THE DAUGHTERS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS LIBRARY
Col 881
Descendants of the Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence Records
1937-1953
Collection information
Physical description: 3 document boxes
Acquisition: Gift of Lavinia Griffith and Mary Ethel Gannon
Processed by: Warren Stricker, 1997
Table of contents
The Descendants of the Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence was organized in Dallas, Texas in 1936. The purpose of the organization was promotion of the memory of the 59 men who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence in Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836.
Membership was based on lineal descent from any of the signers of the Declaration. The major event for the organization was the annual commemoration of the signing in March. Business meetings were usually held in the fall. New members were actively sought, along with the genealogical background of descendants. Although descendants of the signers continued to take part in annual events at Washington, Texas, the activities of the formal organization seem to have ended in the 1940s.
Application material, minutes, correspondence, and printed material make up the records of the Descendants of the Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, providing a sampling of the activities of the organization during its first few years of existence (the bulk of the material dates from 1937-1941).
The records have been organized into series according to type of material. Membership material consists of the application forms submitted by prospective members, containing their genealogy back to the signer upon which membership is sought. The level of detail contained in these applications varies widely, and only a small portion of the total membership is represented.
Minutes cover the years 1937-1941, generally including the March 2 anniversary of the Texas Declaration of Independence and a fall business meeting.
Letters received generally concern attendance at the March 2 celebration, though some letters contain information on other descendants. Efforts to contact new members led to a large number of letters returned due to incorrect addresses.
Other series contain scattered items related to various events or activities.
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I. MEMBERSHIP MATERIAL
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Applications (arranged by name of ancestor)
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Barnett, George Washington
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1/1
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Robert Lee Barnett
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Blount, Stephen William
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1/2 |
Jennie Bess Sleeper
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Byrom, John Smith Davenport
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1/3 |
Winnie Jefferson Davis Rogers
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Childress, George Campbell
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1/4 |
Harriet H. Dowe
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Clark, William
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1/5 |
Katharine A. Woodson
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Crawford, William Carrol
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1/6 |
Sam D.H. Burke
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Everitt, Stephen Hendrickson
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1/7 |
Bonnie Dean Everitt
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Gazley, Thomas Jefferson
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1/8 |
Lila Gazley Williams
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Goodrich, Benjamin Briggs
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1/9 |
James Covert Anderson
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1/10 |
John Lockhart Anderson, Jr
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1/11 |
Sarah Virginia Covert Anderson
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1/12 |
Mrs. J.D. Covert
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1/13 |
Eugenia Muldrow Gibson
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1/14 |
Mrs. Delbert Leggett
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Houston, Samuel
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1/15 |
Jennie Morrow Decker
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1/16 |
Temple Houston Morrow
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Latimer, Albert Hamilton
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1/17 |
Mrs. C.D. Lennox
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McKinney, Collin
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1/18 |
Lucy Matthews Anderson
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1/19 |
Ruth Elkawa McKinney Neill
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1/20 |
Annie Laurie McKinney Thomasson
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1/21 |
Bertie Garver Trube
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Maverick, Samuel Augustus
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1/22 |
Phillip Maverick
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Menard, Michel Branamour
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1/23 |
Victoria Perrier Baillargeon
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Menefee, William
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1/24 |
T.B. Menefee
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Navarro, José Antonio
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1/25 |
José Antonio Navarro III
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Parmer, Martin
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1/26 |
May Morris Gorman
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1/27 |
Hortense Morris McQuillen
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1/28 |
Mrs. Lou Parmer Parker
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1/29 |
Lula B. Morris Sandel
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Power, James
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1/30 |
Edward Le Grand Dunlap
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Scates, William Bennett
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1/31 |
Alice Bennett Scates Richardson
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1/32 |
Willie Grady Richardson
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Stewart, Charles Bellinger
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1/33 |
Elizabeth Stewart Fling
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Swisher, James Gibson
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1/34 |
John S. Hoover, Jr.
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1/35 |
Mildred Hoover
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1/36 |
Imogene Harvey Swisher
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Taylor, Charles Stanfield
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1/37 |
Mrs. E.J. Gannon and Rosine Hughes
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1/38 |
Mrs. John V. Hughes
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1/39 |
Mrs. R.A. Pettengill
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Waller, Edwin
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1/40 |
Mrs. Alfred Franklyn
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1/41 |
Edwin Waller III
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Woods, James B.
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1/42 |
Bessie Rowland James
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Zavala, Lorenzo de
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1/43 |
Mary K. de Zavala
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1/44 |
Applications: dues, 1938-1939
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II. MINUTES
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1/45 |
1937
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1/46 |
1938
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1/47 |
1939
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1/48 |
1940
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1/49 |
1941
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III. GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE
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Letters received
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1/50-51 |
1937
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1/52 |
1938
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1/53 |
1939, 1941
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1/54 |
undated
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Letters sent
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1/55 |
1937-1953
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Returned mail
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2/56 |
1937
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2/57-64 |
1938
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2/65-67 |
1939
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IV. LISTS
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3/68 |
Officers, n.d.
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3/69 |
Zone officials, 1941
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3/70 |
Descendants in Dallas, n.d.
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3/71 |
Applicants file, n.d.
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3/72 |
Invitations sent, 1940
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V. GUEST REGISTERS
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3/73 |
Undated
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VI. PRINTED MATERIAL
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3/74 |
Application forms (blanks)
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Broadsides
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3/75 |
Texas Declaration of Independence anniversary celebrations, 1938
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3/76 |
Texas Declaration of Independence anniversary celebrations, 1939, 1941
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3/77 |
Invitations
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Programs
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3/78 |
Independence Homecoming, 1939 August 13
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Stationery
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3/79 |
Letterhead, 1937-38, 1940-41
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3/80 |
Envelopes
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3/81 |
Texas Annexation Celebration, 1946
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3/82 |
Press release, 1938
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3/83 |
Newspaper reprints
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3/84 |
Clippings
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3/85 |
Miscellaneous
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