
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 Education Agency Historical School District Action Files
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the entities which proceeded it (State Superintendent of Public Instruction, State Board of Education, and State Department of Education) administered agency oversight of public school districts. TEA historical school district action files, 1883-2005, bulk 1935-1992, document the existence of and changes to common, independent, and rural high school districts as well as juvenile detention facilities. Volumes listing districts document each district’s existence during the span of 1883-1954 (not inclusive). The historical school district actions, 1935-2005, document changes in district boundaries through consolidation and annexation, which affect apportionment of school funding. The records are mainly correspondence and copies of county election records, with copies of scholastic census lists, hand-drawn maps, or other documents occasionally included.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission Public Relations Social Media Records
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) preserves the record of government for public scrutiny, secures and makes accessible historically significant records and other valuable resources, meets the reading needs of Texans with disabilities, and builds and sustains statewide partnerships to improve library programs and services. TSLAC engages in public relations activities to disseminate information about its events and programs through press releases and other forms of communication. These TSLAC public relations social media records, 2010-2022, were produced to publicize agency resources, services, and events through the utilization of social networking tools.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Wildlife Division Photographs
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is responsible for the management and conservation of the state’s wildlife and fish resources. The TPWD Wildlife Division manages and conserves the natural and cultural resources of Texas and provides hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation opportunities for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. These photographs date 1938-1990s, undated, and span the Texas State Parks Board; Texas Game, Fish, and Oyster Commission; Game and Fish Commission; and TPWD, including the Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. Formats include black-and-white negatives, color transparencies, black-and-white prints, color slides, and contact sheets, documenting Wildlife Division activities including agency staff and property; flora and fauna of Texas; TPWD facilities such as fish hatcheries and laboratories; outdoor activities such as fishing, hunting, and camping; and state parks.
Finance Commission of Texas records – includes electronic meeting files that are part of the Texas Digital Archive
The Finance Commission of Texas is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the Texas Department of Banking, the Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending, and the Office of the Consumer Credit Commissioner and serves as the primary point of accountability for ensuring that state depository and lending institutions function as a system. The commission and its various committees meet regularly to decide upon policy. These records, dating 1977-2022, consist primarily of minutes of those meetings. Also included are packets of various documents sent to commission members before meetings for review, a selection of press releases put out by the commission, and a list of commission members.
Manuscripts

Callender, Goldsmith, and Cox Family Papers (at Sam Houston Center)
The Callender, Goldsmith, and Cox family papers document the lives of several members of the Callender, Goldsmith, and Cox families of Grimes and Jefferson Counties, Texas. Subjects include genealogy, family life, World War I and World War II service of some family members, dentistry, and programs and activities of the First Baptist Church of Port Arthur, Texas. The papers primarily consist of correspondence, genealogical materials, photographs, postcards, greeting cards, business and legal documents, some government records (birth and death certificates), manuscripts, publications, clippings, and artifacts. Photographic formats include tintypes, cartes-de-visite, and cabinet cards. The papers date 1852-2014, bulk about 1890-1977.
Walter H. and Vera DeBlanc Mathews Family Papers (at Sam Houston Center)
The Walter H. and Vera DeBlanc Mathews family papers document the lives of Walter H. and Vera DeBlanc Mathews and other family members in Liberty and Angleton, Texas, during World War II and consist primarily of correspondence, postcards, publications, and photographs. Materials date about 1900s-1940s, with the bulk dating 1942-1943.
Sergeant James H. Young Collection (at Sam Houston Center)
James Hogg Young, a resident of Walter, Liberty County, Texas, served in the United States Army in World War I and was killed in action in France in September 1918. The Sergeant James H. Young collection primarily documents Young’s World War I service. Materials consist of two scrapbooks (Young’s service books), photographs, correspondence, postcards, telegrams, newspaper clippings, cards and clippings with printed World War I poems and song lyrics, World War I memorial cards and posters, other World War I or patriotic mementos, and a 1954 funeral book for one of James H. Young’s brothers. Materials date 1917-1921 and 1954, with the bulk dating 1918-1921.
Revised Finding Aids

State Records
Texas Comptroller’s Office Claims Records – Republic pension indexes are newly digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Records – Indexes to cases and dockets are newly digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Petitions for Discretionary Review Files – Digital versions of docket sheets held permanently by the court (being provided by us as an Other Finding Aid to these PDRs) are part of the Texas Digital Archive
Texas Secretary of State Executive Record Books – Microfilm version of these records has been digitized and is part of the Texas Digital Archive
Texas Department of Transportation Highway Department Historical Records
The Texas Department of Transportation, in cooperation with local and regional officials, is responsible for planning, designing, building, operating, and maintaining the state’s transportation system. These records primarily document the early operation of the Texas Highway Department. Records include correspondence, memoranda, reports, press releases, speeches, road and highway construction project files, maps, photographs, a cash ledger, and early accounting books.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Wildlife Division Records
The Wildlife Division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) manages and conserves the state’s wildlife resources via wildlife planning, research, monitoring population dynamics, regulating game seasons and bag limits, conserving non-game and rare species, habitat conservation and acquisition, providing technical assistance to landowners, and oversight of Wildlife Management Areas. The records document the operations of the division as a whole and of several of its subsidiary programs: Public Hunting, Wildlife Diversity, Game Preserves, and the Landsat Map project of the Wildlife Habitat Assessment program. Records include incoming and outgoing correspondence, memorandums, annual reports, progress reports, brochures, fact sheets, agendas and other meeting materials, notes, survey contracts, purchase vouchers, draft proposals, field inspection forms, environmental impact statements, maps, and photographic material including aerial photographs. Dates range from 1938 to 2006 and undated, with the bulk dating 1955-2003.
To find out more about the collections at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, contact reference staff at 512-463-545 or ref@tsl.texas.gov.