Freedom on Brushy Creek
Not everyone who came to Brushy Creek came by choice. This is the story of enslavement, emancipation, and the families who built new lives here.
The only United States governmental sources about early slave population in the Hutto area are the 1850 and 1860 Slave Schedules, a listing of the names of slaveholders, how many they owned, and the age, gender, and racial designation (Black or Mulatto) of each slave.
The last names given to Black slaves were most often the surnames of their White owners. Thus, it is helpful to know the following White first settler family surnames who owned slaves and the dates of their arrival in the Hutto area: Wilbarger (1847); McNutt/Allen (1847); Burris (1847); Oxley (1849); Mankins (1850); Orgain (1852); Cooke (1854); Evans (1856); Saul (1857); Mileham (1860); and Kennedy (1862). In both censuses, the number of slaves owned by each family ranges from one (Oxley) to twenty-seven (Orgain). In 1850, there were 9 slaves in 5 households in the Hutto area, 67% of whom were female, and all or 100% were age 40 or younger. In 1860, there were 70 slaves in 11 households, 41% of whom were female and 87% were age 40 or younger.
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (the Freedmen’s Bureau) began operations in Texas in September 1865 under the command of the United States Army. The bureau was charged with overseeing all matters concerning the destitute, Black, and White, after the war, but its primary role was helping the new Black freemen make the transition from slavery to freedom. The Freedmen’s Bureau was active in Williamson County.
A Black settlement was formed by Harry Bailey … west of Mankin’s Crossing [near Water Valley (Jonah)]. [Bailey] sold lots to other [Black] families looking for a place to live. Working together, those in the community managed to build a school, which was also used as a church.
Scarbrough, 192
Tenant farming is when the legal owner of a parcel of land simply allows a renter to work his land for a fee.
Sharecropping is when the legal owner of a parcel of land furnishes all or most of the resources needed for someone to live on and work his land in exchange for a significant share of the crops. The person living on the land simply provides the labor.
Sharecropping enabled landowners to reestablish a stable labor force, while offering poor White and recently freed Black tenants a means of subsistence. About two-thirds of sharecroppers in Texas were White, and one-third was Black. High interest rates, unpredictable harvests, and unscrupulous landlords often kept tenant and sharecropping families severely indebted.
In the 1880 census, 56 Black residents in 20 households lived in Hutto. Adam and Eveline Orgain were among those listed.
Adam Orgain (1837-1893) was born a slave in Tennessee and was brought to Texas, likely at age 15. He was a stock raiser and was likely the first person to settle in the area of Old Town Hutto. Adam and Eveline had twelve children, including six stepchildren. In 1867-68 Adam and Eveline made the trip to Georgetown to register to vote and marry legally. By 1870 Adam had learned to read and write.
In 1880, the White Orgain family sold five acres of their farm to Adam for $125. This must have seemed like a dream come true, to finally own land at age 43, after all his years of service to the family.
In 1893, Eveline passed away and Adam sold his land to Hutto businessman Charles Hague for 10 acres north of Taylor. Adam died at age 56 and was likely buried on his Taylor farm.
