THE DAUGHTERS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS LIBRARY

 

Col 6096

Order of the Alamo Records

1909-1990

 

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Collection information

 

Physical description: 14 document boxes, 5 oversize boxes

Acquisition: Gift of the Order of the Alamo, 1990, 1993

Processed by: Warren Stricker, 2003

 

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Table of contents

 

• Organization history
• Scope and content note
• Inventory
• Separated items

 

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 Organization history

 

Originating as part of the early development of San Antonio’s Spring carnival, Fiesta San Jacinto, the Order the Alamo was created to formalize the selection of royalty for the event.  The brainchild of local businessman John B. Carrington, its membership consisted of socially prominent local men, who chose the queen and duchesses for Fiesta beginning in 1909, shortly after the creation of the Order of the Alamo.

 

The pattern for the selection and coronation of the Queen was established at the beginning: a queen, princess, and duchesses were selected by Order members from prominent local families.  Several young women from around the state were chosen as the visiting court, representing their hometowns.  The pageantry of the coronation was completed by attendants to the queen and duchesses, and others playing various courtly roles.  A Mistress of the Royal Robes, appointed by the Order, became responsible for the increasingly elaborate coronation gowns.  Each coronation court was organized around a theme, usually with historical or literary ties.

 

As the annual coronation became established, the organization formed committees to handle various aspects of the event, such as selection of duchesses, social events associated with the coronation, and functions like finance and publicity.  Several individuals were hired each year to provide services, including the design and creation of costumes, construction of stage sets, writing of the coronation script, and choreography for the event.  Music was also part of the pageant, and a featured performance was usually included.

 

The Order of the Alamo’s coronation ceremony has been part of every Fiesta since the inception of the organization, other than the years during the two world wars, when the festivities were cancelled. 

 

 

Scope and content note

 

Consisting of correspondence, minutes, financial records, printed material and photographs, the records of the Order of the Alamo provide a glimpse of the organization of the coronation of the Queen of Fiesta, a part of the annual Fiesta San Antonio.  While far from complete, there is a concentration of records for certain time periods and activities.

 

The records have been organized into six series:

 

I. General organization records

 

The bulk of this series is made up of general correspondence and minutes of the meetings of the membership and the board of directors.  The minutes are fairly complete from the late 1910s through the early 1920s, the mid 1930s until the onset of World War II, and the mid 1960s through the early 1970s.  Those from other time periods are fragmentary or missing entirely.  Also included here are bylaws, lists of members, and other lists. 

 

II. Officers and committees

 

Organized into subseries by the elected officials and appointed committees of the Order, found here are a variety of records associated with the activities of each.  In the case of officers, documentation is generally limited to those records retained by individuals who held the position, usually representing one or two specific terms of office.  In some cases, committee records are more extensive; in the case of the Coronation Committee, the records from the 1930s provide much detail on the organization of the event, particularly the selection of a featured musical performer for the coronation.  From that same time period, the records of the Out-of-town Court Committee provide correspondence and notes on the selection of duchesses from outside San Antonio.  Several notebooks and files of officers and committee chairs dating from the mid 1970s also provide a thorough, if brief, record.  In all cases, the records consist of correspondence, financial documents, notes, and various other items.

 

III. Financial records

 

This series contains a fairly complete set of audit reports and brief budgetary statements dating from about 1930-1946, and scattered examples from other dates.  Bills and checks provide a detailed record of expenditures from coronations of the 1930s.  Ledgers gather general income and expense documentation from 1959-1972.

 

IV. Printed material

 

Found here is an extensive selection of coronation programs dating from 1920-1990.  In most cases, these are souvenir programs that include photographs of the queen and duchesses and a description of the coronation.  Also in the series are examples of invitations to Order of the Alamo events, newspaper clippings and newspapers, and the organization’s annual yearbook, fairly complete from 1954-1974.

 

V. Photographs

 

Photographs in the records are generally studio portraits of the queen and duchesses, and professionally produced photographs of the coronation.  Only a few photographs date from early coronations, with the bulk from the 1970s and 1980s.  Most of these later photographs are proofs, transparencies and color separations used in the production of the coronation programs.  Photographs are also found in other series; those submitted one year with nominations of visiting duchesses are found in series II, Out-of-town court committee; photographs of potential coronation performers are in series II, Coronation committee.

 

VI. Artifacts

 

Included in this series are samples of ribbons used by Order members and committee chairs.

 

 

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Box/Folder

 

	I. GENERAL ORGANIZATION RECORDS
	Articles of incorporation, 1914, 1963-1964 (photocopies)
1/1	Bylaws, 1923-1973, n.d.
1/2	Correspondence
1/3	1916-1921
1/4	1931-1936
1/5	1937
1/6	1938-1939
1/7	1940
1/8	1941
1/9	1944
1/10	1945
1/11	1946-1947
1/12	1963, 1969
1/13	1972-1974
1/14	1975
1/15	1976
	Minutes
1/16	1913
1/17	1916-1918
1/18	1919-1920
1/19	1920-1921
1/20	1921-1922
1/21	1923
1/22	1935-1936
1/23	1936-1937
1/24	1937-1938
2/25	1938-1939
2/26	1939-1940
2/27	1940-1941
2/28	1965-1966
2/29	1966-1967
2/30	1967-1968
2/31	1968-1969
2/32	1969-1970
2/33	1970-1971
2/34	1971-1972
	Lists
	General membership
2/35	1909-1915
2/36	1916-1917
2/37	1920-1924
2/38	1932
2/39	1933
2/40	1936
2/41	1940
2/42	1941
2/43	1944 military list
2/44	Officers and committees
2/45	Mistresses of the Royal Robes
2/46	Queens
2/47	Press releases
2/48	Notes
	II. OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES
	President
3/49	Notes and instructions
3/50	General notebook, 1974-1975
3/51-52	Subject notebook, 1974-1975
3/53-56	General file, 1975-1976
	Treasurer
3/57	Notes and instructions
3/58	Tax-related information, 1931-1939
3/59	Account and investment information, 1936-1938
	Secretary
3/60	Notebook, 1969-1971
	Coronation committee
	General files
3/61	1916
3/62	1917
3/63	1920
3/64	1923
3/65	1924
3/66	1932
3/67	1933
4/68	1935
4/69	1936
4/70-71	1937
4/72-73	1938
4/74	1939
4/75	1941
Oversize box 17	Costume designs, 1937, 1938
	Chairman’s notebook
4/76	1973-1974
4/77	1973-1974, bills etc.
4/78	Coronation script, 1974
4/79	Chairman’s notebook, 1974-1975
4/80	Coronation script, 1975
5/81	Featured entertainment: printed material
5/82	Featured entertainment: photographs
	In-town court committee
5/83	Notes and instructions
5/84	General material, 1974-1975
	Out-of-town court committee
	General material
5/85	1916
5/86	1917
5/87	1930
5/88-92	1931
5/93-95	1932
6/96-98	1933
6/99-103	1934
6/104-106	1935
6/107-108	1936
7/109	1937
7/110	1938
7/111	1939
7/112-113	1972
	Public Relations Committee
7/114	Notes and instructions
	General material
7/115	1957-1958
7/116	1961
7/117	1962
	Queen’s Ball committee
7/118	Notes and instructions
	General material
7/119	1936
7/120	1937
	Fiesta Committee
7/121	Notes and instructions
	Mistress of the Robes
	Schedule and instructions
7/122	1968-1969
7/123	1970-1971
	III. FINANCIAL RECORDS
	Audits, budgets, statements, etc.
8/124	1915-1916
8/125	1930-1931
8/126	1931-1932
8/127	1933-1934
8/128	1934-1935
8/129	1935-1936
8/130	1936-1937
8/131	1937-1938
8/132	1938-1939
8/133	1939-1940
8/134	1940-1941
8/135	1941-1942
87/136	1942-1945
8/137	1945-1946
8/138	1968-1969
8/139	1972-1973
8/140	1973-1974
8/141	1975-1976
8/142	Expense accounts and memoranda
	Bills
8/143	1932
8/144	1934
8/145	1935
8/146	1936
8/147	1937
8/148	1938
8/149	1939
8/150	1941
	Checks
9/151	1932
9/152	1933
9/153	1934
9/154	1935
9/155	1936
9/156	1938
9/157	1939
9/158	1941
	Ledgers
Oversize	1959-1967
box 16	1967-1972
	Insurance
9/159	1934, 1943
	Accounts
9/160	Account books, 1930, 1940
	IV. PRINTED MATERIAL
	Programs
	Coronation
10/161	1920
10/162	1924
10/163	1927
10/164	1928
10/165	1929
10/166	1930
10/167	1931
10/168	1932
10/169	1933
10/170	1934
10/171	1935
10/172	1936
10/173	1937
10/174	1938
10/175	1939
10/176	1940
10/177	1941
10/178	1946
10/179	1949
10/180	1954
10/181	1955
10/182	1958
10/183	1959
11/184	1960
11/185	1961
11/186	1962
11/187	1963
11/188	1964
11/189	1965
11/190	1966
11/191	1967
11/192	1968
11/193	1969
11/194	1970
11/195	1971
11/196	1972
11/197	1973
11/198	1974
12/199	1975
12/200	1976
12/201	1979
12/202	1985
12/203	1990
	Invitations
	Sent
12/204	1910s
12/205	1930s
12/206	1940s
12/207	1950s
12/208	1960s
12/209	1970s
12/210	Received
Oversize box 17	Received (oversize)
12/211	Tickets
12/212	Dance card
	Clippings
12/213	1923
12/214	1924
12/215	1930
12/216	1931
12/217	1933
12/218	1964
12/219	1967
12/220	1976
	Newspapers and oversize clippings
Oversize box 18	1916-1964
Oversize box 19	1966-1983
12/221	Court calendars and instruction sheets
12/222	Book (printer’s dummy)
	Yearbooks
Oversize	1928
box 15	1945-1946
	1948-1949
	1953-1954
	1954-1955
	1955-1956
	1956-1957
	1957-1958
	1958-1959
	1959-1960
	1960-1961
	1961-1962
	1963-1964
	1964-1965
	1965-1966
	1966-1967
	1967-1968
	1968-1969
	1969-1970
	1970-1971
	1971-1972
	1972-1973
	1973-1974
12/223	Miscellaneous printed
	V. PHOTOGRAPHS
	Coronation, queens, duchesses
13/224	1929
13/225	1930
13/226	1934
13/227	1936
13/228	1937
13/229	1938
Oversize	1939 (oversize)
box 17	1946 (oversize)
13/230	1962
13/231	1967
13/232	1968
13/233	1969
13/234	1970
Oversize box 17	1971 (oversize)
13/235	1974
13/236-237	1978
13/238	1979
Oversize	1979 (oversize)
box 17	1980 (oversize)
13/239-241	1981
Oversize	1981 (oversize)
box 17	1982 (oversize)
13/242-243	1983
Oversize box 17	1983 (oversize)
13/244-245	1984
Oversize box 17	1984 (oversize)
14/246-247	1985
Oversize box 17	1985 (oversize)
14/248	1986
Oversize box 17	1986 (oversize)
14/249	1987
Oversize box 17	1987 (oversize)
14/250-251	1988
Oversize box 17	1988 (oversize)
14/252	People
	Richard Coiner, ca. 1979
	Jack R. Locke, 1920s
	Carl Venth, 1930s
	VI. ARTIFACTS
Oversize box 16	Ribbons

 

 

Separated items

 

See library catalog for location

 

History of the Order of the Alamo, volume 5, 1976-1989