The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 62, July 1958 - April, 1959 Page: 326
617 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Number of
Personal Property of Delegates Delegates
Not found in census ............................. io
No personal property listed in returns ............... 9
Personal property below $o,ooo ....................... 64
$io,ooo and below $25,000 ............... .......... 59
$25,ooo and below $1oo,ooo ........................ 32
$1oo,ooo and over .............................. 3
Total ............. ... .... .......... 177
One hundred and twenty-seven delegates, or 71.8 per cent of
the convention, held slaves in 186o. The median holding for these
slaveholders was nine slaves (or five slaves if all 177 members are
considered). Table 3 shows that the majority of slaveholders held
less than ten slaves and that only thirty-five delegates held twenty
slaves or more and thus should be considered in the true "planter"
class. Three members, J. A. Wharton of Brazoria, W. T. Scott of
Harrison, and B. F. Terry of Fort Bend, held over one hundred
slaves each in 186o.11
One hundred and nine of the delegates were found listed in
the manuscript returns of the Agricultural Schedule of the 186o
census. Ninety-three of this group were holders of improved land,
and the same number held unimproved land. The median holding
for improved land was only i6o acres, while the median holding
for unimproved land was 1,ooo acres. The variations in individual
listings were great; for example, improved land held ranged from
the one acre of J. P. Weir of Hill to the 2,ooo acres of W. T.
Scott of Harrison, and unimproved land ranged from the seven
acres of W. W. Diamond of Grayson to the 140,000 acres of T. J.
Chambers. Much of the large holdings was, of course, in unim-
proved land as only two members held 1,ooo or more acres in im-
proved land, whereas forty-eight delegates held this amount in
unimproved land. Nine members held io,ooo or more acres of
unimproved land in i86o.12
11See Table 3 for variations in size of slaveholding and Appendix I for slave-
holding of each delegate. The mechanics of working through the manuscript returns
made it practicable to search only for slaves held by a delegate in his county of
residence. Slaves held in counties other than residence have, therefore, been missed.
12The agricultural returns give not only a valuable insight into land holding
but crop production as well. For example, fifty-nine members were found listed as
cotton growers in the i86o returns. Of this group the median production was 33%
bales and varied in size from the one bale each produced by T. J. Jennings and326
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 62, July 1958 - April, 1959, periodical, 1959; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101173/m1/389/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.