By Mary Lee Knight

Special Research by Geraldine Graves

Texans selected delegates to a constitutional convention, which assembled in Austin on June 1, 1868. Although the new Constitution was not popular with the residents of Texas at that time, there was one provision that has proven a gold mine for genealogists. The Thirteenth Legislature implemented the following stipulation of the 1869 Constitution on May 3, 1873, by passing the following, "An Act to Provide for the Registration of Births":

"Section 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That it shall hereafter be the duty of the Clerks of the District Courts of this State to make and keep in their offices a register of all persons born in their respective counties.

"Section 2. Be it further enacted, That in order to enable the several clerks to perform the duty prescribed in the first section of his Act, it is hereby made the duty of the several County or Police Courts of this State to furnish the clerks with well bound books, with appropriate headings and properly ruled into columns. That said book shall be so ruled as to have one column for the name of the person to be registered; one column for the names of the father and mother; one column for the date of births; one column for the color of the parents; and one column for the sex.

"Section 3. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the father and mother to have the registry of all children born unto them, after the passage of this act, within six months after such birth; and any father or mother, guardian or person, having charge of such child, neglecting the performance of the duty prescribed in this Act, shall be fined in the sum of five dollars for every month said duty may be neglected.

"Section 4. Be it further enacted, That the several clerks of this State shall keep a complete index of the persons so registered, and may demand and receive from the person having such registration done, the sum of ten (10) cents for each person so registered. Approved May 3, 1873."

The registration of births in Texas counties at this early period continued as directed until the Constitution of 1876 was adopted, in February of that year, after which the Fifteenth Legislature passed "An Act to Repeal "An Act to Provide for Registration of Births’". This statute of repeal was approved August 21, 1876, to take effect ninety days after adjournment.

Panola County complied no better or worse than any of the other counties to this legislative mandate. Compliance by the clerks and the public was begrudging at best. All over the state these early birth records have been found in a wide variety of ledgers. Births, when recorded, were frequently done long after the birth. Citizens who lived any distance at all from the county seat, apparently saw no reason to ride into town and pay a fee, even ten cents, to have a birth recorded.

These early Panola County births are recorded, for whatever reason, in one of the ledgers entitled "Mechanics Liens", although the book was obviously a catch-all for a wide variety of information. They commence on page 357 and continue, with the following noted interruptions, for eight pages. A total of 47 births were recorded from late 1873 through October of 1875. Judging by the dates of the miscellaneous entries as compared to the birth dates, the clerks apparently recorded the births wherever they found empty spaces in the ledger.

The first item recorded on Page 357 is a notation dated Dec. 28, 1865 "Churchill deposited 50 cents to go on deed from John Wilson (postage stamps)". The remainder of that page is recorded births.

At the top of page 358 is the heading "List of Those Asking for Pardons", with no year specified, followed by more birth records. Those asking for pardons were noted as follows:

Sept 29 – William Huffines – No. 1

Sept 30 – P.M. Walton – No. 2

Sept 30 – J.H. Johnson – No. 3

Oct 7 – Joshua Cherry – No. 4

No date – J.M. Briton – No. 5

No date – J.H McGill – No. 6

At the top of page 360 is the heading "Citations Issued from County Court" with the following entries under it:

R.A. Young, Administration – Citation issued Dec 27, 1865

Sarah E. & C.C. Campbell, Administration – Citation issued Dec 28, 1865

L.A. & T.C. Evans, Administration – Citation issued Dec 28, 1865

506 – Wyatt Hunt – Subpoena Issued for Defendant Dec 29, 1865

Mary Anderson, Guardian – Citation Issued Dec 29, 1865

387 – J.B. Reese, Guardian – Citation Issued Jan 1, 1866

474 – May G. Bird, Administration – Citation Issued Jan 5, 1866

408 – Sarah Stephenson, Administration – Citation Issued Jan 5,1866

J.H. Booty, Administration – Citation Issued Jan 8, 1866

387 – J.B. Reese, Guardian – Attachment Issued April 30, 1866

478 – T.M. Horton, Guardian – Citation Issued May 2, 1866