves gave a board of registrars between 1867 and 1870.

Which Texas counties had the most freedmen named Watson?

Grayson County (11), Brazoria County (8), Caldwell County (5). In all, 83 registered across 30 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 Watson appears in the register in more than one form. About Enslaved Texas.

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Watson in the 1867 Texas voter registration: 83 freedmen | Enslaved Texas