Be Sure to Visit my new 1900 Galveston Storm Website at: http://freepages.genealogy.rootseb.com/~barnette
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GAMMEL'S LAWS ONLINE
There is great news
for genealogists, lawyers and historians. The Government Documents department of the University of North Texas Libraries, funded by a TexTreasures grant, has digitized the first ten volumes of H. P. N. Gammel's The Laws of Texas
1822-1897. The laws may be viewed on the University's web server at
http://texinfo.library.unt.edu/lawsoftexas/ On November 9, 1881 the Texas State Capitol was totally destroyed in a fire. One of the
contractors hired to clear the debris from the building was Hans Peter Neilsen Gammel, the owner of a book and paper store located at what is now 8th and Congress in Austin. Looking for a way to make money, Gammel salvaged most of
the paper documents he found and dried them at his home and store on makeshift clotheslines and organized them. Gammel's monumental compilation charts Texas from the time of colonization through statehood and reveals
Texas' legal history during crucial times in its development. The documents in the books cover each congressional and legislative session plus other documents of significance, including the constitutions, select journals from the
constitutional conventions, and early colonization laws. Despite the importance and continued use of Gammel's Laws, the volumes have never been reprinted. They are quite rare and for the most part are found only in
rare book rooms of libraries. The digitized online version is a welcome addition to Texas research.
HANK JONES IN AUSTIN
The Austin Genealogical Society will host their annual seminar on August 18 from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. at the Red Lion Hotel, 6121 North I-35 at Highway 290 in North Austin. The featured speaker Henry Z. "Hank" Jones FASG is the author of six books, four on Palatine Germans and two on serendipity in genealogy. His books, Psychic Roots and More Psychic Roots
were featured in an episode of the television series Unsolved Mysteries. Jones' topics will include: When the Sources are Wrong!; Tracing the Origins of Early 18th Century Emigrants A step-by-step plan of attack,
showing how "They Came Together, They Stayed Together!"; Family Tradition: How to Separate Fact from Fiction in Genealogical Research; and Genealogy in the New Millennium: Where We've Been & Where We're Going For more information and to register, visit the Austin Genealogical Society website at
GENEALOGICAL CLASS AT MDPC
Paula Perkins Parke will teach a Beginning Genealogy
class at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, 11612 Memorial Drive. The three part class will be held on Wednesday August 1 and Wednesday August 8 from 6 P.M. to 9 P.M. The third class session will be announced in class and will consist of a tour and hands-on census work at Clayton Library.
To enroll or to learn more about this class, contact the MDPC Adult Education office at 713-953-255- Extension 194 or 301.
FAMILY TREE MAKER SOFTWARE CLASS
Paula Perkins Parke will teach an Organizing Your Family Research With Family Tree Maker Software
class from 2 to 5 P.M. Tuesday August 7. This one-time class will be held at the Grace Presbyterian Church, 10221 Ella Lee near Sam Houston Tollway. Through demonstrations, students will learn step by step
instructions to organize and document family information and sources. For more information and to register, contact Becky Morris at 713-267-5091.
GENEALOGICAL COURSE OFFERED
Offered by Leisure Learning, Mic Barnette will teach an introductory course in family history. Roots of Genealogy-How To Research Your Family Tree will be held from 7 P.M. to 10 P.M. Wednesday August 8 at Leisure Learning's 2990 Richmond Ave campus. The following week the class will tour Clayton Genealogical Library and conduct on site census research. For more information and to register, contact Leisure Learning at 713-529-4414.
NEWS FROM THE BOOKSHELF
Janice Barnett Craft began surveying old
and abandoned cemeteries in Tate County, Mississippi and transcribing the tombstones she found in them in the 1960's. Today many of the markers she saw have disappeared and many of the inscriptions she transcribed have eroded and
are no longer legible. Her book, Footprints In Time: Tombstone Inscriptions in Tate County, Mississippi available for $31, postpaid, from the author at 1166 Cloverdale Drive, Greenville, MS 38701-8301.
Cemetery surveys can be one of the most helpful compilations a genealogical researcher can hope to find. Craft's book on Tate County inscriptions is no exception. It lists the name of each cemetery, it's location, township and
range, plus the full text of the inscription including names, dates and relationships as reflected in the inscription. For easy access the book includes a surname index.
Notice
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