A path to your enslaved ancestors
Research before 1865 requires a different approach. Begin with the state where your ancestors were held (from the first arrivals of the 1600s to Emancipation), then work backward from the 1870 census — the first to name formerly enslaved people.
Texas
Statehood 1845 · Deep South
Anglo-American settlers brought enslaved people into Mexican Texas from the 1820s. Slavery grew rapidly after annexation, and enslavers fled to Texas during the Civil War. Emancipation was announced at Galveston on June 19, 1865, the origin of Juneteenth.
Slavery Research Institutions
Where to Search Texas Records
Open a pre-filled Texas search on each repository. You don't need an account to start.
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Key Records
- County probate minutes, estate inventories and deed records
- Republic of Texas and county tax rolls listing enslaved people
- 1850 & 1860 Slave Schedules
- Freedmen's Bureau field office records (labor contracts, complaints)
- Spanish and Mexican land grants and colony records (Austin's Colony)
Research Tips
- Check the 1860 schedule in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi for wartime 'refugeed' families.
- The Portal to Texas History has free digitised newspapers with sale and runaway notices.
- East Texas cotton counties (Harrison, Smith, Washington) held the largest enslaved populations.
National Resources, 1600s to Emancipation
Databases that cover every state, from the Atlantic crossings to the search for family after freedom.