Part 8, Note 3

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Ninth Census of the United States (1870) Colorado County, Texas, Schedule 1; Mike Kingston, ed., 1994-1995 Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide (Dallas: The Dallas Morning News, 1993), p. 331; S. T. Burney to Edmund J. Davis, June 22, 1870, Edmund J. Davis Records (RG 301) Archives Division, Texas State Library; Colorado County Bond and Mortgage Records, Book G, pp. 232, 233; Contract with Freedmen, James H. Wooten Collection (Ms. 14), Archives of the Nesbitt Memorial Library, Columbus. The 1870 census listed 978 white persons and 688 black persons who owned either real estate or other property. These white persons owned real estate totaling $1,649,035 and personal property totaling $608,657; the black persons $9,960 and $10,479. Of these persons, 873 whites and 678 blacks were identified as heads of households. The 873 whites owned $1,474,295 in real estate and $560,806 in other property; the 678 blacks $9,310 in real estate and $9,849 in other property. Of the black heads of household, 572 listed no assets at all.
    From 1860 until 1870, Colorado County's population grew by 5.6%. This must be considered as very slight when measured against the state's overall population growth of 35.5%. Colorado County's growth outpaced only one of its immediate neighbors, Wharton County, which grew by only 1.4% in the decade. In the same time span, Fayette County grew by 43.8%, Austin County by 48.8%, and Lavaca County by 54.2%. It should be noted, however, that local genealogical researchers hold the 1870 census of Colorado County in low regard, noting that many persons who are believed to have been living in the county before, during, and after 1870 are missing from its pages (for state population figures, see Mike Kingston, ed., 1986-1987 Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide (Dallas: The Dallas Morning News, 1985), p. 443).