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 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.
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.