Category Archives: Research Tips

A Cheerful Love Story for Dismal Times

If you have never read old newspapers, you should try one. There are many websites that share digitized old newspapers for the public to enjoy. Most however are subscriptions. The range of costs varies up to one hundred dollars per … Continue reading

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Census 2020

Friends, did you complete your Census for 2020 and return it as you were directed? Something tells me this (2020) census will not be as accurate as others have been. Americans are distracted by the horrible pandemic we face. But … Continue reading

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A Peek at Hopkins County

Over the years I have accumulated several county history books, many telling stories of Northeast Texas. It is amazing that much of the history in one county, spread into one or more adjacent counties. Settlers may have located in isolated … Continue reading

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Going Through Customs and Immigration in Philadelphia

On September 16, 1751 Captain Coatam from Rotterdam sailed the vessel Nancy into Philadelphia harbor. All males of the age of majority were escorted by British soldiers to the State House. The group of some seventy-five men became British citizens … Continue reading

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Voices from Small Places

Dr. Perky Beisel, Public History Professor at Stephen F. Austin University, introduced me to a wonderful, oral history project she and others created several years ago. It is exceptionally useful for small communities with elderly populations. Over the Labor Day … Continue reading

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Inanition, Milk Leg, and Quinsy

Recently, I pulled out A Field Guide for Genealogists, Second Edition, by Judy Jacobson and, as can sometimes happen, got distracted from my original quest. Ms. Jacobson wrote a chapter entitled “Those Old Time Diseases” that list causes of death … Continue reading

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East Texas Historical Association

As you read this article, I will be driving down US Highway 69 from my home in Greenville, Texas, to Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Texas. I’m heading to the Fall Conference of the East Texas Historical Association. There … Continue reading

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The War Comes to America

When I began to post tidbits of local news on Facebook in 2014, I wasn’t certain how long it would last. I’m fascinated with the past, but was there others who might be interested? Well, my posts have never gone … Continue reading

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One of My Favorite Places

A few weeks ago, I slipped off to Commerce to one of my very special places, the archives at Gee Library on the campus of Texas A&M University Commerce. On the fourth floor with windows on the north and west … Continue reading

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Question and Warning

Last week I wrote about Dr. James Ward, an ear, nose, and throat physician who practiced in Greenville and lived on Park Street with his wife and three children.  A grandson now occupies the Ward home.  One of my readers … Continue reading

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