Bound in Béxar County: Slavery in San Antonio

John S. McClellan did many things in South Texas. He was a cattle rancher, he owned several properties, and he was listed as a translator on the 1851 Treaty at San Saba between the U.S, the Comanche, Lipan, Mescalero, and other indigenous tribes. He also was one of the largest enslavers in Béxar County. McClellan also was one of the enslavers who pressed Béxar County to organize slave patrols. This story is shared on the site Lost Texas Roads.

Post oak lynching | lost texas roads. (n.d.). Retrieved September 1, 2025, from https://losttexasroads.com/history/events/1857-post-oak-lynching/

The following image is from the 1850 U.S. Federal Slave Schedule. It lists John McClellan as enslaving 11 people from the ages of 2-40. McClellan enslaved 4 men, 5 boys, and 2 women. He was already listed as living in Cibilo Creek and Clato.

U.S Census - Federal Slave Schedules. (1850). Retrieved August 27, 2025, from https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8055/?pg=5&count=50&f-80100003=McClellan&residence=_bexar-texas-usa_302&residence_x=_1-0 

U.S Census - Federal Slave Schedules. (1850). Retrieved August 27, 2025, from https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8055/records/3108292?tid=&pid=&queryId=96e8db19-e024-4fb7-981d-0068b0230e79&_phsrc=LeN118&_phstart=successSource

The following image is from the Texas Runaway Slave Project. It is an excerpt from an article reporting a fugitive slave case that ended up in a trial between the original enslaver of the man known only as Green, and a man who would purchased him after he was captured in Mexico. Green is described only as "a tall black, full six feet six in his stockings". He fled his captors outside of El Paso and crossed into Mexico where slavery had been abolished. He was captured by a man named Bonaparte Hawkins and sold to John S. McLellan, who then sold Green to Charles Lytle, who then sold him to A.W. Moore. Moore was sued for ownership of Green by Wm. R. Campbell, Green's original owner, when he fled from El Paso. This case provides another example of McClellan participating in the sale and trade of enslaved people as property. 

John S., F. (1853, December 6). Green. Tri-Weekly State Times. https://digital.sfasu.edu/digital/collection/RSP/id/9252/rec/1

The first time John S. McLellan appears in the Béxar County tax records is in 1846-1847. He was listed as enslaving 21 African Americans valued at $9,200. One of the interesting parts of this tax record is that McLellan's name is misspelled in the record. It is recorded as McClelland. This often happens with primary sources because writing and paper become faded with time, and often it can be hard to read handwriting, especially in cursive, for people transcribing historical records today. 

Bexar County Tax Records—1846-1847 . (1846). Bexar County ; Texas County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939F-WFW6-4?wc=M63CBPX%3A161392201%2C161392602%26cc%3D1827575&lang=en&i=28&cc=1827575&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AVBMK-14Z

In the following image from the 1857 Béxar County tax records, John S. McClellan has four listings for different properties in Béxar County. He is listed as having enslaving18 African Americans valued at $13,000.

Bexar County Tax Records—1857. (1857). Bexar County ; Texas County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939F-WFH9-W?wc=M638-7PD%3A161392201%2C161394902%26cc%3D1827575&lang=en&i=41&cc=1827575