African American Resources for Texas

Introduction
A list of resources for African American research of ancestors who lived in Texas.

Online Resources

 * The Handbook of Texas Search for information on slaves, slave owners, plantations, local history, churches, historical events, etc.

History
Freedmen Towns After slavery, African Americans went on to establish towns in Texas.


 * Africa (Shelby County)
 * Barrett (Harris County)
 * Capote (Guadalupe County)
 * Clarksville (Austin)
 * Cologne(Goliad County)
 * Cuney (Cherokee County)
 * Deep Ellum (Dallas)
 * Downsville (McLennan County)
 * Fifth Ward (Houston)
 * Fourth Ward (Houston)
 * Good Hope (Lavaca County)
 * Grant's Colony (Walker County)
 * Hufsmith (Harris County)
 * Kincheonville (Austin)
 * Jakes Colony (Guadalupe County)
 * Jones Colony (Lee County)
 * Lincolnville (Coryell County)
 * Masontown(Austin)
 * Mission Valley (Medina County)
 * Mount Gillion (Shelby County)
 * Nigton (Trinity County)
 * Peyton (Blanco County)
 * Quakertown (Denton)
 * The Ridge (Gregg County)
 * Shankleville (Newton County)
 * Shiloh (Gregg County)
 * Wheatville(Austin)

Officials and Employees

Brewer, John Mason. Negro Legislators of Texas and Their Descendants: a history of the Negro in Texas Politics from Reconstruction to Disfanchisement. FHL976.4F2bjm 1970

University of Texas (San Antonio). Institute of Texas Cultures. Residents of Texas, 1782-1836. 3 Vol. Vol 3 contains contains mostly translated summaries documenting the Black experience in Texas. Included are land grant requests, wills, and testaments, letters of freedom and contracts of the sale of slaves. FHL976.4 D2rte Vol 1-3.

Tyler, Ronnie C. and Lawrence R. Murphy. The Slave Narratives of Texas. Austin: Encino Press, 1974. FHL 976.4 D3sl

Cemeteries

 * African American Cemeteries Online

Oral Histories

 * Texas Slave Narratives
 * Oral Histories Recorded at the Gregory School
 * Houston Area Digital Public Library

School Records
The Gregory School Historical collections at The Gregory School include:

• Access to Houston Public Library databases and indexes • Books • Pamphlets • Periodicals • Photographs • Oral history recordings • Manuscripts • Newspapers and clippings • Personal family archives and • Ephemera documenting Houston’s African American History and culture.

Slavery Records
[http://www.jstor.org/stable/2140047?&Search=yes&searchText=louisiana&searchText=slavery&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dslavery%2Blouisiana%26gw%3Djtx%26acc%3Don%26prq%3Dvoter%2527s%2Blouisiana%26Search%3DSearch%26hp%3D25%26wc%3Don&prevSearch=&item=10&ttl=1325&returnArticleService=showFullText Slavery in Early Texas. I] Lester G. Bugbee Political Science Quarterly Vol. 13, No. 3 (Sep., 1898) (pp. 389-412) Page Count: 24

Texas Runaway Slave Project. East Texas Research Center

Voting Registers
Voter's Registrations of 1867

The 1867 Voter Registration includes names of voters who registered in the period between 1867 and 1869. In cases where African Americans registered, their race is specified as "colored." Voter's registrations are among the few records which document African American males prior to 1870. The following information is included:


 * Name
 * Place of residence
 * Precinct
 * Length of residence (in state, in county, in precinct)
 * Native country or state
 * If naturalized, how, when, and where
 * General Remarks--race is noted when the registrant was "colored"

The records are categorized by county. When searching, pay close attention to other individuals with the same surname. They may be related. In some cases, whites with the same name may be members of the former slave holding family. Voters' Registrations of 1867 are available on microfilm at the Texas State Archives.

Archives and Libraries
The African American Library at the Gregory School Houston's first colored public school, located in historic Freedmen's Town, serves as a resource and repository to preserve, promote and celebrate the rich history and culture of African Americans in Houston, the surrounding region and the African Diaspora.

Societies
Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. Willie Lee Gay - H-Town Chapter 11100 Braesridge, Suite 2202 Houston, Texas 77071 aahgshtown@yahoo.com