Willie Brown

Willie Brown
Author: James Richardson
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 820
Release: 2023-11-10
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0520327268

This is the first comprehensive biography of Willie Brown, one of California's most enduring and controversial politicians. Audacious, driven, talented—Brown has dominated California politics longer and more completely than any other public figure. James Richardson, a senior writer for The Sacramento Bee, takes us from Brown's childhood, through his years as Speaker of the State Assembly, to his election as San Francisco's mayor. Along the way we get a riveting, behind-the-scenes account of three decades of California politics.

Yours to Command

Yours to Command
Author: Harold J. Weiss (Jr.)
Publisher: University of North Texas Press
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2009
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1574412604

Captain Bill McDonald's (1852-1918) admirers rank him as one of the great captains of Texas Ranger history. His detractors see him as an irresponsible lawman who precipitated violence, hungered for publicity, and related tall tales that cast himself in the hero's role. This title seeks to find the true Bill McDonald and sort fact from myth.

Texas Almanac 2022-2023

Texas Almanac 2022-2023
Author: Rosie Hatch
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 1756
Release: 2022-01-04
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 1625110685

The Texas Almanac 2022–2023 includes these new feature articles: Texas Wildlife A greatly expanded article on the wildlife found throughout the state, with an updated and revised list of mammals and all new lists of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Written by Dr. Travis LaDuc, Curator of Herpetology at the University of Texas at Austin and Dr. Drew Davis, Associate Research Scientist at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. COVID–19 in Texas Dr. Ana Martinez-Catsam, professor of history at the University of Texas Permian Basin, brings us a look at of how COVID–19 hit the state and impacted just about every aspect of our lives. You’ll also learn what the pandemic did to our economy and how it compares to the last major pandemic, the Spanish Flu of 1918. African Americans in Texas The long, and often brutal, history of African Americans in our state began in 1582 when the first African slave, Esteban, arrived as one of the four survivors of the Cabeza de Vaca expedition. Read the rest of the history up to today, and learn how African Americans have contributed to the culture of Texas, in this feature written by Dr. Merline Pitre, professor at Texas Southern University. Chapters include: Environment: Learn about the geology of Texas, as well as in-depth information about plants, wildlife, rivers, and lakes. Weather: Highs and lows of the previous two years, plus a list of destructive weather dating from 1766. Astronomical Calendar: Find the moon phases, sunrise and sunset times, moonrise and moonset times, and any eclipses and meteor showers expected for 2022 and 2023. Recreation: The places to go visit in Texas, with details on state and national parks, landmarks, and wildlife refuges. Sports: The results of championship games for sports in Texas, from high school through professional, and a list of all Texas Olympic medalists and the past ten years of Texas Sports Hall of Fame inductees. Counties: An expansive section featuring detailed county maps, locator maps, and profiles of Texas’ 254 counties. Population: Figures and the latest estimates from the State Data Center, plus an analysis of what has changed in the past 5–10 years and a comprehensive list of the population of Texas cities and towns. Elections: Results and maps from the 2020 General Election and information on voter turnout. Government: Historical documents and lists of governmental officials dating from our time as under Spanish rule to today, as well as a recap of the 87th Legislative Session, information about state boards commissions, and lists of state, county, and local officials. Culture and the Arts: Find museums, competitions and award winners, and cultural and artistic highlights from the past few years, along with maps and data about the variety of religious groups in Texas. Business, Agriculture, and Transportation: Information about all aspects of our rich economy, and how we’ve faired as a state in the past few years, packed with tables about employment, prices, taxes, and more in a wide variety of industries. And much more . . .

The Texas Senate

The Texas Senate
Author: Patsy McDonald Spaw
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 540
Release: 1990
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780890968574

When the Ninth Legislature convened in November, 1861, representatives gave little thought to the somber days that lay ahead, instead making exultant predictions of a quick victory over the enemy to the north. Houston's warning was forgotten. The Texas Senate, Volume II, picks up where the first volume left off, covering the story of this sometimes venerable, sometimes raucous, and sometimes unsavory body from the onset of the war until another eve, that of the period sometimes called the Era of Reform. Written by members of the Senate Engrossing and Enrolling Department and edited by Engrossing and Enrolling Clerk Patsy McDonald Spaw, this volume comprises the years of the war itself, Reconstruction and Republican dominance, Redeemer politics and the return of the Democrats, and the rise of agrarian reform. Sources for the history include the Senate journals, the letters and private papers of senators, newspapers of the era, committee reports, and other primary sources, as well as general and specialized histories of the topics. As in the previous volume, carefully selected illustrations and appendices listing members of the Senate for each of its sessions add significant details. The Texas Senate, Volume II, presents a narrative account of the issues fought; the legislation proposed, rejected, and accepted; and the actors who filled the stage of this period in Texas history. It offers both an account of the times and a guide to the sources for other historians to mine.

Wanted

Wanted
Author: Edward A. Blackburn
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 425
Release: 2012-01-18
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1585444987

Along with the settlement of the Texas frontier came rustlers, public drunks, gunfighters, and other outlaws. A jail in which to incarcerate the lawbreakers was thus often the first public building raised in a new town. Later, as government developed, public buildings—notably county courthouses and jails—assumed not only practical but also symbolic importance. The architecture of these buildings in the nineteenth century reflected the power and status with which the community imbued the government; many of the same architects applied the aesthetic standards of the day to both. In later years, the safety and at least limited comfort of the prisoners became concerns and jails were remodeled or abandoned to other uses in favor of modern, more utilitarian structures. In this heavily illustrated guide to the historic county jails of Texas, Ed Blackburn Jr. takes readers to each of the 254 counties in the state, presenting brief histories and of the counties and their structures that housed their criminals. He provides general information about the architecture and location of the buildings and, when possible, describes the present uses of those that have been decommissioned. Interviews with local officials, historians, and newspaper publishers have yielded colorful anecdotes for many of the jails. Revealing photographs of many of the old jails have been gathered from local and archival sources, and Blackburn himself has taken pictures of extant buildings. Together, these words and images not only provide a survey of the way Texans have housed their criminals, but also, with the aid of thumbnail maps of county locations, offer residents and tourists throughout the state a guide to a fascinating aspect of architectural and cultural history.

Texas Place Names

Texas Place Names
Author: Edward Callary
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Total Pages: 552
Release: 2020-06-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 1477320660

“[A] linguist . . . takes readers on a tour across the state, using names and language to tell its history.” ―Alcalde Was Gasoline, Texas, named in honor of a gas station? Nope, but the name does honor the town’s original claim to fame: a gasoline-powered cotton gin. Is Paris, Texas, a reference to Paris, France? Yes: Thomas Poteet, who donated land for the town site, thought it would be an improvement over “Pin Hook,” the original name of the Lamar County seat. Ding Dong’s story has a nice ring to it; the name was derived from two store owners named Bell, who lived in Bell County, of course. Tracing the turning points, fascinating characters, and cultural crossroads that shaped Texas history, Texas Place Names provides the colorful stories behind these and more than three thousand other county, city, and community names. Drawing on in-depth research to present the facts behind the folklore, linguist Edward Callary also clarifies pronunciations (it’s NAY-chis for Neches, referring to a Caddoan people whose name was attached to the Neches River during a Spanish expedition). A great resource for road trippers and historians alike, Texas Place Names alphabetically charts centuries of humanity through the enduring words (and, occasionally, the fateful spelling gaffes) left behind by men and women from all walks of life. “[A] quite useful book.” ―Austin American-Statesman

Family Forest: Public Version Volume 2 C-D

Family Forest: Public Version Volume 2 C-D
Author: Jan Young
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 632
Release: 2017-09-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1387232517

The result of more than twenty years' research, this seven-volume book lists over 23,000 people and 8,500 marriages, all related to each other by birth or marriage and grouped into families with the surnames Brandt, Cencia, Cressman, Dybdall, Froelich, Henry, Knutson, Kohn, Krenz, Marsh, Meilgaard, Newell, Panetti, Raub, Richardson, Serra, Tempera, Walters, Whirry, and Young. Other frequently-occurring surnames include: Greene, Bartlett, Eastman, Smith, Wright, Davis, Denison, Arnold, Brown, Johnson, Spencer, Crossmann, Colby, Knighten, Wilbur, Marsh, Parker, Olmstead, Bowman, Hawley, Curtis, Adams, Hollingsworth, Rowley, Millis, and Howell. A few records extend back as far as the tenth century in Europe. The earliest recorded arrival in the New World was in 1626 with many more arrivals in the 1630s and 1640s. Until recent decades, the family has lived entirely north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

The American Census Handbook

The American Census Handbook
Author: Thomas Jay Kemp
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 544
Release: 2001
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780842029254

Offers a guide to census indexes, including federal, state, county, and town records, available in print and online; arranged by year, geographically, and by topic.

Texas Towns

Texas Towns
Author: Don Blevins
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2018-04-01
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1493032402

To see Weeping Mary you've got to head to Texas. The grand state even boasts a Little Hope. Texas Towns is a smart volume full of peculiar places. Author Don Blevins is generous in his detailing of the counties, routes, and landmarks that distinguish the hundreds of villages with quirky names scattered throughout the Lone Star State. History is told-the dates these curious settlements began, early inhabitants, previous names of the villages, and how each town's name came to be. Travel through the alphabet of Texas. Learn the history of teh unique town in which you live. Or get educated about a place like Blowout Community, just another little pieced of Texas.