The Jefferson Clark family of Leon County, Texas: an online case study (part four)

In this continuing case study, we have explored the use of online resources to research the family of a former slave, Jefferson Clark, of Leon County, Texas. Having learned quite a bit of information about this family using vital and census records, and the 1867 Texas voter registration lists, we then outlined a plan of action for identifying his final slaveowner before being freed, the most important part of researching former slaves. This plan consists of six steps:

1. Search the 1870 federal census of Precinct 3, Leon Co., Texas, for any landowners born in Virginia and Alabama, who are old enough to have owned land in 1858.

2. Search the 1867 voter registration of Precinct 3, Leon Co., Texas, for all men native to Alabama or Virginia, who had also lived in the state, county, and precinct for nine years; and all men identified in Step One.

3. Compare these two lists to the 1860 population schedule for Precinct 3, Leon Co., Texas, to identify which of these men also owned slaves. Identify any other slave owners living in Precinct 3 who were born in Alabama.

4. Search the 1860 slave schedule for each of the slave owners on the list to identify which owned males of the age of Jefferson Clark, and possibly his wife and two children.

5. Search the 1850 population schedule in Alabama, for each of the remaining possibilities.

6. Search the 1850 slave schedule for any of the possibilities to identify which owned males of the age of Jefferson Clark, and possibly his wife and two children.

In the third part of this series, we were able to identify several men living in Leon County, in the vicinity of Jefferson Clark, who were also born in either Alabama or Virginia. We were able to obtain additional information about these men from the 1870 federal census, and the 1867 Texas voter registration lists.

This part will discuss steps three and four in our plan to identify the final slaveowner of Jefferson Clark.

Step Three: Compare these two lists to the 1860 population schedule for Precinct 3, Leon Co., Texas, to identify which of these men also owned slaves. Identify any other slaveowners living in Precinct 3 who were born in Alabama.

Under the presumption that Jefferson Clark’s owner in 1865 survived until 1870, we will follow up to see if any of these men owned slaves in 1860.

· W. J. BOYKIN, age 45, born Alabama; real property value $640, personal property value $415.[1]

· C. C. COLBERT, age 29, born Alabama; real property value $2,800, personal property value $11,660.[2]

· L. B. JOHNSTON, age 30, born Alabama; real property value [none], personal property value $145.[3]

· M. V. MCANELLY, age 27, born Alabama; real property value $1,634, personal property value $700.[4]

· T. J. ODEN, age 30, born Alabama; real property value $600, personal property value $339.[5]

· G. C. ORENBAUM, age 35, born Virginia; real property value $960, personal property value $1,020.[6]

· T. R. ORENBAUM, age 28, born Virginia; real property value $1,280, personal property value $1,200.[7]

· R. BADFORD, age 40, born Alabama; real property value $1,920, personal property value $1,490.[8]

· G. W. TUBBS, age 41, born Alabama; real property value $4,070, personal property value $11,635.[9]

However, recognizing the possibility that Jefferson’s owner may have died between 1865 and 1870, we will also later search the federal census of 1860 to identify any other potential owners, with birthplaces in Alabama or Virginia:

One of the most important ways to discern whether a certain individual was a slave owner by looking at the population schedule of the 1860 federal census, is to examine the value of their personal property. During this times, healthy slaves were often valued at anywhere from $200 (for small children) to $1,000 (for young adult men) each.

The low personal property value attributed to several of these potential slave owners seems to suggest that they were not, in fact, slave owners in 1860. The next step will follow up on this information.

Step Four: Search the 1860 slave schedule for each of the slave owners on the list to identify which owned males of the age of Jefferson Clark, and possibly his wife and two children.

Though the low personal property value attributed to our several potential slave owners would suggest that they did not own slaves, the thorough researcher will conduct a page-by-page search of Schedule Two ("Slave Inhabitants") of the U. S. Census. Schedule Two listed the names of each slave owner in the country, providing the age, gender, and race of each slave owned.

A page-by-page search of the entire slave schedule for Leon County, Texas, reveals that only two of our potential candidates indeed owned slaves in 1860:

C. C. COLBERT[10]

Age	Sex	Race
55	F	B
40	M	B
38	F	B
26	F	B
26	M	B
25	M	B
25	F	B
23	F	B
14	M	B
14	M	B
12	M	B
12	M	B
15	M	B
10	F	B
2	M	B
8	M	B

G. W. TUBBS[11]

Age	Sex	Race
60	F	B
42	F	M
33	F	B
29	M	B
30	M	B
25	M	B
22	F	B
20	F	B
20	M	B
16	M	B
15	M	B
12	F	B
12	F	M
12	F	B
12	F	B
8	M	B
6	M	B
4	M	B
2	F	B

In the next part of this series, we will examine these two men and their slaves more closely, and compare them to the facts that we have confirmed regarding Jefferson Clark and his possible slave owner.

[1] 1860 U. S. Census, Leon Co., Texas, population schedule, Leon Division, Centerville post office, page 74, dwelling 534, family 534, W. J. Boykin; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed Mar 2010); NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 1299.

[2] 1860 U. S. Census, Leon Co., Texas, population schedule, Leon Division, Centerville post office, page 57, stamped page 266, dwelling 409, family 409, C. C. Colbert; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed Mar 2010); NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 1299.

[3] 1860 U. S. Census, Leon Co., Texas, population schedule, Leon Division, Navarro post office, page 60, dwelling 430, family 430, L. B. Johnston; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed Mar 2010); NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 1299.

[4] 1860 U. S. Census, Leon Co., Texas, population schedule, Leon Division, Centerville post office, page 54, dwelling 386, family 386, M. V. McAnelly, A. B. Hardin household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed Mar 2010); NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 1299.

[5] 1860 U. S. Census, Leon Co., Texas, population schedule, Leon Division, Centerville post office, page 30, dwelling 210, family 210, T. J. Oden; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed Mar 2010); NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 1299.

[6] 1860 U. S. Census, Leon Co., Texas, population schedule, Leon Division, Centerville post office, page 60, dwelling 436, family 436, G. C. Orenbaum; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed Mar 2010); NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 1299.

[7] 1860 U. S. Census, Leon Co., Texas, population schedule, Leon Division, Keechil post office, page 65, stamped page 270, dwelling 467, family 467, T. R. Orenbaum; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed Mar 2010); NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 1299.

[8] 1860 U. S. Census, Leon Co., Texas, population schedule, Leon Division, Navarro post office, page 60, dwelling 432, family 432, R. Badford; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed Mar 2010); NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 1299.

[9] 1860 U. S. Census, Leon Co., Texas, population schedule, Leon Division, Centerville post office, page 58, dwelling 410, family 410, G. W. Tubb; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed Mar 2010); NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 1299.

[10] 1860 U. S. Census, Leon Co., Texas, slave schedule, Leon Division, page 21, stamped page 78, column 2, lines 24-39; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed Mar 2010); NARA microfilm publication M653, roll not stated.

[11] 1860 U. S. Census, Leon Co., Texas, slave schedule, Leon Division, page 21, stamped page 78, column 2, lines 40; and page 22, column 2, lines 1-18; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed Mar 2010); NARA microfilm publication M653, roll not stated.