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 Natural Resource Conservation Commission Reclamation Engineer records
The Texas State Legislature created the office of Texas State Reclamation Engineer in 1913. The Reclamation Engineer measured the flow of streams, approved plans concerning the organization of irrigation and water-supply districts, made plans for storage and use of floodwater, conducted topographic surveys, conducted evaporation studies and silt studies, investigated underground water supplies, prepared and encouraged the adoption of conservation plans, and made various other statistical compilations in cooperation with the US government.
These Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission Reclamation Engineer records contain information predating the existence of the office of Texas State Reclamation Engineer and consist of correspondence, maps, charts, blueprints, photograph albums, field notes, hearing transcripts and records, reports, financial and administrative records, litigation records, speeches, procedure manuals, and project descriptions, dating 1870-1998. These records also include photostats and transcriptions of documents dating to the 1820s and 1830s. The records contain information regarding all of the essential operations of the Reclamation Engineer in its various administrative manifestations, including but not limited to flood control and levee building, litigation, and administrative matters.
Manuscripts
Henry Lloyd Dugat Sr. papers (at Sam Houston Center)
Henry Lloyd Dugat Sr. was an African American church and civic leader in Liberty, Liberty County, Texas. The Henry Lloyd Dugat Sr. papers consist of programs, certificates and awards, clippings, event materials, church materials, school materials, subject files, photographs, scrapbooks, audio and videotapes, computer disks, and artifacts pertaining to Dugat’s life and career, the Dugat family, and the history of African Americans in Liberty County, Texas. Material dates 1900-2016, bulk about 1955-2009.
Liberty (Tex.) city officials photograph collection (at Sam Houston Center)
In the 1960s, the Liberty Historical Committee, appointed by the Liberty city manager, began collecting numerous images of Liberty mayors and city council members who had held office since the city’s incorporation in 1837. The Liberty (Tex.) city officials photograph collection consists of 126 images, both black-and-white and color, of mayors and city council members of the City of Liberty, Texas, who served from the 1840s to 2001. The collection consists of individual portraits and some group photographs. Most of the individual portraits were originally mounted in frames on display at Liberty City Hall for many years. The group photographs may have been obtained from the local newspaper, the Liberty Vindicator , or may have been taken by City of Liberty staff. Group photographs depict mayors, council members, and other city staff from the 1950s-1980s and 2001 in both formal and informal settings. Photographs consist of originals and reproductions. Materials date about 1964-2001, bulk about 1964-1967.
McKinney & Williams Company records
The McKinney & Williams Company was the largest commission merchant firm in early Texas history. Founded by Thomas F. McKinney and Samuel M. Williams in 1834, the firm played an integral role in financially aiding Texas during the Texas Revolution. Using the steady stream of credit coming from the United States, the company contracted with the provisional government of Texas to convey troops and provide financial aid and supplies throughout the war and into the early Republic era. These records of the company predominately consist of financial records related to provisioning and transporting the Texian Army and US volunteer units and include promissory notes, claim vouchers, ledger sheets, requisition orders and receipts, invoices, correspondence, and auditor’s affidavits, dated 1835-1840, 1873-1948, bulk 1835-1839.
Revised Finding Aids
State Records
Texas Good Neighbor Commission records
The Texas Good Neighbor Commission was established in 1943 under an initial mandate to promote inter-American goodwill, advance inter-American relations, and improve the conditions of those of Mexican and Latin American ancestry in the state. These records reflect the activities of the Texas Good Neighbor Commission and its association with other organizations and date 1943-1987 and undated. Types of materials include minutes, reports, proceedings of conferences and meetings, correspondence, memorandums, financial statements, legislation, resolutions, clippings, photographs, printed materials, speeches, publications, audio recordings, and films.
Texas Governor Price Daniel campaign files (at Sam Houston Center)
The governor of Texas is the chief executive officer of the state elected by citizens every four years. Price Daniel served as governor of Texas from January 15, 1957, to January 15, 1963. These records consist of correspondence, reports, press releases, speeches, financial records, mailing lists, photographs, and clippings primarily documenting Daniel’s gubernatorial campaigns (1956, 1958, 1960, and 1962). The dates of the records are 1950, 1956-1962, bulk 1956-1962. Materials include files pertaining to state and national Democratic conventions between 1956 and 1962, campaign speeches made by Daniel, photographs of Daniel and his family used in campaign material, photographs of Daniel campaigning for governor, State Democratic Executive Committee files, campaign expense reports, and records of campaign contributions
Texas State Board of Education minutes and agenda
The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) is the policy-making body of the Texas Education Agency (TEA), which coordinates all public educational activities and services except those of colleges and universities. The SBOE approves the plan of organization for TEA; adopts policies, rules, and regulations; approves budgets; executes contracts for the purchase of textbooks and instructional materials as recommended by the commissioner; directs the investment of the Permanent School Fund; passes on appeals made from the decisions of the commissioner; reviews the educational needs of the state; and evaluates programs under the direction of TEA. These functions are well-documented by these records, which consist of copies of agenda packets, minutes, and attachments for meetings of the Texas State Board of Education and its committees, dating 1876-2021.
Texas Secretary of State official proclamations of the governor
The Texas Secretary of State is named by the Texas Constitution as the custodian of all official acts and proceedings of the governor. These records are proclamations made by Governors Allan Shivers, Beauford H. Jester, Mark White, William P. Clements, Ann Richards, and George W. Bush; and Lieutenant Governor and Acting Governor Ben Ramsey; and filed with the secretary of state, plus some supporting documentation, dating 1949, 1954, and 1984-1997. They are signed by both the governor and the secretary of state, and are affixed with the seal of the state of Texas. Subjects of the proclamations include the following: calling special sessions for the legislature, ordering general and special elections, vetoing legislation, appointing special judges, bestowing the honor of burial in the state cemetery, establishing speed limits on interstate highways in Texas, announcing animal health regulations, designating as disaster areas those portions of the state in need of emergency assistance, and declaring commemorative days/weeks/months.
Texas Secretary of State inaugural fund filings
In 1979, the Texas Legislature passed legislation regulating the inaugurations of Texas governors and lieutenant governors. Inaugural fund filings are created to document the receipt and expenditure of funds to pay for the inaugural ceremonies of Texas governors and other activities of the inaugural committees. These records consist of filings made by six different inaugural committees with the Texas Secretary of State for the inaugurations of Governors William Clements, Mark White, Ann Richards, and George W. Bush. Types of records include correspondence, official proclamations by the secretary of state, the committee’s final annual reports, receipt vouchers, committee appointments, oaths of office, lists of expenditures and contributors, and reports concerning expenditure and grant recipients from the Texas Inaugural Endowment Fund Committee, dating 1979-1999.
Texas Secretary of State official memoranda of the governor
The Texas Secretary of State is named by the Texas Constitution as the custodian of all official acts and proceedings of the governor. These records are official memoranda issued by Governors Mark White, William P. Clements Jr. and George W. Bush, and Secretary of State John W. Fainter Jr. The memoranda were filed with the Office of the Secretary of State and date 1983-1998. Subjects of the memoranda include the following: designating commemorative days/weeks/months, ordering the flying of flags in the Capitol Complex at half-mast, announcing the closing of state agencies for a half day on Good Friday, and approving recommended real estate transactions.
Texas Secretary of State Santa Fe papers
Since its establishment in 1836, the Republic of Texas disputed with surrounding nations as to its exact borders. The Secretary of State, in accordance with the constitution of the Republic of Texas, collected, arranged, and preserved all books, maps, parchments, records, documents, deeds, conveyances, and other papers belonging to the State. The Texas Secretary of State Santa Fe papers consist of financial records, newspaper articles, and correspondence relating to the Santa Fe Expedition of 1841 and the subsequent claims of the Republic of Texas over western territory, dating from 1840 to 1860. Additional records and correspondence relate to subsequent attempts at incorporating the New Mexican territory into the state of Texas, including the Neighbors Expedition of 1849-1850. Unrelated to the rest of the papers, but nevertheless included, are military orders and correspondence between Charles F. Augustus Williams and Major Thomas Casey, dated 1842.
Manuscripts
Sam Houston Center Abstract of title collection (at Sam Houston Center)
The Sam Houston Center Abstract of title collection is primarily composed of abstracts of title pertaining to tracts of land in Chambers, Hardin, and Liberty Counties. The abstracts contain deeds, affidavits, field notes, powers of attorney, oil leases, plats, and certificates. They were primarily compiled by various abstract companies in those counties. The abstracts were created between 1904 and 1972, with the majority created between 1946 and 1966; information within the files dates back to 1830.
Collier Read Granberry papers
Collier Read Granberry (1899-1962) was a Texas House of Representatives parliamentarian, electrical engineering instructor, and assistant to the chancellor and president of the University of Texas. These papers document Collier Read Granberry’s life and duties as a University of Texas faculty member and a parliamentarian for the Texas Legislature. Correspondence Granberry received during his career as the assistant to the president and chancellor of the University of Texas, his role as the executive assistant to Texas Governor Allan Shivers, and executive director of the Texas Legislative Council make up the bulk of these papers. Materials are largely textual, comprising not only correspondence, but booklets, publications, pamphlets, photographs, newspaper clippings, and other related printed materials, dated 1920-1963. A majority of these papers document his career at the University of Texas, his interest in electrical engineering, and involvement with Texas state government.
Thomas P. Martin collection
Thomas P. Martin served as acting chief of the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress at the end of a 30-year career as an archivist, historian, and librarian. The Thomas P. Martin collection is composed of correspondence, photographs, tintypes, visas, pamphlets, applications, newspaper clippings, reports, prints, publications, certificates, and passports, and dates about 1891-1973, 1988, undated, bulk 1917-1960.
Harbert Davenport collection
Attorney and historical researcher Harbert Davenport gathered research materials chronicling the political and military events associated with the Texas Revolution and the Republic period of Texas history. As a researcher, Davenport was particularly interested in the early Spanish expeditions into Texas, the personnel of the Goliad campaigns of the Texas Revolution, and the history of the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The Harbert Davenport collection consists of Davenport’s historical research and personal records, including copies of correspondence, research notes, blueline prints, bibliographies, newspaper clippings, historical narratives, muster rolls and rosters, literary attempts, biographical sketches, minutes, official reports, proceedings, transcriptions, typescripts, and photocopies, dating 1903-1955, bulk 1937-1955.
Wow, these new additions to the finding aids and digital archives are truly impressive! The depth and variety of materials, from the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission records to the Liberty city officials photograph collection, provide an invaluable glimpse into the rich history of Texas. It’s fantastic to see the efforts to preserve and share such diverse aspects of the state’s past, from environmental engineering to the stories of individuals like Henry Lloyd Dugat Sr. and the significant role of McKinney & Williams Company in Texas Revolution. The revised finding aids also shed light on crucial aspects, such as the Texas Good Neighbor Commission records and the detailed documentation of the Texas State Board of Education’s history. Kudos to the archives staff for their dedication to making this wealth of information accessible to the public!