The following appeared in "The Brazos Genealogist" in Volume XVII Number 4.

Brazos County Deeds

BRAZOS COUNTY DEEDS: Listings for deeds may not be complete. The race of people buying & selling land often was not identified, so it was difficult to identify African Americans in the deed records.

Deed Book H, pp.364-365: Claiborne OVERSTREET (race not stated) sold land to "five trustees of the freeman school" (not named); 10 May 1867; ... in consideration of the sum of $1 to us paid by the trustees of the Freedman M.E. Church in the town of Millican we relinquish all our rights ... L.F. FLETCHER, J.W. WEAVER, M.E. WEAVER

Deed Book 1, p.87: Hannibal R. HALL sold land in Bryan for $37 to Thomas BRYAN ("a man of color"); I Nov. 1867

Deed Book 1, p.359: W.J. BRYAN, by his attorney Guy M. BRYAN, Jr. sold land in Bryan for $75 to the trustees of the Freedmens School in Bryan; 14 Oct. 1868

Deed Book 1, p.362: R. "Dick" CRUTCHER sold land for $30 to Union PILLOW (race not stated), adjoining I acre sold to Wash KNEDALS (freedman); witnessed by Frank CLARKE; 2 Nov. 1868

Deed Book 1, pp.416-417: R. "Dick" CRUTCHER sold land for $20 to Flora KENDELL; witnesses: J.S. PERRY, Jno. HENDERSON; 22 Oct. 1868

Deed Book 1, pp.450-451: W.J. BRYAN, by his attorney Guy M. BRYAN, Jr., sold land for $20 to H. GALLOWAY (freedman); 2 Nov. 1868

Deed Book 1, pp.536-537: W.J. BRYAN, by his attorney Guy M, BRYAN, Jr., sold land for $30 to M. MANLEY (freedman); 3 May 1869

Book K, p.46a: W.J. BRYAN, by his attorney Guy M. BRYAN, sold land for $80 to Geo. STERNE (freedman), next to property of Julius CARSON (race not stated); 11 Oct. 1869

Book L, pp.31-32: T.T. SMOTHERS & his wife M.E. SMOTHERS sold land to Philis MILLER (race not stated); bordered land of "Freedman BUCKLY"

Book L, p.215: W.J. BRYAN, by his attorney Guy M. BRYAN, Jr., sold land in "Freedman Town" for $10 to Morgan CANTON (race not stated); witnessses Saml. HOFFMAN, Adam CLAY; 2 Mar. 1869

Book L, p.325: J.T. LAHUE & his wife S. LAHUE sold land to Willis VANHOOK & Charles AVERHART; 10 July 1869

Book L, p.326: Charles AVERYHART sold Willis VANHOOK a house in Woodville near Bryan, which had been purchased from John LAHUE; 29 Sept. 1869

Book L, p.344: Harvey MITCHELL sold land near Bryan for $25 to Haywood CALHOUN (race not stated), adjacent to a lot on which Alfred SMITH (freedman) resided; 24 Oct. 1870

Deed Book M, p.39: W.J. BRYAN, by his attorney Guy M. BRYAN, Jr., sold land for $20 to Noon (or Noonan) PILLOW (race not stated) in Freedman Town; 24 Mar. 1870

Deed Book M, p.203: Jack DURHAM (f.m.c) & his wife Mariah DURHAM sold land for $40 to Noon PILLOW (race not stated); was part of land sold to Jack DURHAM by H. MITCHELL; bordered land of Washington KNOX; 12 Aug. 1871

Deed Book M, p.204b: Jack DURHAM (f.m.c.) & his wife Mariah sold land for $50 to Washington KNOX (f.m.c), 12 Aug. 1871

Deed Book M, p.248b: W.J. BRYAN, by his attorney Guy M. BRYAN, Jr., sold land for $20 to Mack TAYLOR (freedman); 18 Oct. 1867

Deed Book N, p.98b: P.R. PIERCE sold land to Willis VANHOOK (race not stated) for $110, next to land sold to Dick WHARTON (race not stated); 19 June 1872

1868 Tax Roll

The 1868 Brazos County Tax Roll identifies African Americans as "fmc" -- free men of color. The following list includes the names of those African Americans shown as owning real estate.

  • BROWN, Pleasant — 1 lot Millican $10
  • BRYAN, Thomas — 1 lot Bryan $75
  • BATTS, Sam — 1 lot Millican $50
  • CURTIS, Stephen — 2 acres $285
  • DICKSON, Tom — 1 lot Millican $150
  • FRANKLIN, James — 1 lot Millican $100
  • HAWTHORNE, Wm. — 1 lot Millican $70
  • JOHNSON, Wm. — 2 acres $75
  • JEFFERSON, Enoch — 1 acre $80
  • LEWIS, Andy — 1 lot Bryan $75
  • MARSHALL, Washington — 1 1/2 acre $60
  • MILLER, Jerry — 1 acre $60
  • OVERSTREET, Claiborne — 90 ? acres $90
  • PERRY, Berry — 1 acre $40
  • ROSO ?, John — 1 acre $75
  • STETTO ?, James — house & lot $100
  • SHELTON, James — 6 acres $200
  • SHELDON, Stephen — house & lot in Bryan $500 ?
  • SCOTT, Alick — 4 acres $110
  • SIMMS, Michael — 300 acres ? $800
  • WATSON, Austin — 2 acres $80

Many of the men who owned 1-6 acres owned land originally granted to E.M. MILLICAN.

1870 Census

The 1870 census, as transcribed by Mary COLLIE-COOPER, identifies individuals by race. The census also shows the amount of real estate and personal estate each individual owns. This list copies those names shown as owning real estate.

None of these names match the names from the 1868 tax roll; something seems to have happened.

  • p. 3: LOVE, J.
  • p. 13: WHITE, John
  • p. 14: HAYMAN, B.
  • p. 14: TALLEY, G.
  • p. 38: JOHNSON, S.
  • p. 41: McNOLAN, J.
  • p. 41: ADAMS, Jas.
  • p. 42: COCKRAM,R.
  • p. 42: MASON, B.
  • p. 42: WALKER, V.
  • p. 42: WILSON, Tom
  • p. 42: KNOX,W.
  • p. 43: STROTHER, Geo.
  • p. 59: FANTINN, Richd.
  • p. 59: JACKSON, Griffin
  • p. 61: VANHOOK, Willie
  • p. 61: WILLIAMS, Lewis
  • p. 61: EVERHART, Frank
  • p. 66: WILSON, John
  • p. 67: KENDALL, Flora
  • p. 69: GARDNER, Danl.
  • p. 69: MIX, Jane
  • p. 69: TAYLOR, Mack
  • p. 69: GALLOWAY, Henry
  • p. 70: McCULLOUGH, Dean
  • p. 70: TAYLOR, Payton
  • p. 92: KADE, Moses
  • p. 92: HUNTER, John
  • p. 103: BROWN, Danl.
  • p. 149: TURNER, Gabriel