1867 Voter Registration look-up
1867-1870 Voter Registration look-up tables
In 1867, the 40th United States Congress passed the Reconstruction Acts, which laid out the requirements for former Confederate States to rejoin the Union. To regain statehood, former Confederate State governments were required to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Each state was also ordered to draft a new state constitution for congressional approval. Congress sought to ensure that the Southern states adhered to new laws concerning universal male suffrage and decreed a specific process for the establishment of new state constitutions. The first step required that the commanding Union officer in each district of military rule compile a list of qualified voters within each county. These lists would be used to determine who would be eligible to vote in the state’s Constitutional Convention. Voters swore an oath that they were legally allowed to vote and supported the laws and government of the United States. Voters were disqualified if they were former members of executive or judicial offices in any state, had been a member of a state legislature, had committed a felony, or had served in the Confederate government or armed forces. The eligibility of each voter was determined by the county’s military district commander.
The Texas Secretary of State voter registration lists, compiled from 1867 to 1870, record the date of registration and the name of the registrant, along with place of residence; precinct number; length of residency in the state, county, and precinct; place of birth; naturalization information, including how, when, and where; signature; and general remarks by the military district commander. General remarks varied, but often indicate if a voter was “colored,” “disloyal” (former Confederate), disqualified, Mexican, armed, or registered in another county.
The records are numbered as microfilmed and titled based on microfilm frame number. Film frame numbers start at zero rather than one and numbering includes calibration/introductory frames. Some pages required filming twice to correct errors, and both versions have been kept. For convenience microfilm frames have been sorted by county. The voter names within each county are listed in the order in which individuals registered. For information on which counties can be found on specific reels, please consult the online finding aid.
The buttons below will take you to the voter registration information look-up tables, separated by microfilm roll number. It may be necessary to access multiple look-up tables to find an individual as counties may be located on multiple microfilm rolls. Each table allows you to search by page number, given name, surname, birthplace, date of registration, residence location, and county. Information used to compile the look-up tables was provided by Ancestry.com. Information was not reviewed for accuracy. These look-up tables are provided to facilitate access to pages only. Refer to the actual record page for authoritative information in the record.
