In 1822 a young French missionary priest arrived in America, where he would devote the rest of his life to the mission field on behalf of the Catholic Church. Jean-Marie Odin served first in Missouri and Arkansas, then in 1840 moved to Texas, becoming the first Bishop of Galveston in 1847. He held that office until 1861, when he became Archbishop of New Orleans. The twenty years he served in Texas were important years in the life of the young republic-turned-state. His life and career during this period allow readers to view, in the words of this book s foreword, French missionaries and their...

Too often, observers and writers of Texas history have accepted assumptions about labour movements in the state - both organised and not - that do not bear up under the light of careful scrutiny. Offering a scholarly corrective to such misplaced suppositions, the studies in Texas Labor History provide a helpful new source for scholars and teachers who wish to fill in some of the missing pieces.

Born in the 1880s in Jefferson, Texas, Lillian B. Jones Horace grew up in Fort Worth and dreamed of being a college-educated teacher, a goal she achieved. But life was hard for her and other blacks living and working in the Jim Crow South. Her struggles convinced her that education, particularly that involving the printed word, was the key to black liberation.
In 1916, before Marcus Garvey gained fame for advocating black economic empowerment and a repatriation movement, Horace wrote a back-to-Africa novel, "Five Generations Hence," the earliest published novel on record by a black woman...

Born in the 1880s in Jefferson, Texas, Lillian B. Jones Horace grew up in Fort Worth and dreamed of being a college-educated teacher, a goal she achieved. But life was hard for her and other blacks living and working in the Jim Crow South. Her struggles convinced her that education, particularly that involving the printed word, was the key to black liberation.
In 1916, before Marcus Garvey gained fame for advocating black economic empowerment and a repatriation movement, Horace wrote a back-to-Africa novel, "Five Generations Hence," the earliest published novel on record by a black woman...

During an excavation in the 1950s, the bones of a prehistoric woman were discovered in Midland County, Texas. Archaeologists dubbed the woman "Midland Minnie." Some believed her age to be between 20,000 and 37,000 years, making her remains the oldest ever found in the Western Hemisphere. While the accuracy of this date remains disputed, the find, along with countless others, demonstrates the wealth of human history that is buried beneath Texas soil.
By the time the Europeans arrived in Texas in 1528, Native Texans included the mound-building Caddos of East Texas; Karankawas and Atakapas...

In 1846, James Boyd Hawkins, his wife Ariella, and their young children left North Carolina to establish a sugar plantation in Matagorda County, in the Texas coastal bend.
In "The Hawkins Ranch in Texas: From Plantation Times to the Present," Margaret Lewis Furse, a great-granddaughter of James B. and Ariella Hawkins and an active partner in today s Hawkins Ranch, has mined public records, family archives, and her own childhood memories to compose this sweeping portrait of more than 160 years of plantation, ranch, and small-town life.
Letters sent by the Hawkinses from the Texas...

"LBJ and Grassroots Federalism: Congressman Bob Poage, Race, and Change in Texas" reveals the local ramifications of federal policy. Three case studies in the rising career of Lyndon B. Johnson show this in action: LBJ's formative experience as a New Dealer directing the National Youth Administration (NYA) in Texas; his key role as senate majority leader in breaking the deadlock to secure funds for the Lake Waco dam project; and the cumulative effect of his Great Society policies on urban renewal and educational reform among the Mexican American community in Waco.
In each of these...

At the apex of progressive reform in Texas from 1907 to 1911, Thomas M. Campbell served as the state s chief executive. Closely associated with former Texas Governor James Stephen Hogg, Campbell played a central role in reviving the Hogg reform movement and building a strong record of progressive laws in areas such as social welfare, public education, and tax reform.
In the broader context of southern progressivism, Campbell was a leading progressive governor much like Hoke Smith of Georgia, Benjamin Comer of Alabama, Charles B. Aycock of North Carolina, and Andrew Jackson Montague of...

In times of war ...in times of peace ...in times of sweeping social change ...a leader for all seasons ...Whether scaling the seemingly insurmountable cliffs of Pointe du Hoc with his advance assault troops during the Normandy invasion, restoring integrity to the Texas Land Office, or overseeing transitions in an academic institution with hallowed traditions during a time of contentious cultural change, James Earl Rudder (1910-1970) forged a legacy of wartime gallantry and peacetime leadership that commands continuing respect. Rudder: From Leader to Legend pays tribute to a man who...

This expanded edition of "Texas A&M University: A Pictorial History" gives a panoramic view of Texas A&M, from its infancy as a college with 48 agricultural and mechanical (engineering) students to today's diverse campus of more than forty thousand students. Captured in full-color photographs are the modern university, its buildings, its far-reaching programs, and its students. The book is also a gallery of Aggie greatson the battlefields of five wars; on the athletic fields; in industry, agriculture, science, and civic leadership. Historical photos show visits by Presidents William H. Taft,...