New Online: Recent Updates to Finding Aids and Digital Images

Posted on December 7, 2022 by ARIS Staff

As our archives staff work on an ongoing basis to arrange, preserve, describe, and make available to the public the materials under our care, we spotlight new additions to the website in a regular feature from Out of the Stacks. The column lists new and revised finding aids recently made available online, along with fresh uploads to the Texas Digital Archive, our repository of electronic items. For a comprehensive list of all recently added and updated finding aids visit Archives: Finding Aids (New & Revised).

New Finding Aids

State Records

Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation records
The Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation (TBWEF) established in 1993, plans and executes the eradication and diapause programs designed to eliminate the boll weevil and the pink bollworm from cotton in the state under the supervision of the Texas Department of Agriculture. Records of TBWEF date 1983-2013 and include foundation quarterly board meeting minutes, agenda, and supporting documentation; agriculture commissioner talking points; manuals; administrative correspondence; program records; financial statements; independent auditor reports; newspaper notices and purchase orders; complaints; and budgets.

Texas Governor Allan Shivers legal files
Legal staff of the Texas Governor’s Office were responsible for providing legal advice to Governor Allan Shivers. Records are the legal files for Governor Allan Shivers and consist of press releases, memorandums, correspondence, administrative records, clippings, and legal documents, dated 1949-1956, bulk 1950-1954

Manuscripts

Governor Price Daniel records holiday announcements about traffic safety, December 1959. 1965/162-133, Bradford Smith audiovisual materials. TSLAC. View in the TDA.

Bradford Smith audiovisual materials
Bradford Smith started his career in Texas print and broadcast media in the Rio Grande Valley. In 1958, he moved to Austin to be Texas State Traffic Safety Director and later a member of Governor Price Daniel’s staff. These audiovisual materials, created by Smith while serving in those roles, date 1958-1962 and consist of black-and-white photographs and negatives, 16mm motion pictures, color transparencies, a framed drawing of a political cartoon, and an open reel audiotape. Most photographs document events of Governor Daniel. The motion pictures and audiotape have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Revised Finding Aids

State Records

Texas State Securities Board records (includes one series of electronic records in the Texas Digital Archive)
The Texas State Securities Board, composed of the former Securities Divisions of the Texas Secretary of State and the Texas Board of Insurance Commissioners, was created by the Texas Securities Act of 1957 (Senate Bill 294, 55th Texas Legislature, Regular Session) to regulate securities sold publicly in Texas. The mission of the State Securities Board is to protect Texas investors and its goals are to ensure a free and competitive securities market for Texas, increase investor confidence, and thereby encourage the formation of capital and the creation of new jobs in Texas. The regulation of securities involves the registration of stocks, bonds, and other securities sold in the state; the licensing of persons or firms selling securities; the investigation of alleged violations of the act; and the presentation of these violations to county and district attorneys for prosecution.

These Texas State Securities Board records include correspondence and memoranda, press releases, agenda and minutes, summaries of board actions, notices of hearings, copies of board orders, reports, legislation, attorney general opinions, court documents, printed materials, budget materials, and notes. Records range in date from 1933 to 2021. Materials cover nearly all aspects of the regulation of securities, both by the Secretary of State (1933-1957) and by the Securities Board (1957-2021).

Texas Governor Allan Shivers personal files
Allan Shivers served as lieutenant governor of Texas from January 21, 1947, to July 11, 1949, and as governor of Texas from July 11, 1949, to January 15, 1957. These records created, received, and maintained by the Texas Governor’s Office are what Shivers considered to be his personal files, though they were administered by him and his staff as part of official state government business and are state records. These files consist of personal correspondence, clippings, photographs, greeting cards, booklets, brochures, and related records, dated 1946-1959, undated, bulk 1950-1957.

Manuscripts

National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators organizational materials two additional photographs digitized (in Project files series) among the other digitized and born-digital records available on the Texas Digital Archive.
Through institution-based membership, the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators (NAGARA) encourages the exchange of information, cooperative approaches, and professional development and standards, and promotes awareness of government records issues. As an outgrowth organization from its predecessor, the National Association of State Archives and Records Administrators (NASARA), NAGARA was founded in 1984 to meet the needs of the government archives and records administration profession on all levels of United States government. These materials document the history and activities of NAGARA’s organizational pursuits with local, state, and federal governments as well as late NASARA endeavors with state governments. The NAGARA records include administrative files, correspondence, events files, meeting minutes, project and grant files, and records concerning relations with professional organizations, dating 1974-2018, undated, bulk 1984-1996. Records are paper as well as electronic; additionally, a portion of these materials have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas Digital Archive

Paintings and coatings,1991. General professional materials, 2022/30-12. Allen McCree papers. TSLAC. View in the TDA.

Allen McCree Papers, 1975-1997
Allen McCree was the architect of the Capitol of Texas from 1988 to 1992 and oversaw the interior preservation and underground extension of the Capitol Building. These Allen McCree papers, dated 1975-1997, primarily document McCree’s involvement in architectural projects in the state and include plans for the Capitol project, general architectural materials, newspaper clippings, correspondence, memos, notes, architectural plans and specifications, budgets, reports, pamphlets, drafts, and slides and a script for a lecture on the history of the Capitol. All of these materials except oversize prints and architectural drawings have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas Joint Committee to Investigate the Texas State Ranger Force transcript of proceedings
The Texas Joint Committee to Investigate the Texas State Ranger Force was created in January 1919 during the 36th Texas Legislature to investigate the actions taken by the Texas Ranger Force during the period from 1914 to 1919. Records consist of digital copies of the original three-volume transcript of proceedings conducted by the committee during January and February of 1919. These digital copies were created by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission with grant funding provided by the Library Services and Technology Act, Institute of Museum and Library Services, and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas Supreme Court: M Case files, 1840-1892
The M case are part of a larger set of records titled the Supreme Court Case files. The Case files as a whole consist of two distinct groups of files, the circuit court-era or M files, 1840-1892, and case files from 1893-2004. As of 2017, case files for 2005 forward are held by the Texas Supreme Court. Types of materials present in the case files include original petitions (briefs, appeals), original indictments (criminal cases only for the early years), transcripts of proceedings from the district court, bills of exception, agreements, demurrer and answer, supplemental answers, statements of facts, testimony, judgments, motions, petitions and/or bonds for writ of error, citations in error, assignments of error, sheriffs’ returns, certifications of costs, waivers of service, precepts, motions for rehearing, applications for extensions of time, certification of costs, and opinions of the lower court. The M case files have been partially digitized and are available in the Texas Digital Archive.

Contact ref@tsl.texas.gov or 512-463-5455 with questions about using TSLAC’s archival resources at the Lorenzo de Zavala building in Austin and SamHoustonCenter@tsl.texas.gov or 936-886-9821 regarding collections at the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center in Liberty.

New Online: Recent Updates to Finding Aids and Digital Images Available Online

Posted on July 20, 2022 by ARIS Staff

Pages from a 42-page German diary from 1843-1844. A contractor found the volume while demolishing an old residence in Austin. The volume has been digitized and is now available online in the TDA.

New Finding Aids

State Records

Texas Governor Allan Shivers lieutenant governor files

Allan Shivers served as lieutenant governor of Texas from January 21, 1947, to July 11, 1949, during the 50th and 51st Texas Legislature. The Texas Constitution (Article IV, sections 1 and 16) gives the lieutenant governor power to act as governor in the event of the governor’s absence from the state or his/her death, resignation, impeachment, or inability or refusal to serve. The Constitution has also designated the lieutenant governor to serve as president of the Texas Senate. These records consist of the files of Allan Shivers in his capacity as lieutenant governor of Texas and consist of clippings, correspondence, directories, financial records, invitations, legislative records, bill files, memorandums, and proclamations, dated 1946-1949.

Image: Governor Allan Shivers, undated. People Collection, 1/102-713, Prints and Photographs. TSLAC.

Texas Governor Allan Shivers senate files
The Texas Senate is one arm of the Legislature of the State of Texas (the other being the Texas House of Representatives), which the Texas Constitution (Article III, Section I) vests with all legislative power of the state. Allan Shivers served as a Texas senator from January 8, 1935, to January 14, 1947. Records are the senate files for Governor Allan Shivers and consist of advertisements, application forms, clippings, correspondence, financial records, legislative records, memorandums, petitions, and speeches, dated 1932-1947 and undated. Shivers maintained his senate office records while serving as governor. Topics commonly mentioned in these files include, but are not limited to, the Democratic party and constitutional amendments. Files are personal and political in nature. There is also a significant number of records from the Shivers campaign for state senator.

Texas Education Agency Office of the Commissioner of Education correspondence, subject files, and other materials
The Texas Education Agency Office of the Commissioner manages the state education agency, provides leadership to schools, and coordinates with the state legislature, state agencies, and the US Department of Education. These records consist of correspondence, subject files, and other materials dating 1947-2007, bulk 1977-2003. Correspondence and subject files document topics such as educational committees, school districts, parenting, vocational education, legislation, special education, teacher certification, curriculum, school finance, textbooks, bilingual education, creationism, charter schools, and cooperation between state and federal agencies. Commissioner search documentation, various commissioner meeting notes and agendas, and Dr. William N. Kirby’s speeches make up the remaining materials.

Texas Declaration of Independence

This document is the Texas Declaration of Independence, completed and approved by vote on March 2, 1836. The 59 delegates attending the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos, each representing one of the settlements in Texas, signed the declaration over the next several days, after which five copies were made and dispatched to the designated Texas towns of Bexar, Goliad, Nacogdoches, Brazoria, and San Felipe. One thousand copies were ordered to be printed in handbill form by the printer in San Felipe, to circulate the news. This document has been digitized and is part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Image: First page of original manuscript version of the Texas Declaration of Independence, March 2, 1836. TSLAC.

Manuscripts

German diary found in Austin, Texas
The collection consists of one 42-page portion of a bound journal written in German, dating September 1843-September 1844. The diary has not been translated, but upon cursory inspection it appears a substantial amount was written in Germany. H.R. Nieman Jr., obtained this diary during his time as the executive director for the State Building Commission. A contractor found the item while demolishing an old residence in Austin, Texas. This diary has been digitized and is part of the Texas Digital Archive.

William Barret Travis letter from the Alamo

This document, written by Commander William B. Travis, dated February 24, 1836, and signed “Victory or Death, “is the one that has come to be known simply as “The Travis Letter “among the other missives issued by Travis from the Alamo. Travis called for reinforcements with this heroic message, carried from the Alamo by Captain Albert Martin of Gonzales and passed to Lancelot Smither, both of whom added notes to the letter. Smither delivered this appeal to the citizens’ committee in San Felipe, where several copies were made, and transcripts of the letter began to appear in newspapers as early as March 2. Santa Anna’s troops broke through on March 6, and all of the defenders of the Alamo died. This document has been digitized and is part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Image: William Barret Travis letter from the Alamo, Feb. 22, 1836. TSLAC.

Milford P. Norton papers
Milford Phillips Norton (1794-1860) was a lawyer, publisher, judge, and civic leader in Galveston, Black Point, Bayou City, Corpus Christi, and Houston, Texas. The Milford P. Norton papers consist of correspondence, land grants, deeds, and receipts, dated 1839-1860.

Revised Finding Aids

State Records

Texas Education Agency Office of the Commissioner of Education records
The Texas Education Agency Office of the Commissioner manages the state education agency, provides leadership to schools, and coordinates with the state legislature, state agencies, and the US Department of Education. These records consist of correspondence, subject files, and other materials dating 1947-2007, bulk 1977-2003. Correspondence and subject files document topics such as educational committees, school districts, parenting, vocational education, legislation, special education, teacher certification, curriculum, school finance, textbooks, bilingual education, creationism, charter schools, and cooperation between state and federal agencies. Commissioner search documentation, various commissioner meeting notes and agendas, and Dr. William N. Kirby’s speeches make up the remaining materials.

Texas Governor Rick Perry Texas Film Commission records
Under Texas Governor Rick Perry, the Texas Film Commission (TFC) served the film, television, commercial, animation, visual effects, and video games industries in the state, offering an array of resources and incentives. The TFC’s main functions included administering the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program and the Film Friendly Texas program; publishing the annual Texas Production Directory/Manual; maintaining a job hotline for cast, crew, and video game/animation positions; and providing resources and information to facilitate media production in the state. Records include correspondence, organizational charts, articles, presentations, speeches, handouts/informational documents, locations images, and databases. Dates range from 1996 to 2015, bulk 2000 to 2014. The records consist exclusively of electronic files and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas Department of State records of legislative and executive bodies prior to the Republic
Prior to the regular government established by the Republic of Texas Constitution of 1836, a variety of governmental entities, both legislative and executive, succeeded one another. Types of records include correspondence, reports, resolutions, decrees, ordinances, declarations, circulars, proceedings, minutes, delegate rolls, records of votes, rules, presidential addresses, commissions issued, a memorial, list of government officers, a resignation, and vouchers and receipts, all of the various legislative and executive bodies prior to the Republic. These governmental bodies include the following: the treasurer of the Ayuntamiento of Austin, citizens meetings and committees of public safety, the Permanent Council, the Consultation, the Provisional Government, the Convention of 1836, and the Ad Interim government, dating 1835-1836 and undated.

Manuscripts

Price Daniel audiovisual materials and related papers
Price Daniel served as Texas attorney general, US senator, and Texas governor. These audiovisual materials and related papers date 1952-1962, 1980, undated, and encompass Daniel’s service in these offices, as well as his US Senate and Texas gubernatorial campaigns, and contain one item from after his political career. Topics covered include narcotic laws, segregation, states’ rights, traffic safety, and Texas business and agriculture. The most common film format is 16mm black-and-white film, and audio materials include open reel audiotapes and instantaneous recordings. Some audiovisual materials include accompanying documents. These materials and accompanying documents have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive .

Price Daniel political spot, US Senator campaign,1952. Price Daniel audiovisual materials and related papers,2019.003-22. Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, TSLAC.

New Online: Recent Updates to Finding Aids and Digital Images Available Online

Posted on March 30, 2022 by ARIS Staff

Railroad crew, Liberty, Texas, about 1880s-1910s. DeBat Family Papers, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center. TSLAC.

New Finding Aids

State Records

Texas Department of Human Services History Files

The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) ensured access to a comprehensive array of aging and disability services in local communities. In 2004, as a newly formed agency, DADS began a project to document the history of the Texas Department of Human Services. Records are composed of project files for this history project, dated 1946, 1949, 1954-1955, 1986-2008, and undated, bulk 2004-2008, and contain interviews (audiovisual and transcribed), printed ephemera (such as records from agency conferences and semiannual updates), manuscript drafts, audiocassettes, VHS, microcassettes, an open reel audiotape, and notes for a proposed book on the history of welfare services in Texas.

Manuscripts

DeBat Family Papers

The DeBat family papers document the lives of some members of the DeBat family of Liberty, Liberty County, Texas, and various related families from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. The collection also documents the Travelers Hotel in Liberty, of which Martha E. Palmer DeBat was the proprietor from about 1882 to 1905. Materials consist of photographs, business ledgers, a diary, a family Bible, a scrapbook, and a postcard album. Dates are 1816-1976, with the bulk dating 1880s-1910s.

George Gordon Papers (one manuscript diary has been digitized and is available on the Texas Digital Archive)

George Gordon lived at Moore’s Bluff, Liberty County, Texas, where he farmed and worked on steamboats that plied the Trinity River. The George Gordon papers document the lives of Gordon and his family during the 1870s as well as the steamboat trade on the Trinity River during that period. Materials consist of George Gordon’s diary, dating between 1873-1879; an 1862 document appointing Gordon to carry dispatches from the British Consulate in Galveston, Texas, to their consulate in Richmond, Virginia; transcribed Bible records on the Gordon family; a 1938 Houston Post clipping containing excerpts from the diary; and a book of poetry by Robert Burns, possibly dated around 1786, that belonged to Gordon. Materials date about 1786, 1862-1879, 1938, 1975, with the bulk dating 1873-1879. The manuscript diary of George Gordon described in this finding aid has been digitized and is part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Liberty Woman’s Club Collection

The Liberty Woman’s Club was organized in March 1955 in Liberty, Texas, and affiliated with the Texas Federation of Women’s Clubs the same year. The Liberty Woman’s Club collection documents the civic and social activities of the club and consists primarily of yearbooks, scrapbooks, correspondence, membership rosters, minute books, manuals, pamphlets, programs, and reports on club programs and projects. Materials date 1954-2010, with the bulk dating 1955-2004.

Vernon F. Poole Collection

Vernon F. Poole served as chairman of the Chambers-Liberty Counties Navigation District (CLCND) from 1961 to 1972. The Vernon F. Poole collection consists primarily of correspondence, legal and financial documents, minutes, reports, government documents, publications, and maps pertaining to the activities of the CLCND during Poole’s tenure as chairman. The collection documents the district’s efforts to improve the Trinity River for navigation and includes materials pertaining to the Port of Liberty development, construction of a cut-off or diversion channel in the river, the Livingston Reservoir project, and the Wallisville Reservoir and saltwater barrier project. Materials date 1930-1979, bulk 1967-1971.

J.F. Richardson Papers

Joseph Franklin (J.F.) Richardson was a retail merchant and rancher in Liberty, Liberty County, Texas. The J.F. Richardson papers consist primarily of correspondence, financial and business documents, certificates, deeds, military records, and notebooks documenting the lives and activities of various members of the Richardson family of Liberty County. Materials date 1858-1953, with the bulk dating 1872-1919.

Christine Moor Sanders Collection

Christine Moor Sanders is the author of the book, Spindletop: The Untold Story, published in January 2001, which relates the history of the Gladys City Oil, Gas, and Manufacturing Company and the role it and her great-grandfather George Washington O’Brien played in the discovery of oil at the Spindletop oil field in Beaumont, Texas. The Christine Moor Sanders collection consists of copies of files of the Gladys City Company and other research materials collected by Sanders over a 50-year period pertaining to the company and the individuals who founded it, including George Washington O’Brien, George W. Carroll, and Pattillo Higgins. The majority of the materials are photocopies or transcribed documents, much of which was used as resource material for her book. Dates are about 1930-2000, with the bulk dating about 1990s-2000. Information dates 1719-2000.

Lois M. Short Collection

Lois M. Short taught United States history classes at Liberty High School in Liberty, Texas, from 1925 to 1951. The Lois M. Short collection consists of clippings and notes pertaining to Short’s former students who served in World War II, school papers, and photographs. The collection originally included issues of a locally produced newsletter, “News and Chatter”, that was sent to Liberty-area World War II servicemen and women; these newsletters were transferred to a separate collection at an unknown time. Materials date 1931-1950 and undated, with the bulk dating 1932-1946.

United States National Weather Service Trinity River Weather-Related Materials

In 1903 the U.S. Weather Bureau (now the National Weather Service) authorized and installed a river gage station for the Trinity River at Liberty, Texas, to record and compile meteorological data. The bureau engaged volunteer observers to assist in this process. The United States National Weather Service Trinity River weather-related materials consist of clippings, news stories, correspondence, memorandums, reports, maps, and graphs pertaining to the Trinity River gage station at Liberty and Trinity River flood events and other meteorological data in Liberty County. A portion of the materials were created by the Weather Bureau/National Weather Service (NWS), and another portion consists of files from Liberty radio station KPXE-AM/KSHN-FM, which acted as an observer for NWS beginning in 1978. A few materials were created by other federal government agencies. Materials date 1914-1990 and undated, with the bulk dating 1963-1978.

Revised Finding Aids

State Records

Texas Department of Transportation Right of Way Division Records (these electronic records are available on the Texas Digital Archive and have a new custom search page)

Right-of-way-deed, 000078238,Jan.18,1933. Texas Department of Transportation Right of Way Division Records. TSLAC. View on the TDA.

These records include conveyances, maps, and titles for property owned by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Right of Way Division. The Right of Way Division coordinates the acquisition of land to build, widen, or enhance highways and provides relocation assistance when needed. The division also coordinates utility adjustments, and the disposition and leasing of surplus real property owned by TxDOT. The records document these land transfers, dating 1913 to 2017 and undated. The records are part of an ongoing digitization project by TxDOT that has begun with the Austin District; the project will continue with other major-municipality districts and finish with the less populous ones.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Battleship Texas Ships Plans and Records (most of the original ships plans, as well as all of the reproductions, prints, posters, and audiovisual materials, have been digitized and are available on the Texas Digital Archive)

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) manages the conservation of the state’s natural and cultural resources, conservation education and outreach, and interpretation of cultural and historical resources. The USS battleship Texas served in both World War I and World War II and was decommissioned in 1948 in Texas to become a memorial and exhibit. The ship was first managed by the Battleship Texas Commission, then in 1983 administration transferred to TPWD with input from the Battleship Texas Advisory Board. In 2019, the ship closed to the public for a major restoration effect. These records document the ship during both active duty and as a memorial and exhibit. Materials consist of original ships plans and plans reproductions, prints, posters, audiovisual materials, and records of the Battleship Texas Commission and the Battleship Texas Advisory Board. Records are dated 1900-1990s, undated. Most of the original ships plans, as well as all of the reproductions, prints, posters, and audiovisual materials have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas Comptroller’s Office Claims Records (Confederate pension applications digitized by Ancestry are being incrementally added to the Texas Digital Archive)

The Office of Comptroller of Public Accounts was initially created by the General Council of the Provisional Government of Texas on December 29, 1835, for the purpose of examining and approving or rejecting any monetary claims presented to him by the Auditor. These functions continued under the governments of the Republic of Texas (1836-1845) and the State of Texas (1845 onwards). These records document the claims (including pensions) that were audited and either accepted or rejected by the government of the Republic of Texas, and by the government of the State of Texas for civil and (especially) military service to the Republic of Texas, as well as for Confederate service, and for service in the Texas Rangers. Types of records include claim files, pension applications files, pension registers and indexes, public debt registers and indexes, drafts for payment, and associated records. They comprise more than 951 cubic ft. of loose records, plus 61 volumes, dating 1835-1990 and undated. A portion of these materials has been digitized and is part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas Secretary of State G eneral Correspondence (one letterpress book volume has been digitized and is available on the Texas Digital Archive)

The Texas Secretary of State is a constitutional officer of the executive branch of state government appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate for a term concurrent with the governor’s term. These records consist of correspondence, both incoming and outgoing, of the office of the Secretary of State, dating 1846-1932, undated, bulk 1860-1930. Most of the 19th-century correspondence is incoming, and most of the 20th-century correspondence is both incoming and outgoing, usually filed together. This correspondence covers the wide variety of duties of the Secretary of State, including the following: appointments and resignations of notaries public, oaths (particularly during Reconstruction years, 1867-1870), the filing of bonds, state printing contracts, distribution of state laws (both copies of individual bills and sets of bound volumes), distribution of Texas Reports (opinions of the Texas Supreme Court), elections (e.g., certificates of election, reporting of election irregularities, requests for election supplies, etc.), claims for rewards, requisitions for extraditions and the capture of fugitives, the filing of corporate charters (including railroad charters), commissions and certificates of qualification for appointed and elected officials, franchise taxes, statements on the condition of banks, and lists of cases on civil and criminal dockets. A portion of these materials has been digitized and is part of the Texas Digital Archive.

New Online: Recent Updates to Finding Aids and Digital Images Available Online

Posted on December 8, 2021 by ARIS Staff

As our archives staff work on an ongoing basis to arrange, preserve, describe, and make available to the public the materials under our care, we spotlight new additions to the website in a regular feature from Out of the Stacks. The column lists new and revised finding aids recently made available online, along fresh uploads to the Texas Digital Archive, our repository of electronic items.

New Finding Aids

Manuscripts

Harry Lund Photograph Collection:
https://txarchives.org/tslac/finding_aids/50149.xml

Harry Lund Photograph Collection on TDA: https://tsl.access.preservica.com/tda/prints-and-photographs/#lund

Nicolas Lopez posed with daughter for first communion, undated. Harry Lund photograph collection,1964/263-34. TSLAC. View on the TDA: https://tsl.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_b9bb18bb-d9ce-4674-8b01-d5c9df9a4a6d/

Abstract: The Harry Lund photograph collection consists of commercial views and portraits photographed by the Morales Studio of Brownsville, Texas. Although mostly unidentified and undated, the photographs were taken in Brownsville and Harlingen, Texas; Matamoros, Mexico; and the surrounding Rio Grande Valley area in the early part of the twentieth century. The images primarily reflect aspects of Mexican-American life in the Brownsville area, including family, social, and religious activities such as weddings, funerals, and communions; commerce, agriculture, and railroads; interiors and exteriors of homes and businesses; activities of the Woodmen of the World, a fraternal benefit organization; and people, fortifications and sites associated with the Mexican Revolution. Photographs date 1900 to 1955, bulk 1900 to 1930.

State Records

Texas Governor Allen Shivers Legislative Files (series removed from the overall Governor Shivers records finding aid, which will be updated later for this change) https://txarchives.org/tslac/finding_aids/80043.xml

Abstract: Legislative staff of the Texas Governor’s Office advised Allan Shivers on legislative matters and assisted in developing and promoting the governor’s legislative goals. Records are the legislative files for Governor Allan Shivers and consist of bills, clippings, related records, dated 1950-1956, bulk 1951-1953. Topics commonly mentioned in these files include, but are not limited to, the Democratic party, oil conservation, and segregation. There is also a significant amount of correspondence from Shivers’s constituents expressing opinions on legislation.

Texas State Library and Archives Commission Lorenzo de Zavala Building Literary Landmark Commemoration Materials
https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/12017/tsl-12017.html

Literary Landmark Materials on TDA: https://tsl.access.preservica.com/tda/texas-state-government/texas-state-agencies-homepage/tslac#landmark

Laura Bush at lectern, December 3, 2009. Texas State Library and Archives Commission Lorenzo de Zavala Building Literary Landmark commemoration materials. TSLAC. View on the TDA: https://tsl.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_af9996d5-989c-4a63-9dc0-f6a3960ca9a9/

Abstract: The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) appoints the state librarian and assistant state librarian; approves the State Library’s strategic plans, policies, appropriations requests, and operating budgets; and develops rules for administering the State Library’s legislative mandates. December 3, 2009, marked the 100th anniversary of TSLAC. In commemoration, an event was held at which a Literary Landmark designation was issued to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission for the use of its library resources and archives for the research and inspiration of prominent Texas authors. Speakers included State Librarian Peggy Rudd and former First Lady Laura Bush. These records consist of one Mini-DV, two digital photographs, one printed program, and one printed mailer that document this event, dated November-December 2009.

Revised Finding Aids

State Records

Texas Capitol Building Commission Administrative Records and Architectural Drawings (a portion of the records have been digitized and are available on the Texas Digital Archive; and now, names of workers on the payroll for the Texas State Capitol abstracted onto index cards are also available on the Texas Digital Archive as one of its Reference Tools).
https://txarchives.org/tslac/finding_aids/12009.xml

Fragment of Goddess of Liberty statue, 1880s. Architectural drawings and derivatives,1948/003-148, Texas Capitol Building Commission administrative records and architectural drawings. TSLAC. View on the TDA: https://tsl.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_2139a2bd-db5b-42a4-8b24-dabadb898978/

Abstract: The 16th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 1879, created both the Texas Capitol Building Commission (CBC) and Texas State Capitol Board (SCB) to oversee the construction of the Texas State Capitol. The CBC and SCB worked together to manage the construction of the Capitol. The SCB managed the survey and sale of public domain lands used to fund construction and took care of legislative matters while the CBC managed day-to-day construction activities and reported progress and problems to the SCB. After the 1853 Limestone Capitol burned in 1881, these entities also oversaw the building of the temporary Capitol. Records date 1879-1890 and document the planning and construction of the temporary Capitol (completed 1883) and the Texas State Capitol (completed 1888). Drawings include the winning competition drawings, dated 1881, used to select an architect for the Texas Capitol Building and the original architectural drawings used in the construction of the Texas State Capitol, dated 1882-1888. Also included are derivative images of the drawings, dating 1980-1997.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice Building Construction Project Files (includes records available on the TDA)
https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/20166/tsl-20166.html

Abstract: The Texas Department of Criminal Justice provides for the confinement, supervision, rehabilitation, and reintegration of the state’s convicted felons. These records are the department’s building construction project files for 22 prison units, dating 1982-2010. Types of records include proposals, bid documents, progress reports (daily and monthly), change orders, proposed and pending change orders, logs, transmittals, submission of transmittal forms, requests for information, punch lists, requests for equitable adjustments, test and balance reports, claims against contracts, contracts, photographs and negatives, meeting minutes, correspondence, memoranda, field orders, requests for time extensions, vouchers, schedules, cost estimates, pay estimates, a few detail drawings, inspection reports, project budget worksheets, and project manuals.

Texas Education Agency Legal Counsel Records (formerly a typed finding aid, new to TARO)
https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/15006/tsl-15006.html

Abstract: The Texas Education Agency legal counsel provided legal advice and recommendations for the commissioner of education and the State Board of Education. Chester Ollison served as legal counsel from September 1952 to May 1976. Records of the legal counsel comprise case files, correspondence, and oil and gas lease files, dating 1941-1976, bulk 1950-1976.

Texas State Board of Control Building Records and Contracts
https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/20173/tsl-20173.html

Texas State Board of Control Records (one report added)
http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/20171/tsl-20171.html

Abstract: The primary functions of the Texas State Board of Control were the control and supervision of the state eleemosynary institutions (state schools, hospitals and sanatoriums, orphanages, juvenile training schools), the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation, the Confederate Homes, and the State Cemetery; serving as the purchasing agent for state institutions and agencies; having joint supervision and maintenance of certain historical parks; and having charge of the custody and maintenance of the Capitol and other state office buildings and grounds. Types of records present include specifications, bid proposals, blueprints, original contracts, bonds, deeds and easements, reports, legislative bills, correspondence, contractor’s estimates, receipts, job orders, and photographs. Records are dated 1854, 1885, 1909-1950, 1967, and undated, bulk dating 1920-1950.

Texas Racing Commission Meeting Files, Press Releases, and Hearing Notices
https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/30044/tsl-30044.html

Abstract: The Texas Racing Commission was created by the Texas Racing Act in 1986; an agency of the same name had existed from 1933 to 1937 and was abolished after the state repeal of legal horse racing and pari-mutuel betting. These Racing Commission meeting files, press releases, and hearing notices document the work of the agency to ensure the safety, integrity, and fairness of Texas pari-mutuel racing and wagering through enforcement of the Texas Racing Act and rules of racing, dating 1988-2012.

Local Records

Bexar-Medina-Atascosa Counties Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 (Tex.) survey maps and plats (new to TARO)
http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/80040/tsl-80040.html

Abstract: The Bexar-Medina-Atascosa Counties Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 (Tex.) (BMA) is a conservation and reclamation district that supplies water resources to residents and provides for future utility needs. Records are maps, plats, and related records produced by the BMA, dated 1909 to 2002 and undated, with the bulk of records dating from 1912 to 1930.

Contact our reference staff with your questions about these and other collections at the State Archives at ref@tsl.texas.gov or 512-463-9807.

New Online: Recent Updates to Finding Aids and Digital Images Available Online

Posted on July 30, 2021 by ARIS Staff

As our archives staff work on an ongoing basis to arrange, preserve, describe, and make available to the public the materials under our care, we spotlight new additions to the website in a regular feature from Out of the Stacks. The column lists new and revised finding aids recently made available online. We close out the piece highlighting fresh uploads to the Texas Digital Archive, our repository of electronic items.

New Finding Aids

Manuscripts

Price Daniel Audiovisual Materials and Related Papers
http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/00041/tsl-00041.html

Price Daniel served as Texas attorney general, US senator, and Texas governor. These audiovisual materials and related papers date 1952-1962, 1980, undated, and encompass Daniel’s service in these offices, as well as his US Senate and Texas gubernatorial campaigns, and contain one item from after his political career.

Topics covered include narcotic laws, segregation, states’ rights, traffic safety, and Texas business and agriculture. The most common film format is 16mm black-and-white film, and audio materials include open reel audiotapes and instantaneous recordings. Some audiovisual materials include accompanying documents. These materials and accompanying documents have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas State Archives Broadsides and Printed Ephemera Collection http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/12014/tsl-12014.html

The Broadsides and printed ephemera collection is an artificial collection assembled by Texas State Archives staff beginning in the early 20th century. It consists of approximately 700 documents related to Texas and United States history. Printed ephemera was produced to distribute information as events unfolded, and it offers unique snapshots of Texas’s and the nation’s past.

Image: $1000 Reward, 1873. Broadside 276, Broadsides and printed ephemera collection. TSLAC. View in the TDA.

The ephemera in this collection includes both originals and copies of various formats, dating 1645-1999, bulk 1835-1930s. The original documents in this collection have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Local Records

Newton County (Tex.) District Clerk Records
http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/00042/tsl-00042.html

Record of jurors, 1852-1884, Newton County (Tex.) District Clerk records. Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, TSLAC. View in the TDA.

District courts are the trial courts of general jurisdiction in law and equity, which includes criminal cases of the grade of felony and misdemeanors involving official misconduct, divorce, cases of title to liens on land, election contests, and civil actions where the amount in controversy is at least $200. The district clerk serves as the clerk and custodian of all records for the district courts, indexes and secures all court records, and collects filing fees. These Newton County (Tex.) District Clerk records consist of civil and criminal docket books of the district court, a fee book, a district court minute book, and a record of jurors for the district court. Records date 1847-1898, with the bulk dating 1860-1879. The last two items listed are in digital format and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Newton County (Tex.) Tax Assessor-Collector Records
http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/00040/tsl-00040.html

Newton County (Tex.) Tax Assessor-Collector records reflect the office’s duties related to the assessment and collection of taxes and voter registration. The records include tax assessment rolls, delinquent tax rolls, abstract books, poll tax receipts, and voter registration receipts of women voters. Records date about 1846-1936, bulk 1847-1932. A 1912 Newton County tax roll is in digital format and is part of the Texas Digital Archive.

State Records

Texas National Research Laboratory Commission Records
http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/40147/tsl-40147.html

Established in 1985 by the 69th Texas Legislature, the Texas National Research Laboratory Commission oversaw the process of siting the Superconducting Super Collider in Texas. Records include correspondence, memorandums, minutes, agenda, meeting summaries, meeting supporting documentation, reports, financial reports, studies, plans, agreements, settlements, contracts, proposals, photographs, maps, drawings, speeches, news releases, news clippings, publications, transcripts, audiocassettes, videocassettes, magnetic tapes, design specifications, environmental impact statements, socioeconomic studies, property inventories, research files, construction schedules, biographical sketches, administrative records, and notes, dating 1980-1997. Subjects include the site characterization and selection process of the Superconducting Super Collider, costs for the design and construction of a particle accelerator, geological features of Amarillo and Ellis County, collection and analysis of environmental data, and potential socioeconomic impacts of the project. External entities reflected include the US Department of Energy, Parsons Brinckerhoff, and Morrison Knudsen.

Texas Comptroller’s Office Executive Administration Division Correspondence
http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/30202/tsl-30202.html

The Texas State Comptroller’s Office is responsible for collecting state revenue, tracking state expenditures, and monitoring the financial condition of the state. Documenting those duties, these are records of the Comptroller’s Office Executive Administration Division consisting of administrative correspondence (both incoming and especially outgoing letters, emails and memoranda, and attachments), superseded correspondence concerning executive orders and directives, legislative correspondence, and unprocessed correspondence on microfiche, dating 1940-2017, undated, bulk 1991-2017. Typically, correspondents are state legislators, state agency officials, the lieutenant governor, the governor, local officials (at the city, county, and school district level), federal officials, and corporate entities.

Revised Finding Aids

State Records

Texas Comptroller’s Office Executive Administration Division Records
https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/50101/tsl-50101.html

The Texas State Comptroller’s Office is responsible for collecting state revenue, tracking state expenditures, and monitoring the financial condition of the state. These records document those duties, representing activities of the various division directors, the deputy comptrollers, and comptrollers Bob Bullock, John Sharp, Carole Keeton Rylander Strayhorn, and Susan Combs. The records consist of correspondence, memorandums, reports, speeches, clippings, invitations, thank-you notes, computer printouts, press releases, and other administrative documents, dating 1948-2000, bulk 1973-1988, as maintained by the Executive Administration Division of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

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New Online: Recent Updates to Finding Aids and Digital Images Available Online

Posted on May 25, 2021 by ARIS Staff

As our archives staff work on an ongoing basis to arrange, preserve, describe, and make available to the public the materials under our care, we spotlight new additions to the website in a regular feature from Out of the Stacks. The quarterly column lists new and revised finding aids recently made available online. We close out the piece highlighting fresh uploads to the Texas Digital Archive, our repository of electronic items.

Archivists create finding aids for collections once they are processed and add these descriptive guides to Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO). TARO hosts finding aids from institutions around the state and researchers may determine whether to limit searches to the State Archives. Not all collections have been processed and therefore the list of finding aids does not represent the entirety of our holdings. The Archives & Manuscripts page of the TSLAC website provides more information and guidance on how to access archival collections. Contact ref@tsl.texas.gov or 512-463-5455 with questions about using TSLAC’s archival resources. For a comprehensive list of all recently added and updated finding aids visit Archives: Finding Aids (New & Revised).

NEW FINDING AIDS

Manuscripts

W.C. Morrow Papers
http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/90058/tsl-90058.html

Wright Chalfant Morrow was a lawyer, Democratic state senator, and Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The W.C. Morrow papers focused on W.C. Morrow’s campaign for judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals in Texas in 1916. The papers also provide insight into his personal finances through a collection of personal letters, receipts, and checks.

Zarh Pritchard Collection
http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/50147/tsl-50147.html

Zarh Pritchard, born Walter Howlison Mackenzie Pritchard, was an artist best known for painting underwater landscapes while underwater. The Zarh Pritchard collection documents his work, travels, and interest in numerology and the occult. Included are letter and card correspondence; pamphlets and invitations; administrative files detailing his personal finances, business dealings, and properties; books and literary efforts; magazine and newspaper clippings; memorabilia collected through his travels, friendships, and business dealings; photographs, drawings, and postcards; and artifacts and artwork. Dates covered are about 1870s-1959, undated, bulk 1904-1953.

REVISED FINDING AIDS

State Records

Texas Department of Transportation Right of Way Division Records
https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/13003/tsl-13003.html

These records include conveyances, maps, and titles for property owned by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Right of Way Division. The Right of Way Division coordinates the acquisition of land to build, widen, or enhance highways and provides relocation assistance when needed. The division also coordinates utility adjustments, and the disposition and leasing of surplus real property owned by TxDOT. The records document these land transfers and date from 1920 to 2017, and undated. The records are part of an ongoing digitization project by TxDOT that has begun with the Austin District; the project will continue with other major-municipality districts and finish with the less populous ones.

Pearl Beer commercial promoting recycling program:

Video: Pearl Beer 30-second spot, about 1973. Television and radio spot films and audiotapes, Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation Travel and Information Division films and audiotapes, 2013/063 TXDOT. Texas State Library and Archives Commission. View in TDA.

Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation Travel and Information Division Films and Audiotapes (a portion of these records are available in the TDA) https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/12006/tsl-12006.html

The Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation (TSDHPT) was responsible for the building and maintenance of Texas roads and highways and for developing public mass transportation in state from 1975 to 1991. The agency was formed in 1975 when the Texas Legislature merged the Texas Highway Department and the Texas Mass Transportation Commission into this single agency. Both TSDHPT and the Texas Highway Department operated a Travel and Information Division that promoted travel to and within the state of Texas, highway safety, and tourism through the distribution of publications, audiovisual programs, and news media materials. Records consist of 76 film projects made up of 16mm motion pictures and motion picture components, 0.25-inch open reel audiotapes, a 35mm work print, and an audiocassette, dating 1963-1990, bulk 1970-1985. Projects comprise Texas tourism and other films, as well as radio and television news stories, commercials, and public service announcements that were produced by the division. Subjects include bridge construction, anti-littering campaigns, tourist attractions around Texas, highway safety, highway funding, and public transportation. Included are different motion picture production components, such as work prints, internegatives, soundtracks, film clips, and stock shots. A portion of these materials have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas Tourist Development Agency Photographs and Audiovisual Materials (portions of the slides and negatives are available in the Texas Digital Archive and a portion of the slides is available on the Texas State Archives Flickr page)
https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/50090/tsl-50090.html

Texas Tourist Development Agency photographs and audiovisual materials document the activities of the Texas Tourist Development Agency (TTDA) and its work to increase the state’s share of the national tourist market using a variety of mass media. The materials include photographic color slides, transparencies, negatives, photographic prints, videotapes, motion picture films, and audio tapes and date from 1964 to 1997 and undated. Portions of the slides and negatives have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive. In addition, a portion of digitized slides is available through the Texas State Archives Flickr page.

Texas Governor Rick Perry Economic Development and Tourism Division Records (a portion of these are electronic records available on the TDA, some of which are available only after review for restricted information, upon receipt of a researcher request)
https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/60014/tsl-60014.html

The Economic Development and Tourism Division (EDT) of the Texas Governor’s Office under Governor Rick Perry specialized in encouraging in-state business expansion and relocation as well as promoting domestic and international tourism via partnerships with local convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, and private travel-related organizations. These records document the regular activities of several sections of EDT, along with predecessor agencies the Texas Department of Commerce and Texas Department of Economic Development, during the terms of Governors Rick Perry, George W. Bush, and Ann Richards. Efforts to convince corporate entities to relocate or expand into the state of Texas are a particular emphasis. Records include paper, audiovisual, and electronic record types encompassing incoming and outgoing correspondence, memorandums, reports, publications, presentations, speeches, organization charts, clippings, press releases, notes, working papers, strategic plans, agendas, meeting materials, calendars, promotional materials, project files, videocassette tapes, audiocassette tapes, and digital images. Records date 1989-2015.

Texas State Board of Education School District Records
http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/15005/tsl-15005.html

The Texas State Board of Education in conjunction with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction administered state management of public schools in Texas until the passage of the Gilmer-Aiken laws in 1949. The Texas State Board of Education school district records consist of annual/term reports, bonds of indebtedness, notices of incorporation, scholastic censuses, and treasurer’s annual statements. These records provide details on school district finances, student and teacher demographics, and school facilities and date 1879-1938 and undated, bulk 1880-1912.

RECENTLY ADDED TO THE TEXAS DIGITAL ARCHIVE (TDA)

Scrapbook-Wednesday Morning Music Club, 1934-1938. Scrapbooks, Wednesday Morning Music Club materials, Minnie Sneed Wilcox collection, 1953/059c. Texas State Library and Archives Commission. View in TDA.

The Minnie Sneed Wilcox Collection Scrapbooks
https://tsl.access.preservica.com/tda/manuscripts-collections/#wilcox

The Minnie Sneed Wilcox collection is an assembly of scrapbooks, correspondence, organization reports, and other materials that document the activities of Minnie Sneed Wilcox in three Texas music clubs between 1920 and 1945, bulk 1923-1941: the Wednesday Morning Music Club, the Texas Federation of Music Clubs, and the Texas Music Teachers Association.

New Online: Recent Updates to Finding Aids and Digital Images Available Online

Posted on February 24, 2021 by ARIS Staff

As our archives staff work on an ongoing basis to arrange, preserve, describe, and make available to the public the materials under our care, we spotlight new additions to the website in a regular feature from Out of the Stacks. The column lists new and revised finding aids recently made available online. We close out the piece highlighting fresh uploads to the Texas Digital Archive, our repository of electronic items.

Archivists create finding aids for collections once they are processed and add these descriptive guides to Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO). TARO hosts finding aids from institutions around the state and researchers may determine whether or not to limit searches to the State Archives. Not all collections have been processed and therefore the list of finding aids does not represent the entirety of our holdings. The Archives & Manuscripts page of the TSLAC website provides more information and guidance on how to access archival collections.

Contact ref@tsl.texas.gov or 512-463-5455 with questions about using TSLAC’s archival resources. For a comprehensive list of all recently added and updated finding aids visit Archives: Finding Aids (New & Revised).

New Finding Aids

State Records

Texas Attorney General’s Office bound briefs – AG II.05

The attorney general is the lawyer for the people of Texas and is charged by the Texas Constitution to defend the laws and the Constitution of the State of Texas, represent the State in litigation, and approve public bond issues. Records consist of bound volumes containing briefs to litigation in which the Texas Attorney General’s office played a part or had an interest, dating 1913-1938. Subjects include banking, conflicts with other states, oil and gas, railroads, taxation, and transportation.

San Jacinto River Authority minutes – TCEQ I.11

The San Jacinto River Authority, established by the Texas Legislature in 1937, develops, conserves, and protects water resources of the San Jacinto River Basin. The agency activities include supporting municipal and industrial water supply, water quality management, wastewater treatment, and water and soil conservation projects. Records consist of minutes dating 1990-2019.

Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission Office of the Hearing Examiners hearing files – TCEQ I.10

The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission was charged to protect the environment and public health and safety by reducing the release of pollutants and contaminants in the air and water, regulating the management and disposal of waste, and expediting the cleanup of contaminated sites. Records consist of hearing examiner files compiled by the commission’s Office of the Hearing Examiner’s predecessors—Texas Air Control Board, Texas Department of Health, and Texas Water Commission—as part of the permit application process, dating 1920s-1996, undated, bulk 1977-1992. The majority of the records dating prior to 1977 are exhibits.(A portion of these records are available in the TDA.)

Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission minutes – OAH II.040

The Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission, established in 2009 and administratively attached to the Texas Historical Commission, ensures that resources are available to students, educators, and the general public regarding the Holocaust and other genocides. These efforts aim to prevent future genocides. Records consist of commission meeting minutes, dating 2010-2018. (All records are electronic and available through the TDA after review for restricted information, upon receipt of a researcher request.)

Manuscripts

United States Bureau of Reclamation Region 5 (Texas) reclamation studies – MS I.11

The United States Bureau of Reclamation is the federal agency responsible for managing water resources in the western United States. Originally, management projects focused on reclamation of lands considered inhospitable due to lack of water through irrigation, but over time they have come to include maintenance of existing projects and development of environmental protection strategies for water resources. These records, from the bureau’s Austin Development Office, document water reclamation studies undertaken in Texas related to the bureau’s proposed and completed projects within Texas borders and include memorandums, reports, and plans regarding various infrastructure projects for water resource diversion, distribution, use, and development, dating 1940-1967, bulk 1946-1966.

Samuel E. Asbury papers – MS XII.23

Samuel Erson Asbury was a chemist, Texas historian, and collector of Texana and materials of prominent Texans of the Revolution-era. The Samuel E. Asbury papers comprise research correspondence, papers, photographs, primary source transcriptions, and genealogy notes about prominent Republic-era figures and Texas Reconstruction, dating 1922-1951.

Revised Finding Aids

State Records

Texas Attorney General Mark White records – AG II.11

As the chief legal officer of the state of Texas, the attorney general is charged by the Texas Constitution to defend the laws and the Constitution of the State of Texas, represent the State in litigation, and approve public bond issues. Records of Mark White’s tenure as attorney general from 1979 to 1983 include correspondence, memorandums, newspaper clippings, photographs, legal briefs, court opinions, press releases, and newsletters, dating 1975-1982, undated, bulk 1979-1982.

Subjects include the drafting and explanation of attorney general opinions, filings of lawsuits, analyzing proposed legislation at the state and federal levels, enforcement of the Deceptive Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act, the state’s criminal justice system, energy issues, Minister Lester Roloff’s children’s home and the enforcement of the Child Case Licensing Act, public education issues, and drug paraphernalia and illegal drug dealing. Image: Governor Mark White

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New Online: Recent Updates to Finding Aids and Digital Images Available Online

Posted on November 12, 2020 by ARIS Staff

As our archives staff work on an ongoing basis to arrange, preserve, describe, and make available to the public the materials under our care, we spotlight new additions to the website in a regular feature from Out of the Stacks. The column lists new and revised finding aids recently made available online. We close out the piece highlighting fresh uploads to the Texas Digital Archive, our repository of electronic items.

Archivists create finding aids for collections once they are processed and add these descriptive guides to Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO). TARO hosts finding aids from institutions around the state and researchers may determine whether or not to limit searches to the State Archives. Not all collections have been processed and therefore the list of finding aids does not represent the entirety of our holdings. The Archives & Manuscripts page of the TSLAC website provides more information and guidance on how to access archival collections.

New Finding Aids

State Records

Texas Health and Human Services Commission advisory committee meeting files – OAH V.132

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is the oversight agency for certain state agencies with health or human services functions. Records are the meeting files of many of the commission’s advisory committees, dating 1996-2019. Records are electronic as well as paper.

Texas Prescribed Burning Board meeting minutes and agenda and other records – AGR I.06

The Texas Prescribed Burning Board (PBB) was created within the Department of Agriculture in 1999, for the purpose of establishing minimum standards for prescribed burning in Texas. The PBB certifies commercial, private, and not-for-profit prescribed burn managers to ensure they have the proper training to execute prescribed burns designed to confine fire to a predetermined area and to accomplish planned land management objectives. Records include board meeting minutes and agenda, research and publication development files, Prescribed Fire School documents and curriculum, planning records, personnel documents, and audiocassettes, dated 1995-2018 and undated, bulk 1998-2010. The audiocassettes have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Texas Senate recordings – LEG I.04

The Texas Senate is one arm of the Legislature of the State of Texas (the other being the Texas House of Representatives), which the Texas Constitution (Article III, Section 1) vests with all legislative power of the state. Senate recordings contain floor debate, press conferences, speeches, interviews, hearings, ceremonies, and joint meetings with House committees. They span the 62nd Legislature, 4th Called Session, through the 79th Legislature, Interim Term. These digital copies of the original audiotape recordings, created by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission with grant funding provided by the Library Services and Technology Act, Institute of Museum and Library Services, are part of the Texas Digital Archive. The Texas Senate Recordings search page allows searching of these recordings by legislative session, date, committee name, recording number, and keyword.

Revised Finding Aids

State Records

Texas Tourist Development Agency photographs and audiovisual materials – OAH VIII.213

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New Online: Recent Update to Finding Aids and Digital Images Available Online

Posted on August 20, 2020 by ARIS Staff

As our archives staff work on an ongoing basis to arrange, preserve, describe and make available to the public the materials under our care, we spotlight new additions to the website in a regular feature from Out of the Stacks. The column lists new and revised finding aids recently made available online. We close out the piece highlighting fresh uploads to the Texas Digital Archive, our repository of electronic items.

Archivists create finding aids for collections once they are processed and add these descriptive guides to Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO). TARO hosts finding aids from institutions around the state and researchers may determine whether or not to limit searches to the State Archives. Not all collections have been processed and therefore the list of finding aids does not represent the entirety of our holdings. The Archives & Manuscripts page of the TSLAC website provides more information and guidance on how to access archival collections.

New Finding Aids

State Records

Texas General Land Office Special Board of Review agenda, minutes, and exhibits – GLO I.11

Administratively attached to the Texas General Land Office, the Special Board of Review considers various aspects related to the development of real property belonging to Texas, the Permanent School Fund, or any other dedicated state fund. Records consists of agenda, minutes, and exhibits, dating 1995-1998.

Texas Governor Allan Shivers press files – GOV IV.08

Press staff of the Texas Governor’s Office were responsible for issuing press releases and media advisories on the activities and actions of the governor, writing speeches for the governor and collecting, copying, and distributing information about the governor and first lady. Records are the press files for Governor Allan Shivers and consist of clippings, press releases, speeches, notes, publications, proclamations, correspondence, and related records, dated 1937, 1941-1943, 1946-1957, bulk 1946-1957.

A portrait of Governor Allan Shivers,January, 1953. 1983/112 M-351-1, Texas Department of Public Safety photographs.Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Texas Governor Allan Shivers scheduling files – GOV IV.09

As the chief executive of the State of Texas, the governor has many responsibilities and duties that require a full schedule to fulfill. The governor’s scheduling files document Governor’s Office responses to requests for the governor’s time as well as logistical organization of the governor’s attendance at local, state, national, and international events. Records are the scheduling files of Governor Allan Shivers and consist of correspondence, invitations, schedules, and related records, dated 1949-1964 and undated, bulk 1951-1957.

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New Online: Recent Updates to Finding Aids and Digital Images Available Online

Posted on May 20, 2020 by ARIS Staff

Front elevation, February 13, 1883,1994/083-8a, Architectural drawings and derivatives. Texas Capitol Building Commission administrative records and architectural drawings. Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Archivists create finding aids for collections once they are processed and add these descriptive guides to Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO). TARO hosts finding aids from institutions around the state and researchers may determine whether or not to limit searches to the State Archives. Not all collections have been processed and therefore the list of finding aids does not represent the entirety of our holdings. The Archives & Manuscripts page of the TSLAC website provides more information and guidance on how to access archival collections.

New Finding Aids

State Records

Texas Department of Transportation Right of Way Division records – HWY II.15 (these electronic records are available on the Texas Digital Archive)

These records include conveyances, maps, and titles for property owned by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Right of Way Division. The Right of Way Division coordinates the acquisition of land to build, widen, or enhance highways and provides relocation assistance when needed. The division also coordinates utility adjustments, and the disposition and leasing of surplus real property owned by TxDOT. The records document these land transfers and date from 1924 to 2017, and undated. The records are part of an ongoing digitization project by TxDOT that has begun with the Austin District; the project will continue with other major-municipality districts and finish with the less populous ones.

Right-of-way easement, 000006032, Texas Department of Transportation Right of Way Division records. Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Texas Board of Commissioners of Public Grounds and Buildings records – OAH II.022b

The 8th Texas Legislature (Chapter 40, Regular Session) created the Board of Commissioners of Public Grounds and Buildings in February 1860 to supervise the care, maintenance, and improvements of buildings and grounds upon the capitol square, including the Capitol, the Treasury Building, the Supreme Court Building, the General Land Office, and the Governor’s Mansion. The board was also tasked with directing and controlling the investment of all appropriations made by the legislature for the purchase of books for the State Library and establishing rules for the management of the library. Records date 1860-1876, undated, and include minutes, financial records, correspondence, reports to the governor, various inventories, and payroll records.

Texas Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds records – OAH II.022b (all of the records have been digitized and are available on the Texas Digital Archive)

The 14th Texas Legislature (Senate Bill 335, Regular Session) created the Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds in 1874 to take charge of the public halls of the Capitol and State Library as well as the safekeeping and preservation of the Capitol grounds and State Cemetery. This office also briefly worked with the Governor’s Mansion, Treasury Building, and Comptroller Building. In 1879, the office came under the supervision of the Commissioner of Insurance, Statistics, and History (Revised Civil Statutes, Chapter 2, Title 76). The office was abolished in 1919 and its duties absorbed by the Texas State Board of Control (Senate Bill 147, 36th Legislature, Regular Session). Records date 1877-1916, undated, and include financial records, reports, various inventories, payroll records, bids, specifications, blueprints, drawings, and prints. These records have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.