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

This case study will demonstrate several of the techniques and record groups discussed in earlier entries of this column, as well as new techniques and record groups.

The first part of this article identified the family of Jeff Clark, living in Leon County, Texas, using Texas death certificates for his children, and federal census records from 1870 through 1930. Using these records, we were able to identify his parents, Jeff and Mary Clark, in the 1870 federal census.

An often-overlooked, yet vital record group for African-American genealogy during the Reconstruction era is the voter registration taken from 1867 through 1869 for all former Confederate states, as required by the U. S. Congress. With few exceptions, these vital registration lists are the earliest sources for information on former slaves, freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. Digital images of the Texas registration lists, scanned from the microfilm held by the Texas State Archives and Library, are now available for download as e-books. To see the entire collection of Texas voter registration lists available for purchase, visit the author's site.

A “Jefferson Clark” registered to vote on 8 August 1867 in Leon County, Texas. The registration contains the following information, extracted here:[1]

Date of Registry: 8 August 1867

Name: Jefferson Clark

Place of Residence: Leon County

Precinct: 3

Time of Residence –

In state: 9

In county: 9

In precinct: 9

Native: Alabama

Naturalized –

How: [blank]

When: [blank]

Where: [blank]

Signature of Elector: Jefferson Clark

General Remarks: Colored

It seems likely that this “Jefferson Clark” is the same “Jeff Clark” who lived in Leon County in 1870 and died prior to 1880. This Jefferson Clark is reportedly a native of Alabama, where the 1870 Jeff Clark was also reportedly born. The 1900 and 1910 census records for Jeff Clark, this Jeff’s probable son, disagree with these places, stating instead that the elder Jeff was born in Virginia. Though the voter registration does not corroborate this fact, these clues should still be noted.

The registration further reports that Jefferson Clark had been a resident of the state, county, and precinct for nine years. This is a very important clue to his origins. It asserts that Jefferson moved directly to Precinct 3 of Leon County, Texas, in 1858. Assuming that Jefferson Clark was formerly enslaved, this means that he would have moved with his slave owner, from Alabama, in that year. It is extremely likely that Jefferson’s former owner owned land in Precinct 3 of Leon County, Texas. We now have several clues that will help lead to an identification of Jefferson’s former owner. This is a vital step, as records prior to the end of the Civil War, including any record of Jefferson’s early life and family, would only be found among the property records of the slave owner.

Here is what we know:

· Jefferson Clark was born in either Virginia or Alabama, around 1826.

· Jefferson Clark lived in Alabama until about 1858.

· Jefferson’s son Jeff was also reportedly born in Alabama, around ca. 1845-1850.

We can infer several additional facts concerning Jefferson’s former slave owner using these records:

· The slave owner owned land in Alabama prior to 1858.

· The slave owner may have purchased land in Precinct 3, Leon Co., Texas, in 1858.

· The slave owner may have been born in either Virginia or Alabama.

In order to narrow down the field of possibilities, we should take the following 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.

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.

These steps will be taken in the next part of this case study.

[1] Leon County, Texas, Voters’ Registration, 1867, folio 112, entry 147, Jefferson Clark; digital image, reproduced in Michael Hait, compiler, Leon County, Texas, 1867 Voters’ Registration Lists, pub. 2009; e-book/PDF download, Scribd (http://www.scribd.com/doc/23695411/Leon-County-Texas-1867-Voters-Registration-Lists : accessed 5 Jan 2010), pp. 13-14.