Texas Rangers
Armstrong Family Photograph Collection
The Armstrong Family is one of South Texas' oldest and outstanding pioneer families. This collection of approximately 200 negatives and photographs cover the years from 1890 to 1930 but focus on the early Armstrong family around the 1920s and 1930s.
Don Bryan Postcard Collection
Don Bryan gave the South Texas Archives permission to re-photograph the postcards from his extensive collections of memorabilia about and from the Border Service, which served on the U.S./Mexico Boarder following the Mexican Revolution of 1910.
Graves Peeler Collection
Graves Peeler who is credited with saving the Longhorn from extinction was many things. In his lifetime he was a rancher, field inspector, range detective, game hunter, and always single. He spent hours on horseback in solitude hunting throughout Mexico, Canada, and the Western United States. He was a man of principle who did not avoid confrontations making him successful as a lawman. Peeler has left a collection or oral history by and about himself. Also included are documents and a large photograph and film collection of his hunting trips and exploration of the West.
J.T. Canales Estate Collection
Judge J.T. Canales was a leading South Texas Mexican American political leader, lawyer, judge, legislator, landowner, and one of the founders of L.U.L.A.C., the League of Latin American Citizens. His estate collection includes correspondence, historical and religious articles, land records and abstracts, over 50 maps and building plans, and other materials. The Canales family descend from the original Spanish Land Grantee Don Jose Salvador DeLaGarza of the “El Espititu Santo” Land Grant, portions of which are still owned by the Canales family today.
Pugh Family Collection
Thelma Pugh Lindholm, a graduate of Texas College of Arts and Industries, was fascinated by the history of Live Oak County, where she was born and raised. Her family lived and worked the land and the family history is intertwined with the history of the county. Mrs. Lindholm did extensive research in court records to verify the information she collected from her family’s recollections and narratives about their ranching and farming exploits in Live Oak County.
Simons Family Collection
From England to Nova Scotia to New Orleans and eventually Texas the Simons family kept their history intact by correspondence, diaries, financial reports and ledgers. Their story began in 1794 when Captain Thomas Simons left Liverpool, England and headed for the new world. The family settled in Goliad County, Texas, fought in the Texas Revolution, Mexican-American War and the United States Civil War. They lived in a volatile place and time. Documenting many events and family histories this collection spans over 200 years history of South Texas.
Dr. Z.T. Scott Family Collection
Dr. Zachary Thomson Scott was the director of the Texas Tuberculosis Association in Austin, Texas. This collection contains 46 photographs of the Mary Kleberg’s maternal family (Masterson), publications, books, genealogical information, and one soil map of Corpus Christi. The genealogical information are on various members of the Scott family and their lineage, along with biographical information on members of the King, Kenedy and Kleberg families.
Richard Mertz's Research on Gregorio Cortez
In 1970 Richard Mertz, a graduate student at Texas A&I researched the events of Gregorio Cortez's life for his thesis. He focused on the incident where Cortez kills Sheriff Morris in Karnes County, Texas while being arrested for horse theft. The Texas Rangers captured Cortez and there was a trial. The research includes documents about the Rangers, the court case, correspondence, and newspaper articles concerning the case.