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The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. ***************************************************************** Originally published in the East Texas Family Records, Volume IV, Number 1, Spring 1981, by East Texas Genealogical Society. NACOGDOCHES COUNTY BY CAROLYN ERICSON. F.T.S.G.S Nacogdoches County was the parent county for twenty-four counties in East Texas. If your family was in Texas quite early, you probably will find them mentioned in court records in Nacogdoches County. Researchers in these old records will be pleased and surprised at the scope of records available. Many documents are unique and different from any found in Texas counties formed after 1836. The Nacogdoches Archives are a collection of documents dating from 1763 to 1836. Unfortunately, they are almost entirely in Archaic Spanish. A typed copy of these records is in the Stephen F. Austin University Library. A copy is also in the State Archives. R. B. Blake, a court reporter from Nacogdoches, spent his spare time for many years transcribing much of the Nacogdoches Archives into English. He also included other items, such as biographical sketches of prominent East Texas families, tombstone inscriptions, muster rolls and other items of interest on Nacogdoches County. Mr. Blake's untimely death prevented the completion of his work. There are 93 bound volumes of the R. B. Blake Collection available in the Special Collections Room of the SFA Library. Copies may also be found in the Houston Library, University of Texas Library, Texas State Library and one at the Alamo Library in San Antonio. The documents in Blake are very reliable, but when he starts giving biographies of local settlers, errors begin to creep in. He printed what was given to him and often his informant was in error. If you use the Blake volumes, the biographical information must be used only as a guide for further research. Included in the Nacogdoches Archives are the census records for the Nacogdoches District, beginning in 1792. The territory under the jurisdiction of Nacogdoches in 1792 ranged from the Gulf of Mexico on the south to the Red River on the north and from the Sabine River on the east to the Trinity River on the west. Records of inhabitants of the Neutral Territory are also found very early. The Spanish took an annual census which gave the names of the wife and children as well as the head of household. The wife's maiden name was given and in event of the death of the husband, the wife assumed her maiden name. Care must be taken when examining the early Spanish records. If you find a widow with her children, it is necessary to go backward in these records until you find her living with her husband and the same children. Hopefully, the husband did not die before the 1792 census or this information is lost. The Spanish also took an annual census from 1792 until 1799. Internal strife and revolution made the census records sporadic after this time. There is a census record for 1804, 1805, 1806 and 1809. The next census appears in 1826, five years after Mexican Independence. The last Mexican census was in 1836. No census records are available during the period of the Republic of Texas, and the next census to give the names of the entire family was the first Federal Census of 1850. After Texas joined the Union there was a state census taken in 1847. There was also one in 1848 according to existing records. The 1847 census for Nacogdoches County is extant, but I have been unable to locate the remainder of the State census records. It is possible that the originals of this census were left in each county courthouse. Perhaps someday they will surface and become available to the researcher. This record gives the head of household, males over 18 and under 45, males under 18, males over 45, females and number of slaves. This record can be very helpful because it partially fills the void between the 1836 census and that of 1850. The most recent innovation to census research is the computer printout. These records speed up research in the census records, but if you do not find your ancestor in the index, perhaps you had better check the microfilm yourself. It is very difficult to be familiar with all of the names and often the old writing is impossible to read. Occasionally a family is missed in the index, so do check the microfilm if you feel sure that your family was living in a certain area. The researcher needs to be aware that census records are not complete and not entirely accurate. Data included is only as reliable as the person giving the information and the accuracy of the enumerator. Frequently the enumerator went to a house and the family was not at home and he just never went back. A record which is an excellent supplement to the census records are the various tax lists for the county. The records for Nacogdoches County begin with 1837. A family might be missed on the census records, but if they owned property in the county, they should show up on the tax lists. I have microfilm of the Nacogdoches Tax Lists from 1837 to 1912. These are not available in the County Tax Office. Their "early" tax records begin with 1932! These records are available for purchase from the Texas State Library in Austin. For many years Nacogdoches was one of the three ports of entry to Texas. Early Spanish immigration laws - not aimed at encouraging foreign immigration - compelled foreigners to register and apply for citizenship when they first entered Texas. The Decree of 1784 directed that each foreigner be examined and reports be given expressing clearly and distinctly their Christian and surname, their nationalities, the place of their birth, their conditions, their present residence, the size of the family of each and number of their children, their real estate, the professions, occupations or employments in which they were engaged, and the time that had elapsed between their arrival in Texas and the preparation of the lists. This citizenship application is a gold mine of data. Copies of these applications are located in the Special Collections Room of the SFA Library and in the Texas Archives in Austin. The Entrance Certificates of 1835 prove to be very helpful also. The immigrant was required to come before the authorities and give his age, marital status, religion and swear he would not try to overthrow the Mexican government. Often men obtained an Entrance Certificate in Nacogdoches and hastened on their way to other parts of Texas. The Oath of Allegiance did not deter them from fighting a few months later to free Texas. A typed copy of these certificates is found in R. B. Blake's collection and the originals are on file in the State Archives. Approximately 850 Entrance Certificates were issued to immigrants during this time period. Land records of Texas are a valuable source of information. In 1804 some 68 foreigners lived in Texas and most of them near Nacogdoches. They held no legal titles to their land, but were not molested. In 1806 the Spanish permitted subjects of the Spanish crown to immigrate to Texas from the neighboring territory of Louisiana. Refugees from Louisiana, provided they were Catholic and provided they were not Negroes or mulattos, were permitted to settle along the banks of the Guadalupe River, at San Antonio, or at LaBahia, but not at Nacogdoches. The government felt that the latter settlement could not offer them security and that they would be a source of trouble involving those who remained in nearby Louisiana. Three years later this permission was withdrawn and the door to foreign immigrants was again tightly closed. Fear of French infiltration was the reason usually cited for the change in policy. Texas authorities continued to press for permission to allow, even encourage, immigration from Louisiana, but their wishes were officially ignored. Again, in 1813, by order of the Commandant-General of the Province of Texas, all foreign refugees from Louisiana were to be apprehended and expelled. From 1803 to 1821 scores, perhaps hundreds of persons, some Spanish subjects - others not - crossed back and forth freely from Louisiana into Texas. Most of them ultimately returned to Louisiana, but many remained in Texas around Nacogdoches and San Augustine, at San Antonio, at Goliad and along the Guadalupe River. In 1806 the population of Nacogdoches was 891; in 1823 the population was only 200 due to the exodus following the filibustering expeditions. In 1828 the figure was up to 1000 and by 1834 the population had jumped to 3500. In 1823 a Mexican Colonization Policy was promulgated at the time of the application by Stephen F. Austin. Under the 1932 law all immigrants were required to profess the Roman Catholic religion and those who qualified were guaranteed their civil liberties, civil rights and property rights. To encourage further immigration, the Mexican National Congress passed a new colonization law on August 18, 1824. After setting forth a few very general principles the new law left the details to the state legislatures. Among the most important principles were those guaranteeing the security of persons and property for immigrants, limiting the amount of land that could be held by any one person and prohibiting absentee land ownership. This meant that further colonization of Texas would be under the direction of the State of Coahuila y Texas created by a national law May 7, 1824, combining the two old Spanish provinces Coahuila and Texas. They were to remain combined until the population of Texas became large enough to warrant a separate state government. The state government was installed at Saltillo, where on March 24, 1825 a general colonization law for the state was enacted. The state law of 1825 invited immigrants, requiring that they furnish satisfactory evidence of their Catholic beliefs, morality and good habits. They might settle as individual families or in groups of families through an empresario. Each family would be granted, upon payment of several nominal fees, a square league of land (4,428 acres). Settlers were required to cultivate or occupy the land within six years. Native-born Mexicans might purchase for nominal fees as much as eleven leagues, and empresarios might receive for each hundred families they settled up to a maximum of 800, as much as five leagues and five labors of land. Single men could receive only one fourth as much land as heads of families until they married; whereupon they would receive a full grant. Those who married Mexican citizens could receive one-fourth more. An important era of colonization for Texas began in 1821 with the coming of Austin's first settlers and ended with a decree of the provisional government of Texas in November 1835 when all land offices were ordered closed. The colonists were distributed from the Sabine to the Nueces Rivers, but an overwhelming majority of them were located east of the Guadalupe river and south of the old road from San Antonio to Nacogdoches. The Constitution of 1836 provided for a General Land Office to administer the lands of the Lone Star Republic. The first Texas Congress approved this legislation and the General Land Office was opened in February 1837. In the course of its ten-year existence, the Republic of Texas appropriated 30 million acres of its public domain. The Board of land Commissioner Records for Nacogdoches County give much valuable information. Many men applied for land before the Commissioners in Nacogdoches or San Augustine and took up land in other sections of the state. A number of men show up in these records who did not show up in tax lists or census records for the county. The type of land grant will give you a clue to when the immigrant came to Texas and to his marital status. To obtain a First Class Headright, the individual must have been living in Texas prior to the Declaration of Independence. The Second Class Headrights went to those who came after the Declaration of Independence, but prior to October 1, 1837, provided they remained in the Republic three years and performed the duties of citizenship. Third Class Headrights were granted to those who immigrated after October 1, 1837 and before January 1, 1842. It should be noted, however, that Third Class Headrights were granted to those who came with the various colonies. Those who came with the Peters Colony received third class grants issued in 1850. Very few of this group were in Texas by 1842. Fourth Class certificates were issued to immigrants who arrived in Texas after January 1, 1840 and before January 1, 1842. Young men who were permanent residents and who became 17 years of age before January 1, 1840 were also eligible for this certificate. The recipient was required to perform the duties of a citizen for three years. It is also possible to tell the marital status by the amount of land granted to the applicant. Early Spanish and Mexican regulations gave the married man one league and one labor of land which equals 4,605 acres. The single man was given 1/4 of a league, or 1,107.1 acres of land. Subsequent land laws changed the portion for the single man to 1/3 of a league. Many times in the earlier records for Nacogdoches County you will notice the grant for 369 acres of land. This is the difference between 1/4 and 1/3 of a league. If they immigrated early and received 1/4 of a league, they appeared before the Board of Land Commissioners and applied for the balance of their land. The Second Class certificates gave the married man 1,280 acres of land and the single man 640 acres. Later laws gave the married man 640 acres and the single man 320 acres. These land records can tell the experienced researcher many things about an individual. One section of the Nacogdoches Board of land Commissioners minutes also gives the county in which the applicant applied for the grant. These land records are very valuable because they give an idea as to when the individual migrated to Texas. The records are complete for both Nacogdoches and San Augustine Counties. Nacogdoches land grant records are available in book form, but the San Augustine records have never been printed. Death Certificates for Nacogdoches County begin with 1903. Early records give date of death and cause, but do not give the names of parents or spouse or cemetery in which the subject is buried. In about 1925 the Death Certificates began giving the parents of the person and the location of the grave. The Parish register of the Catholic Church has records of deaths back to 1847. The Catholic Church in Texas did not become a Diocese until 1847 after Texas joined the Union. Parish records for the Catholic Church, therefore, begin with 1847 when they began recording births and deaths locally. Catholic records for Nacogdoches prior to 1847 have never been located. These records would be tremendously valuable because all of the early immigrants were required to become Catholic or they could not receive land. The County Clerk's office contains a complete file of records dating back to 1837. Some deed records predate 1837. Many family connections can be established and proved by early wills, deeds or estate settlements. Muster Rolls for those who fought in the Texas Revolution are on file in the Special Collections Room in the SFA Library. Many men who came to Texas to aid in the struggle for independence took their oath of allegiance in Nacogdoches. At least 25 men who died at the Alamo started their Texas military career in Nacogdoches. Recently a little book was found in the County Clerk's office which listed discharged soldiers who were given land grants in Nacogdoches County in 1836 and 1837. There are 175 names on this list. The 1870 Muster Roll of Reserve Militia for Nacogdoches County has been transcribed and printed. This group was very much like the National Guard of today. The State Legislature enacted a law on June 24, 1870 which provided for this Reserve Militia. All able-bodied male citizens between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, residing in the State and not exempted by the laws of the United States, were subject to military duty. Those excepted were persons already in the army or navy of the United States or ministers and preachers of the gospel, professors of colleges, and school teachers and judges of the several courts and justices of the peace in this state. Others exempted were those who had served five years or more in active service in the militia or State Guards or persons then actually serving in the State Police. This list is a fairly complete list of male citizens between the ages of 18 and 45 - both black and white. Copies of Nacogdoches Confederate Muster Rolls are also found in the Special Collections Room of the S.F.A. Library. The 1st and 5th Regiments of infantry served from the East Texas area. State Archives Muster Roll #394 gives a list of 13 companies that have volunteered from Nacogdoches County for the month of March 1862. Each company had between 75 and 100 men; so approximately 1000 to 1300 men served from this county at that time. This does not take into consideration those Nacogdoches boys who volunteered and served with men of Shelby, San Augustine, Angelina, Rusk or other surrounding counties. However, it does include boys from other counties who volunteered for service in Nacogdoches County. Another Record of interest is the muster roll of 102 men who were organized into a company of volunteer Militia Infantry as a reserve for home protection. These Civil War records of Nacogdoches County have been compiled in book form in a volume called THE PEOPLE OF NACOGDOCHES COUNTY IN THE CIVIL WAR. Several group pictures are included and fifty-four individual pictures of veterans are found. The cemeteries of Nacogdoches County have been catalogued and records from 101 of them have been printed in book form. The card file of cemetery records as well as other research records of Nacogdoches County are available in my own library. The Texas State Highway Department has available to the public, maps of each county showing public roads, bridges, railroads, towns and cemeteries. Full- scale maps of Nacogdoches County - 2 sheets 36" x 50" - sell for $2.00 per set. Half-scale maps 18" x 35" sell for 50¢ and quarter-scale maps 12" x 14" sell for 20¢. These are very valuable because they show the little out-of-the way cemeteries and their location. You may obtain these maps by writing to the Texas Highway Department, P.O. Box 5051, West Austin Station, Austin, Texas 78763. Land grant maps are also available for the counties from the General Land Office in Austin. These large maps sell for $5.00 each, plus 25¢ tax and 75¢ for a mailing tube if you do not wish them folded. They are very interesting and show early land grants. If your family came to Texas prior to 1836, they possibly obtained a Spanish land grant. A little book which is invaluable for these records is INDEX TO SPANISH AND MEXICAN LAND GRANTS IN TEXAS by Virginia Taylor. This volume gives the name of the settler receiving the grant, the date of the title, the amount of land, the colony in which it was located and present location. Names are listed alphabetically by surname, thus it is a simple proposition to check to see if your ancestor was given such a grant. Counties represented by the East Texas Genealogical Society which were formed whole from Nacogdoches County are Rusk County in 1843 and Smith County in 1846. Henderson County was formed out of parts of Houston and Nacogdoches County in 1846. Nacogdoches County was the parent county for Houston County out of which Anderson County was formed in 1846. Panola County, formed in 1846, was created out of Harrison and Shelby counties. Shelby County was an old Mexican Municipality and like Nacogdoches, an original county. Gregg County, in 1873, was created out of Rusk and Upshur Counties, both of which were originally formed out of Nacogdoches County. Thus, it is important to remember in your genealogical research that counties have their own genealogies too, and that Nacogdoches County, in the Pine Belt of East Texas, may be the early home of your ancestors who came ot the state while it was still known as the Republic of Texas. *Ed. The library of the University of Texas at Tyler has the three-roll microfilm prepared by the University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures, at San Antonio, in 1979. This microfilm contains the Nacogdoches Census Reports from 1792 through 1835. Each census is given in a typewritten translation, followed by a facsimile of the original Spanish document. Genealogies of Counties of Interest |Angelina-1846 |Cherokee-1846 |Dallas-1846 | |Kaufman-1848---|Rockwall-1873 |Henderson-1846---------| | |Van Zandt-1848-|Wood-1850 |Rains-1870 | | |Rains-1870 |Hopkins-1846-----------|Delta-1870 | Nacogdoches-----| |Anderson-1846 1836 |Houston-1837-----------|Henderson-1846 | |Trinity-1850 | |Hunt-1846--------------|Rains-1870 | |Rusk-1843--------------|Gregg-1873 |Smith-1846 | |Gregg-1873 |Upshur-1846------------| | |Camp-1874 | | |Marion-1860 |Harrison-1839----------|Upshur-1846 Shelby----------| |Panola-1846 1836 | |Panola-1846