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Texas History
Use this guide to find primary and secondary sources for the study of Texas history.
Databases Featuring Primary Source Material
- Texas County Histories (History Commons) This link opens in a new windowCounty histories are important primary sources for historical and genealogical research, providing detailed coverage of local history, including information about individuals, families, and communities.
- American Periodicals Series Online, 1741-1940 (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowA primary source collection of general interest magazines, trade publications, and professional journals published in America between 1741 and 1940. The collection covers three broad periods: America's transition from colonial times to independence; the early 19th century "golden age of American periodicals" including general interest magazines, children's publications, and journals for women; and Antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction America.
- Arte Publico Hispanic Historical Collection, Series 1 (EBSCO) This link opens in a new windowFeatures digitized historical content pertaining to U.S. Hispanic history, literature and culture. Includes more than 1,100 digitized historical books, as well as Hispanic newspapers, political and religious pamphlets, and essays.
Also called: Latino-Hispanic American Experience Series 1 - Arte Publico Hispanic Historical Collection, Series 2 (EBSCO) This link opens in a new windowThe Latino-Hispanic American Experience: Leaders, Writers, and Thinkers: contains a digital collection of historical content pertaining to U.S. Hispanic history, civil rights, religious thought, and growing presence of women writers from the late 19th and 20th centuries. Contains over 250,000 pages of personal and archival manuscript collections, 3000 issues of rare historical newspapers and periodicals, and hundreds of rare books. Content is drawn from the “Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project”.
Also called: Latino-Hispanic American Experience Series 2 - Gerritsen Women's History Collection of Aletta H. Jacobs (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowAn extensive collection of mostly primary sources from the 1700s to the mid-20th century that trace the evolution of women's rights in the United States, Britain, Canada, continental Europe, and New Zealand, among other geographic areas. Topics include the nature and role of women, the historical and legal status of women, the education of girls and women, marriage and the family, employment of women, women and religion, women's voluntary associations, political and social reform, biography and autobiography, women writers, and more. Includes books and historical journals, with most materials in English, and others representing 14 additional languages.
- HeritageQuest Online (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowA rich collection of research materials for genealogists and historians to trace family histories and American culture. Includes full-image population schedules from the U.S. Census (1790-1950), U.S. City Directories (1821-1989), U.S. Freedman's Bank Records (1861-1875), U.S. Indian Census Rolls (1885-1940), Canadian Census (1825-1921) and more.
- North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries, and Oral Histories (Alexander Street) This link opens in a new windowChronicles personal accounts of immigration to America and Canada from 1800-1950. Currently includes approximately 37,500 pages of material by 2,162 authors. When completed, the collection will contain over 100,000 pages of letters, diaries, pamphlets, autobiographies, and oral histories, many previously unpublished.
- North American Women's Letters and Diaries (Alexander Street) This link opens in a new windowChronicles various aspects of women's lives in North America from Colonial times through 1950. As the largest collection of women's diaries and correspondence in existence, it includes 150,000 pages of published and previously unpublished letters and diaries by 1,325 women authors. Limited biographical information is included.
- Periodicals Archive Online (PAO) (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowSearch periodicals in the humanities and social sciences including disciplines such as anthropology, area studies, economics, education, history, linguistics and philology, literature, music and the performing arts, and sociology, among others. Covers publications from the 15th century to the present. Includes full-text articles in languages other than English, with significant offerings in Spanish, French, and German.
- ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new windowComprehensive full image coverage of U.S. Congressional publications 1789-present, Updated daily. Hearings (1824-present); Congressional Research Service Reports (CRS) (1916-present); House and Senate Documents/Reports (1817-present); Legislative Histories (1969-current); Bills & Laws (1776-present); Vote Reports (1987-present); Historical Maps & Images (1789-2007); Congressional Record (daily and bound versions) (1789-present); Regulations; Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations; Presidential Executive Orders.
Member profiles, committee assignments, financial disclosure statements and voting records. - Hein Online: Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law This link opens in a new windowIncludes all known legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world, as well as materials on free African-Americans in the colonies and the U.S. before 1870. Search the entire database or browse by slavery statutes (state and federal), judicial cases, scholarly articles, e-books, bibliography, and external links.
- Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 (Alexander Street) This link opens in a new windowA vast collection of primary sources, as well as document projects, that examine interpretive questions concerning U.S. women's history in social movements from colonial times through the twentieth century. Provides access to documents, images, books, chronologies, biographies, scholarly essays, commentaries, and bibliographies. New primary documents and document projects are added annually.
Digital Primary Sources - Texas History
- Baylor University Digital CollectionsDigital collections related to gospel music, sheet music, Texas history, and U.S. Civil War.
- LLILAS Benson Digital CollectionsDigitized images and documents from the history of Latin America from the Benson Latin American Collection at UT Austin.
- Bexar Archives - Briscoe Center for American HistoryThe Bexar Archives are the official Spanish documents that preserve the political, military, economic, and social life of the Spanish province of Texas and the Mexican state of Coahuila y Texas, up to 1836. Includes digital images of more than 5,000 original documents and translations.
- Digital Collections - Briscoe Center for American HistoryBrowse by collection or subject, or search by keyword. Includes documents, photographs, illustrations, book excerpts, moving images, sound recordings, and even digitized artifacts.
- Center for Mexican American Studies and Research Special Collections - Our Lady of the Lake University - Research CollectionsHistoric documents and information that include the Spanish Colonial Missions Collection, the María Antonietta Berriozábal Collection, the Mexican American Collection, among others. Make an appointment with OLLU library staff to see items in person.
- Edwards Aquifer Website by Gregg EckhardtUnofficial website about Edwards Aquifer presented as an information resource for the general public. Use the drop-down "Index" menu to find historical and environmental information and primary sources about the San Antonio River, San Antonio Springs, and other area springs, rivers, lakes, and canals.
- Eugene Omar Goldbeck Photograph Collection - Harry Ransom CenterGoldbeck (American, 1892-1986) was a commercial photographer who specialized in panoramic photography. Photographs in this collection document a period of rapid growth and prosperity in San Antonio, Texas, as well as America's involvement in the First World War on the home front both on- and off-base.
- Houston Public Library Digital ArchivesDigitized photographs, maps, film news clips, oral histories, and more from the Houston area.
- Laredo Archives Series - The Portal to Texas HistoryIndexes and summaries of items in the Laredo Archives, held by St. Mary's University in San Antonio, TX.
- Portal to Texas HistoryDigitized materials submitted by archives across Texas.
- Rice University Woodson Research Center Special Collections & ArchivesDigital collections can be found at the links for "Archives," "Manuscripts," and "Rare Books." Exhibits focus on the founding and history of Rice University, digitized copies of the student newspaper "Rice Thresher," slavery and the Battle of Sabine Pass, Houston waterways, and the architectural career of William Ward Watkin, among others.
- San Antonio Municipal Archives & Records: Search Digital CollectionsOnline access to digitized archival materials.
- Southern Methodist University Digital CollectionsDigital collections covering a variety of topics in Texas and Southwestern history, including the Civil War, railroads, Dallas historic aerial photographs, historic Texas documents, photographs of historic periods/events in Mexico, and more.
- Bird's-Eye Views - Amon Carter Museum of Modern ArtA collection of digital city views from the Amon Carter Museum, including Texas city views Search the Collection for: birds-eye view
- Texas Digital Archive - Texas State Library & Archives CommissionNumerous photographs from the later 19th to the early 20th centuries from all across Texas. Also includes documents from Texas agencies and the governor's office.
- Texas State University Digital CollectionsDigital collections including a digitized edition of The Account and Commentaries of Governor Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca. Spanish conquistador Cabeza de Vaca was shipwrecked in 1528 on what is now Galveston Island and was the first European to explore what is now Texas and the Southwest. Also, a behind the scenes look at the making of the television miniseries Lonesome Dove and documents relating to the Branch Davidians of Waco.
- Texas Tech University Vietnam Center and Archive: Virtual Vietnam ArchiveA searchable collection of digitized documents and manuscripts, still and moving images, audio recordings, oral histories, maps, artifacts, and more related to the Vietnam War. Topics include military operations, POW/MIA, My Lai massacre, Agent Orange, antiwar activities, refugee relocation, and more. In addition to searching, you can also browse collections. For additional search help see Virtual Vietnam Video Archive Guides on YouTube.
- Texas Woman's University Libraries - Gateway to Women's HistoryArchive of documents, manuscripts, photographs, oral histories, and artifacts with a strong focus on women. Some topics: women in the military, women Airforce service pilots, women in aviation, African American women, women's athletics, women's organizations, and women's activism and political participation.
- University of Houston Digital LibraryDigital collections related to the history of Houston, Texas and the University of Houston. Includes photographs and documents about suffragist Minnie Fisher Cunningham, civil rights leader Alonso S. Perales, the Houston Negro Hospital founded in the 1920s, and more.
- University of Texas Arlington Tejano Voices ProjectAudio, transcripts and photographs from the personal recollections of 173 Tejanos and Tejanas and their struggle against racial discrimination in post-World War II Texas.
- University of Texas at Austin Tarlton Law Library Digital CollectionsDigital collection includes text and images of Texas constitutions from 1824-1876, papers of Justice Tom C. Clark relating to some of the most important Supreme Court cases of the 20th century, description of the Justices of Texas from 1836-1986, and more.
- University of Texas El Paso Digital CommonsDigital collections include UTEP publications, El Paso city directories, and photograph collections, as well as oral histories of participants in the Bracero Program from the Institute of Oral History. Click "Expand All" to see an index of all digitized content.
- UT Health Science Center Digital ArchiveA selection of digitized items pertaining to the history of medicine, university history, university records, and electronic theses and dissertations.
- UTSA Libraries Digital CollectionsDigitized materials from UTSA Special Collections and the Institute of Texan Cultures.
Historical Census Data
- Historical Statistics of the U.S. (Cambridge) This link opens in a new windowHistorical statistics for the U.S. from colonial times through the 20th century, covering population, work and welfare, economic structure and performance, economic sectors, as well as governance and international relations. Introductory essays for each topic provide context and highlight key tables.
- Census Atlas of the United StatesData from decennial censuses prior to 2000 support nearly 150 maps and figures, providing context and an historical perspective for many of the topics presented.
- RAND State Statistics This link opens in a new windowProvides a comprehensive portfolio of statistics for all 50 states. Topics are organized by broad categories: demographics, health, economics, crime, poverty and social services, income, K-12 education, government, and higher education. Drop down menus for each category allow the user to narrow the topic.
Texas Postcard Collections
- AustinPostcard.comPersonal digitized collection of postcards of website author. Postcards are not dated.
- George W. Cook Dallas/Texas Image CollectionA native Dallasite, George W. Cook (1949-2012) was a lifelong collector with a focus on Dallas and Texas. Hundreds of post cards have been digitized with descriptions by Southern Methodist University.
- Tyler, Texas Vintage Postcard CollectionPostcard categories include businesses, homes, churches and schools, government buildings, etc.
- Irene Carnes Collection Texas Post Card CollectionNon-digital collection held at the Dallas Public Library. Donated in 1983, this collection includes many small towns and at least one full box of Dallas postcards.
- Jenkins Garrett Texas Postcard CollectionNon-digital collection held at UT-Arlington, this collection is focused on historic images of Texas towns and cities.
- Stansel Postcard CollectionDigitized by the University of Texas-El Paso, most of the postcards are scenes from El Paso, Texas; Cloudcroft and Alamogordo, New Mexico; or Mexico--many with added color. Some of the postcards are real photographic reproductions in black and white. From the late 19th or early 20th century.
- Texas Healthcare Facilities PostcardsA digitized collection comprised of hundreds of postcards depicting health care facilities across the state. Website of the McGovern Historical Collections at the Texas Medical Center.
- Texas PostcardsWebsite of the TXGenWeb Project. Postcards are not dated individually but dating guidelines are provided on the homepage. Categories include courthouses, statewide, towns, and counties.
- University of Houston Libraries - Historic Texas PostcardsThe 243 postcards in this collection present colorful views of historic Texas, from Houston in the east to El Paso out west, from Laredo down south to Amarillo up north. Drawn from the larger George Fuermann Texas and Houston Collection, this group represents the subset of postcards that date from before 1925. Fuermann was a reporter and editor for the Houston Post