| Genforum www.genforum.com This free website is hosted by genealogy.com. Consisting of a message board, you can find several thousand surnames listed, with messages by various researchers attached who are willing to share their information with you. I found out A LOT about my ancestry this way. COOL SITE! Dallas Library - Main Branch Downtown J. Erikson Central Library 1515 Young Street Dallas, TX 75201 Archives: (214) 670-1435 Genealogy: (214) 670-1424 www.dallaslibrary.org The library has two floors to serve you - the 7th floor is the Archives division, with lots of diaries, old maps, photos, and newspapers. The genealogical center is located on the eighth floor, where you can find information for almost the entire U.S., plus Germany, Britain, and Canada. The Catholic Diocese Archives 1600 Congress Avenue Austin, TX 78711 (512) 476-4888 Call for visiting information Prior to Texas independence and eventual statehood, all records regarding the administration of New Spain were kept by the Missions. The Catholic Church collected these documents, preserved them in typed, photostatic copy, and has made them available to the public for research (the records in Austin are lifted from the originals in San Antonio). An historian will find tons of information, including administrative paperwork on the Missions, real property documentation, military commissions and orders, descriptions of encounters with Native Americans, birth and death records of Mexican citizens, and treaties made between the Spanish, Anglos, and Indians. Records maintained after Texas independence and statehood pertain almost exclusively to church matters, as Texans adopted the common law practice of recording transactions through the government, not the church. You need to understand some Spanish to research these records. However, Carlos Castaneda compiled these records in his eight volume work, Our Catholic Heritage, which can be researched in the Diocese Archives. The University of Dallas, a Catholic university, should have a copy of this work as well. Gee Library Archives Texas A&M Commerce (903) 427-3991 http://multimedia.tamu-commerce.edu/Library/arc.htm Documents located in this library include county records for Bowie, Camp, Cass, Franklin, Gregg, Harrison, Hopkins, Hunt, Marion, Morris, Rains, Smith, Titus, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood counties (on microfilm). The archive also holds oral histories about several topics, including dairy farming, rural schools, and the progress of Hunt County, and many of the primary documents concern social and economic development of NE Texas from the 1820s on. There are also histories on select NE Texas families. Catholic Encyclopedia http://www.newadvent.org The first Europeans to document the Southwest were catholic - hence, the catholic library at the Vatican is chock-full of descriptions of the New World. While this website does not provide any specific familial links, it's a good starting point, especially if you want to learn more about your ancestor's culture. National Archives, Fort Worth 501 W. Felix Fort Worth, TX (817) 831-5900 The archives in Fort Worth hold federal district court cases and documents from federal agencies (such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs) for the southwest (Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas). Many of the court documents are invaluable, such as those detailing the Green Corn Rebellion in the 1920s and the Bonnie and Clyde harboring trial of 1934. |
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Libraries and Websites
