SUMMARYTexas orders free people of color out, or into slavery (Republic of Texas, February 5 and December 12, 1840) [Connections: Gulf, Louisiana, Texas & Mexico, Nov 5, 2026]
RECORDAn 1836 ordinance barred free people of color from immigrating, ordered those already in Texas to leave, and stripped them of citizenship. The act of February 5, 1840 ordered free people of color "who are now in this Republic" to leave by January 1, 1842. Those who did not pay the fines could be "sold to the highest bidder as a slave for life." The Ashworth Act of December 12, 1840 exempted the named Ashworths (William, Abner, David, Aaron) and Elisha Thomas, plus all free people of color present at the Declaration of Independence. The Ashworths came from South Carolina through Louisiana to the Beaumont area, Redbone country
PATTERNThe Republic of Texas wrote "free person of color" as a status that could be turned into lifetime slavery by law
LENS (WW9)In Texas, "colored" was a label that the law could turn into "slave."
OPENThe Ashworths' Native ancestry is not stated in the source and needs deep research, as do the Ashworth links to Redbone families in Orange County (Gillmer 2011)
SOURCEAshworth Act (Wikipedia), citing Gillmer, Law and Inequality 29:1 (2011), and the Handbook of Texas.