Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Central High School, Houston, Texas 1925 Girls Basketball Team Photo


View the photograph

In the photograph: Elizabeth Ringo, Etta Mae Cade, Celia (or Cecilia) Salerno, Helen Tomlin, Cornelia Langston, Mildred Archer, Phyllis Howard, Inez Reynolds, Celia Lesky, Fay Carter, Mrs. M. A. Hurst - coach, Carle Danna, Sarah Greenfield, Margaret Williams, Ila Rae McKinney, Eugenis Payne, Doris Holdren, Genevieve Miller, Hattie Mae McKinney - manager, Ruby Roggen, Florence Karnaky.

More Texas Old Photos

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Historic... yes. Designated... someday.

Arlington African-American Cemetery Tries for a Third Time for the Historic Texas Cemetery Designation

Sometimes, you just have to keep on trying....
The cemetery dates to the mid-1800s ...... African-American cemetery has been rejected twice for the same recognition: once because the state didn't differentiate between the [cemetery and the closely-located Middleton Tate Johnson Plantation Cemetery] and another time because the application was incomplete....

Read full article from the Star Telegram

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Will the Real Billy the Kid....

Who was the Real Billy the Kid - and Who is Buried in Hamilton?

STEPHENVILLE, Texas -- After more than half a century, the question of whether a Texas man was really famed outlaw Billy the Kid finally may be answered.

Lincoln County, N.M., sheriff's Deputy Steve Sederwall has asked Hamilton, Texas, City Council members for permission to exhume the body of Ollie "Brushy Bill" Roberts.

Roberts died of an apparent heart attack at age 90 in 1950 in Hico, Texas. He's buried in Hamilton.

Roberts and at least one other man have claimed to be Billy the Kid.

Those stories presuppose that the Lincoln County sheriff killed the wrong man in Fort Sumner, N.M., on July 14 of 1881 -- and lied about it.

The Hamilton City Council has tabled the matter and is asking Sederwall for more information.
Article from KOAT.com

US - Mexico Border Records on line

From an Ancestry.com press release --

Ancestry.com Launches U.S. - Mexico Border Crossings Collection From 1903 -1957

More Than 3.5 Million Border Crossing Records From Mexico to the United States; Features 24 Land Ports of Entry From California to Texas

PROVO, Utah, May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Ancestry.com, the world's largest online resource for family history, today announced the release of the first and only online collection of border crossing records for individuals who crossed the U.S. - Mexico border between 1903 and 1957. This new collection, which includes more than 3.5 million names, is the latest addition to Ancestry.com's Immigration Records Collection, which also includes the largest online collection of U.S. ship passenger list records featuring more than 100 million names from 1820 to 1960.

These border crossing records primarily document early 20th-century Mexican immigration to the United States. During the first 30 years of the 1900s, more than 1 million Mexicans immigrated to the United States as a result of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, job opportunities during WWI and U.S. agricultural advances.

"There are unique and untold stories waiting to be discovered about the American southwest and Mexico," said Megan Smolenyak, Chief Family Historian for Ancestry.com. "This collection represents a significant opportunity for
Mexican-Americans to discover their family's footsteps to the United States and for everyone to celebrate Mexican contributions to American culture..."

These records contain insightful clues into a family's past, such as names and birthdates of travelers, names of friends or family in Mexico or the United States, as well as some signatures. This collection will be an especially useful tool for individuals whose ancestors arrived from Mexico between 1908 and 1957, as the most complete records were kept during this time period. Many of these border crossing records also include passport-type photos that were attached to the original documents. Ancestry.com transcribed the names in the collection from more than 3 million documents. The records were culled from 24 land ports of entry from California to Texas.

Among the ports: Brownsville, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, El Paso, Laredo, Presidio, Rio Grande City, Roma, Los Ebanos, Fort Hancock, Fabens, Rio Grande City,Yseleta, Progreso/Thayer, and San Antonio (immigrants arriving by air).

View the border crossing records at ancestry.com