Bibliography and Resources

During the Fall Semester of 1997, I took a class called "Your Family In History" at Wichita State University. This class really helped me to get started tracing my family tree. Here's a listing of the resources I used to prepare my class project. Since my project has now turned into a "never-ending quest," I'll be updating the list as needed.

ANCESTORS: A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO FAMILY HISTORY & GENEALOGY

by Jim & Terry Willard with Jane Wilson. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997. A companion book to the excellent PBS series.

BLACK INDIANS: A HIDDEN HERITAGE

by William Loren Katz. New York: Anthenum Books for Young Readers (an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division), 1986. A very interesting book that discusses some of the history of relations between African-Americans and Native Americans.

BLACK TEXANS: A HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN TEXAS, 1528-1995 (2ND EDITION)

by Alwyn Barr. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996. This book is a good overview of events in African American Texas history.

DOZENS OF COUSINS: BLUE GENES, HORSE THIEVES, & OTHER RELATIVE SURPRISES IN YOUR FAMILY TREE

by Lois Horowitz. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 1999. Another cute book that was pretty insightful. This was the first book I've seen that clearly explained what the "removed" part of a cousin relationship means.

GENEALOGICAL RECORDS IN TEXAS

by Imogene Kinard Kennedy and J. Leon Kennedy. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1987, 1992. At long last, I'm finally getting my own copy of this book! I found it to be very helpful in my initial research. It's got small maps of the original 36 counties, information on which records are available in places like county courthouses and the Texas State Archives, and a large chapter on the formation and organization of counties, including ones that no longer exist.

THE GENEALOGIST'S ADDRESS BOOK (4TH EDITION)

by Elizabeth Petty Bentley. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1998. This is a brand new addition to my "library," so I haven't gone completely through it yet, but I've liked what I've seen so far. There's more than 25,000 listings of resources, divided and catagorized within four groups (National Addresses, State Addresses/American Trust Territories, Ethnic & Religious Organizations and Research Centers, and Special Resources). It was a great birthday present!

HOUSE DOCUMENTS, VOL. 59: BULLETINS OF THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, NOS. 223-225, 58TH CONGRESS, 2ND SESSION.

Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904. This little treasure contained a Gazetteer of Texas by Henry Gannett. The first edition, according to Mr. Gannett, was published in 1902. It has statistics on the percentages of Negro and "foreign born" Texans, and has several maps showing the density and proportion of the "Colored" population. It also has a 161-page listing of every town, post village, river, creek, county, mountain and county seat in Texas during that time. I hated to give this book back.

IN SEARCH OF OUR ANCESTORS: 101 INSPIRING STORIES OF SERENDIPITY AND CONNECTION IN REDISCOVERING OUR FAMILY HISTORY

by Megan Smolenyak. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media Corporation, 2000. A companion book to the upcoming sequel of the popular PBS Ancestors series. I have to admit...reading about all of these experiences really made me jealous!

1001 TEXAS PLACE NAMES

by Fred Tarpley. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1980. This is a cute little book that gives the explanations behind some of the town names.

THE RESEARCHER'S GUIDE TO AMERICAN GENEALOGY (2ND EDITION)

by Val D. Greenwood. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc., 1990. An inexpensive book that contains a wealth of information on research methods and records.