Texas Periodicals, Newspapers, and Manuscript Collections
This entry was originally written by Wendy Bebout Elliott, Ph.D. FUGA for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
Periodicals
Genealogical periodicals are numerous for Texas with some counties having three or more different societies. Some representative titles are:
- The Dallas Quarterly. Dallas Genealogical Society, 1955-present.
- Footprints. Fort Worth Genealogical Society, 1968-present.
- Genealogical Record. Houston Genealogical Forum, 1958-present.
- Heart of Texas Records. Formerly Central Texas Genealogical Society Bulletin. Central Texas Genealogical Society, 1958-present.
- The Herald. Montgomery County Genealogical and Historical Society, 1978-present.
- Nase Dejiny: The Magazine of Czech Genealogy. Hallettsville, Tex.: Old Homestead Publishing Co., 1982-present. Devoted to Czechs who settled in Texas.
- Newsletter. German Texas Heritage Society, 1979-present.
- Northeast Texas Genealogy and History. Genealogical Society of Northeast Texas, 1965-present.
- Oak Leaves. Matagorda County Genealogical Society 1982-present.
- Our Heritage. San Antonio Genealogical and Historical Society, 1959-present.
- PGST News. Polish Genealogical Society of Texas, 1985-present.
- The Roadrunner. Chaparral Genealogical Society, 1974-present.
- Stalkin' Kin. San Angelo Genealogical and Historical Society, 1973-present.
- Stirpes. Texas State Genealogical Society, 1961-present.
- The Thorny Trail. Midland Genealogical Society, 1973-present.
- Yellowed Pages. Southeast Texas Genealogical and Historical Society, 1971-present.
Newspapers
The Name Index to Early Texas Newspapers serves as a significant finding tool for names in newspapers between 1830 and 1885. The original card-file index is at the University of Texas Library in Austin, with a forty-three roll set on microfilm and available throughout Texas. The card data includes the name, date, and title as well as other identifying information. Other works include:
- Lu, Helen Mason. Texas Methodist Newspaper Abstracts (17 April 1850'17 Sept. 1881). 4 vols. Dallas: H. Lu, 1987. Also on microfiche.
- Kelsey, Michael. Genealogical Abstracts from Central Texas Newspapers, 1885'1899. Temple, Tex.: the author, 1987.
- . Genealogical Abstracts from the Austin Texas State Gazette 1849'1859. Temple, Tex.: the author, 1988.
- . Miscellaneous Texas Newspaper Abstracts, 1856'1870. Temple, Tex.: the author, 1988.
- Swensen, Helen S. Early Texas News 1831'1848, Abstracts from Early Texas Newspapers. St. Louis: F. T. Ingmire, 1984.
Manuscripts
Manuscripts containing historical and genealogical data are frequently available in university, historical society, state, and local public libraries throughout the state. Brief examples follow:
Manuscript collections maintained by the Texas State Archives are described in Jean Carefoot, A Guide to Genealogical Resources in the Texas State Archives (Austin, Tex.: Texas State Library, Archives Division, 1984), and online at www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc/index.html.
The Eugene C. Barker Texas History Center at the University at Austin announced in 1986 the acquisition of the Natchez Trace Collection, an important archive of materials documenting much of the life of the Old South between 1780 and 1900. It measures over 450 linear feet and is a collection of collections, remaining to be cataloged.
See also:
- Benavides, Adan. The Bexar Archives, 1717'1836, A Name Guide. Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, 1989.
- Kielman, Chester Valls. Guide to the Microfilm Edition of the Bexar Archives, 1717'1836. 3 vols. Austin, Tex.: University of Texas, 1969'71. This work gives a reel-by-reel description of the contents of the 172-reel micropublication.
- McLean, Malcolm Dallas. Papers Concerning Robertson's Colony in Texas. 19 vols. Arlington, Tex.: University of Texas at Arlington, 1974'1993.
For WPA Life Histories from Texas, see http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/txcat.html.
