Seminar 2008
On Saturday April 12, 2008 an enthusiastic audience was
treated to an informative day at the South Mississippi Genealogical & Historical Society seminar.
Our morning speaker was Dr. Don Edward Carleton,
director of the Center
of American History at the University of
Texas in Austin.
He started with an overview of the Center.
The Center has 5 divisions. Two are housed on the
Austin campus and the other 3 in various parts of Texas.
The main research center and repository is located
in Sid Richardson Hall Unit 2 on the main campus in Austin. It houses the majority of the centers numerous collections.
The Institute for Studies in American Military, an
educational and outreach program is also on the Austin campus.
The papers and documents of former Texas Congressman,
Sam Rayburn, are located in his hometown of Bonham in northeast Texas in the Sam Rayburn Library and Museum.
The John Nance Garner Museum Containing collections,
memorabilia and historical documents of the influential vice president is in Uvalde,
Texas.
On 225 acres near Round Top in Fayette County Texas
is Winedale, a complex of structures both historical and modern. Emphasizing Architecture and decorative arts, Winedale is
the home of public programs including educational seminars, classes, and cultural
programs such as Shakespeare at Winedale.
After briefly expanding on the content of each repository,
we moved on to the main interest, The Natchez Trace Collection. As part of the George W. Littlefield Southern History Collection,
the private holdings of an anonymous Mississippi Collector has been kept intact as The Natchez Trace Collection. It was acquired in December 1885 as a combination of a purchase and gift.
This collection of collections measures more than
450 linear feet. Most is from Southwest Mississippi and the lower Mississippi
River Valley but documents from other areas are included.
It reflects the life and times of the area from 1790 to 1900. There are papers, letters, and documents reflecting the lives
of plantation owners, slaves, homemakers, politicians, soldiers, educators, physicians, merchants, bankers, attorneys and
many more.
It includes sub-collections including: Colonial Territorial
Activities 1793-1810, Slave and slavery Collection 1793-1864, Steamboat Collection, Newspaper Collection, Photograph Collection,
Map Collection, Sheet Music Collection and many more. Many records list families
and name names.
There are several ways to access this material. You
may visit the center. The Center in Austin is open to the
public Mon – Sat.
Some of the material is on microfilm. It may be possible
to obtain the film through inter library loan. Hire a researcher. There are several independent researchers listed on the
website.
While individual papers are not visible on the website,
there in a full inventory listing the documents and their location. When you have some time visit the website and explore
the contents of this valuable collection.
See our link page for a link to the website.
While the morning session emphasized finding data,
the afternoon session was geared to analyzing and using data. Using a case study, Clarise Soper, a professional genealogist,
demonstrated valuable lessons in making the most of the data available. Some of the areas covered were:
Searching for names- Recognize the ways a name may
be misspelled and mispronounced and look for all forms.
Analyzing census data- She demonstrated how to analyze
census data to use all the data given and to insure it is your family and not a family with a similar name.
Use all available records- In addition to the usual
records, look for unusual records such as tax records, land records, agricultural records, and applications of any sort (such
as land grants and pensions).
Mesh the data from different sources- Data from one
source may seem unusual until it is compared to data from other sources. Put data together to get a clearer picture of your
ancestors.
With these and other pointers we learned how to expand
our own family history.
