Labor Day Reflections: Israel Newsom’s 1868 Sharecropping Agreement

"Grab this land! Take it, hold it . . . shake it, squeeze it, turn it, twist it, beat it, kick it, kiss it, whip it, stomp it, dig it, plow it, seed it, reap it, rent it, buy it, sell it, own it, build it, multiply it, and pass it on – can you hear me? Pass it on!" — Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon

Labor Day is a time to honor the dignity of work — the sweat, toil, and labor that builds lives, families, and futures. For me, it’s also a time to honor the work of my ancestors — men and women whose labor began in chains, yet after Emancipation, took on new meaning as they struggled to secure life, land, and legacy.

This year, my reflections center on an extraordinary discovery: my 2x great-grandfather Israel Newsom’s sharecropping agreement dated January 19, 1868, in Washington County, Texas.

The Contract

Just three years after the Civil War, Israel Newsom entered into a labor agreement with landowner Ed W. Williams alongside two other freedmen, William Dyer and Dick Johnson. Here is my transcription of that document:

January 19, 1868 – Washington County, Texas

This agreement made and entered into this 19th January 1868 between Ed. W. Williams of the first part and Wm. Dyer, Israel Newsom and Dick Johnson of the second part, Witnesseth:

The said Ed. W. Williams agrees to furnish 20 acres of land, team, tools, and seed for the same, sufficient to make the same in the usual manner, and further agrees to let the 2nd parties have said portion of land, and will put them in said portion, and let them work said ground and gather all the cotton made thereon during the year 1868, for one half of said cotton, as soon as such cotton is picked, housed, and ginned, and the cotton seed to be equally divided between the parties.

The said 2nd parties agree to work said ground faithfully during the year on which they may be put, take care of the team, tools, &c, and complete their work, and have no other crop or other land under crop whatever, and complete the work as aforesaid, for the portion of the cotton as above stated.

In witness whereof we hereunto set our hands this the date above written.

Ed. W. Williams
Wm. Dyer
Israel (his X mark) Newsom
Dick Johnson

Attest: Jas. P. Cobb
Approved: W. H. Smith, J.P. Precinct No. 3

Filed May 19th 1868 at 11 o’clock A.M. and recorded same day.
G. E. Brenner, Clerk & ex off. Rcr. H. C. Williams, Dep.

Source citation: Washington County, Texas, Deed Book V, p. 204, contract dated 19 January 1868 between Ed W. Williams and Wm. Dyer, Israel Newsom, and Dick Johnson; Washington County Clerk’s Office, Brenham, Texas.

What It Meant

This contract wasn’t wealth or ownership. It wasn’t “40 acres and a mule.” It was the reality of Reconstruction in Texas: a system of sharecropping, where landowners supplied land and tools, and freedmen supplied labor, splitting the crop at harvest.

For Israel, this contract represented:

• The first legal recognition of his labor after a lifetime of enslavement.
• The ability to provide a home for his wife Louisa and their children.
• A step toward stability, even under conditions that still tilted heavily toward the landowner.

In 1860, Israel had been listed as a 22-year-old male slave in Joeday Newsom’s household. In 1868, he was signing a contract — with his own mark — as a free man. That shift, within just eight years, is monumental.

Labor Day Reflections

“This is my receipt. This is my proof.” — Israel Newsom, Washington County, Texas, 1868.

Toni Morrison’s words echo across this history. My great-grandfather’s “X” on this contract was more than just a mark. It was the start of grabbing land, planting seed, reaping harvest — and striving, despite the odds, to pass something on.

Labor Day is about honoring all work. Today, I honor the labor of Israel Newsom and all my ancestors who bent their backs and blistered their hands in fields they did not own. Their sweat is the soil from which my life grows.

This contract is my receipt. This is my proof. And on this Labor Day, I pass it on!