CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas — Chants of “Unfair justice” could be heard Sunday as families of Black Chambers County farmers rallied to take back land they said was stolen from them more than 100 years ago.
Dozens of families gathered in front of the Anahuac Oil Field in Chamber County to protest the theft of what could have been their land. The families claim their ancestors were forced off their land and were victims of fraudulent county officials and oil companies.
Descendants of William Godfrey are demanding justice after they claim they were robbed of his land and the good fortune that would have come with it.
“These families out here have oil leases where their proceeds were supposed to be one-eighth of the royalties coming off the land,” Bobbi Armstrong, descendant of William Godfrey, said. “But, no one has received one penny.”
The fight dates back 125 years when Godfrey allegedly signed his name by an "X", ultimately giving over a piece of land. The "X" next to his signature meant he could not read or write. Decades later, Godfrey’s descendants thoroughly examined records from the Texas General Land Office that stated Godfrey could read and write.
“The same county official that notarized their signature, notarized the X,” Katherine Banks, descendant of William Godfrey, said. “This was sold to people they didn't even know.”
Banks believes Godfrey signed a portion of his land over to her family, but that county officials found fault in what Godfrey wrote on the deed, so they did not honor it.
The family said the deeds and other property records were forged after their ancestors were driven off the land by armed white men. They believe the land of Godfrey and other Black farmers and all the wealth that would have come from it were stolen from them.
“Other people reaped the benefits from these descendants' families that were forced off properties because it had precious minerals,” Banks said.
Since the land was sold, about 177 million barrels of oil have been produced from just one of the fields alone. The family said the money that came from that could have been theirs.
Banks has worked on Godfrey’s field for 20 years, and she said she will continue fighting for justice along with other families.
“Think about it," Bands said. "How would you like to work something that you supposedly own but was taken from you, and you watched others get rich from it?”
The family claims many of their ancestors died in poverty as a result of these actions. 12News reached out to the Texas General Land Office but has not received a response at this time.