Slave Database
Matagorda County, Texas

PART 4

In memory of those who were forcibly taken from their homelands, enslaved, primarily known only by a single name, buried in unmarked graves and forgotten.
 

Matagorda County was a land of plantations prior to the War Between the States. In the 1850 Federal Census, 1157 Matagorda County residents were enumerated by name as well as 916 slaves.  By 1860 there were 2144 residents plus 1348 slaves. Few records exist from that era, but some probate records included names of slaves. The slave names in the probate records were listed by first name only.

Due to the length of the list, you will need to search four pages individually. The first includes records from plantations, probates, brands, cemeteries and baptisms from Christ Church in Matagorda. The second page contains names from the Matagorda County 1867 Voters' Registration in which only men were able to register to vote. The third page contains the names of black and mulatto residents of Matagorda County enumerated on the 1870 Federal Census--the first census in which they were listed by name.

There was only one freedman in Matagorda County until the end of the war. Persons with birth dates previous to the end of the war were included in the index with the assumption that all were slaves until freed.

If you have additions or corrections, please email.

PART 1               PART 2               PART 3              PART 4
 

References

The number at the end of each indexed name is the reference from which the name was obtained. A link associated with the reference indicates there is more information in that database elsewhere on the Matagorda County site.

001 - Slaves willed to Alexander Irvin Rugeley by his father John Rugeley, *p 32
002 - Matagorda County Brand Book Volume 1
003 - Probate inventory (24 Feb 1837) of Bailey Hardeman (died 24 Sep 1836), Matagorda County Clerk's office, *p 33
004 - Will of John Henry Jones, Jr., May 5, 1862 (probated March 18, 1864), Matagorda County Clerk's office, *p 29
005 - December 10, 1846 shipping manifest for the ship St. Paul from New Orleans to Matagorda County, James W. Stewart-Shipper, Owner, Agency; *pp 42 - 46
006 - Will of Mary Ann Pledger, November 10, 1856 (rendered December 16 1856), Matagorda County Clerk's office, Book C, page 335, *pp 26-27
007 - James William Stewart's will (1850), Matagorda County Clerk's office, probate records, Inventory and Appraisements, Book B, pp 172-177, *pp 43-46
008 - Will of Captain Richard Stewart (02 Apr 1837), Greensville County wills, Volume 5, p. 167, *p 46
009 - James William Stewart final inventory (31 Jan 1853) Matagorda County Clerk's office - four infants born on the plantation after will was written, *p 47
010 - Inventoried in the estate of Lewis Thorp in charge of John L. Thorp, *p 49
011 - Slaves of William Gray Warren from records of Dr. James R. Thompson of Matagorda who served Mr. Warren's plantation, *pp 52-53
012 - Inventory of Elbert A. Thompson (died 1852). Filed 17 Sep 1852 and recorded in the Matagorda County Clerk's office, Book B, pp 216-221. His wife, Ann Taliferro Thompson married Dr. R. H. Chinn in 1856 and the plantation became known as Chinn-Thompson Plantation., *pp 54-55
013 - Inventory and Appraisement of the estate of George John Bowie filed in the Matagorda County Clerk's office, 16 October 1861, Inventory Book C, pp 91-93. Willed to his wife Frances S. Bowie., *p 60
014 - Will of Henry Gibson 18 Aug 1860 and estate inventory 15 Aug 1862., *p 65
015 - John D. Hawkins, Jr. and James B. Hawkins owned a plantation together and the lists are dated 1852. The slaves of John D. Hawkins, Jr. were moved from Swan Lake Plantation in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. Some of the slave originally came from the John D. Hawkins, Sr. Spring Grove Estate in Franklin County, North Carolina., *pp 68-70
016 - Slaves of Mrs. S. M. Alston in possession of James D. Hawkins in 1852., *p 70
017 - Records of John S. Sanborn. Daily Record of Passing Events June 23-29, 1861 and Daily Record of Cotton Picked October 4-9, 1858, *pp 71-72
018 - Peter Walter Herbert probate records filed Matagorda County Clerk's office passed in Matagorda Commissioners' Court 3 August 1849, *p 73
019 - Inventory and Appraisement of Roberta A. Ewing's Estate, filed in the Matagorda County Clerk's office on 23 August 1862, *pp 74-75
020 - Baptism Records of Christ Episcopal Church, Matagorda, Texas
021 - 1867 Voters' Registration
022 - Bethlehem Christian Church Cemetery
023 - Deadrick Cemetery
024 - Gatson Cemetery
025 - Grove Hill Cemetery
026 - Hudgins Cemetery
027 - East View Cemetery
028 - Jones-Jackson Cemetery
029 - Live Oak Cemetery
030 - Norman Family Cemetery
031 - Union Baptist Church Cemetery - Ashwood
032 - Union Baptist Church Cemetery - Pledger
033 - Wilson Creek Cemetery
034 - Matagorda Cemetery
035 - Matagorda County Tribune, October 29, 1915
036 - Matagorda County death certificate #1930-29681
037 - 1870 Federal Census
038 - Slaves of John Duncan, *p 31
039 - Eastview Cemetery
040 - Matagorda Cemetery
041 - Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery
042 - Thelma Brown Smith Biography
043 - Hilda Bouldin Francis Biography
044 - Christ Church Marriages 1840 - 1874
045 - Mystic Sails and Texas Trails by Robert Davant
046 - September 11, 1843 - Bill of sale that records the sale of 31 named enslaved individuals for $13,920 from Henry Gibson to Reading S. Blount - Courtesy of Danielle Linn

*Canebrake Settlements 1822 - 1870: Colonists, Plantations, Churches by Mary McAllister Ingram, c 2006, printed by Lyle Printing.
 

Copyright 2014 - Present by Carol Sue Gibbs
All rights reserved

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