The Story of Loise: An Enslaved Woman in 19th Century Texas (ca. 1839–unknown)
By: Sare Martinez
Published: March 5, 2025
Updated: March 5, 2025
Loise (Louisa) was an enslaved young woman in Harris County, Texas. She was the object of probate litigation from 1848 to 1851. She first appears in an August 28, 1848, probate record claiming that she was the legal property of Adam Erastus Cloud and was valued at $100. She was then in the possession of Harris County Sheriff D. Russell. A later probate record, dated June 27, 1850, clarifies that Loise was left to Cloud, a minor, in his grandfather’s will. James Walker served as Cloud’s guardian and sought possession of Loise on Cloud’s behalf. Additionally, several other slaves claimed by Cloud were in the possession of F. J. Calvit of Brazoria County. Walker filed suit against Calvit, and the case later reached the Texas Supreme Court.
At some point Loise had come into the possession of Clement N. Bassett, who died in 1848. A July 25, 1849, record shows that Bassett had owed back taxes for the previous year and that the tax assessor and collector for Harris County, John N. Reed, had consequently levied Loise and put her up for public auction. She was recorded as being “about ten years old” at the time. Loise received no bids and was bought by the state of Texas for $5.90.
In a probate record dated July 31, 1851, Cloud, having reached the age of twenty-one, asked to receive his property that was held by his guardian. The record states that Loise was valued at $400. A probate record dated October 2, 1851, reveals that Loise was exempted from the property transferred to Cloud by Walker due to ongoing litigation over her possession between Cloud against Bassett’s estate. At the time, Loise was being hired out to James W. Henderson of Harris County. The probate court ordered Loise to be returned to Cloud following the conclusion of the suit in the district court and that she remain in the possession of Henderson until then.
Nothing is known about Loise after October 1851.
Bibliography:
Richard Gilreath, “A Girl Named Loise: 19th Century Documents Record Hidden Lives,” Out of the Stacks, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, February 14, 2019 (https://www.tsl.texas.gov/outofthestacks/a-girl-named-loise-19th-century-documents-record-hidden-lives/), accessed August 7, 2024.
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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
Sare Martinez, “Loise,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/loise.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
TID:
FLOIS
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- March 5, 2025
- March 5, 2025
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