The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

educational organization, dedicated to documenting the

history of Texas The recorded history of Texas begins with the arrival of the first Spanish conquistadors in the region of North America now known as Texas in 1519, who found the region occupied by numerous Native American tribes. The name ''Texas'' derives ...

. It was founded in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, on March 2, 1897. , TSHA moved their offices from Austin to the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

in Denton. In 2015, the offices were relocated again, to the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

Overview

The chief executive officer is Jesús F. de la Teja and the chief historian is Walter L. Buenger. The association president (2018-2019) is Sarita Hixon; the preceding president is (2017-2018) Paula Mitchell Marks. Other past presidents include Steve Cook (2016-2017), Lynn Denton (2015-2016), John L. Nau III (2014-2015), Gregg Cantrell (2013-2014), Watson Arnold (2012-2013),

Merline Pitre Merline Pitre (born 1943) is an American historian and educator. She is a professor of history at Texas Southern University and previously served as president of the Texas State Historical Association in 2011 and 2012. Life and career Pitre was ...

(2011-2012), Dianne Garrett Powell (2010–2011) and Walter L. Buenger (2009-2010). Other past presidents are the late Robert A. Calvert (1989–1990) of Texas A&M,

Alwyn Barr Alwyn is a name, primarily used as a given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Alwyn Bramley-Moore (1878–1916), politician and soldier from Alberta, Canada *Alwyn Davey (born 1984), Indigenous Australian rules footballer ...

(1992-1993) of

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

, and Jerry D. Thompson (2001–2002) of

Texas A&M International University Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) is a public university in Laredo, Texas. It is part of the Texas A&M University System and home to over 8,500 students each academic semester. TAMIU offers over 70 undergraduate and graduate degrees in f ...

in Laredo.

History

On February 13, 1897, ten persons convened to discuss the creation of a non-profit promoting Texas state history. George Pierce Garrison, Chair of the History Department at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, led the organizational meeting which established the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) on March 2, 1893. The TSHA elected ex-Governor

Oran Milo Roberts Oran Milo Roberts (July 9, 1815May 19, 1898), was the 17th Governor of Texas from January 21, 1879, to January 16, 1883. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Roberts County, Texas, is named after him. Early life Roberts was born in Laure ...

as its first president. In addition to Roberts, TSHA charter members include Guy M. Bryan,

Anna Pennybacker Anna J. Hardwicke Pennybacker, known publicly after her marriage as Mrs. Percy V. Pennybacker, was the president of the American General Federation of Women's Clubs in the early 20th century, a Chautauqua speaker and a leader in the women's suffrag ...

, Bride Neill Taylor, and

Dudley G. Wooten Dudley Goodall Wooten (June 19, 1860 – February 7, 1929) was a U.S. Representative from Texas. Early years Born near Springfield, Missouri, Wooten moved in infancy with his parents to Texas during the Civil War. Education He attended priva ...

. About twenty or thirty persons attended the charter meeting. One of the founders was U.S. Texas Senator

John Henninger Reagan John Henninger Reagan (October 8, 1818March 6, 1905) was an American politician from Texas. A Democrat, Reagan resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives when Texas seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America. ...

. This first formal meeting of TSHA included men and several women who became charter members. At this first meeting, George P. Garrison, forwarded the idea that

archival An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

material about Texas needed to be preserved. Officers were chosen during the meeting and a controversy over what

John Salmon Ford John Salmon Ford (May 26, 1815 – November 3, 1897), better known as "Rip" Ford, was a member of the Republic of Texas Congress and later of the State Senate, and mayor of Brownsville, Texas. He was also a Texas Ranger, a Confederate colonel ...

called "lady members," caused Ford to storm out of the meeting. Ford wanted the original constitution for TSHA to amend "members" with "lady members" when the participants were women. Garrison did not want to change the constitution, and eventually Bride Neill Taylor spoke up and agreed that there was no need to change anything. Ford could not be placated and after yelling at Taylor, saying, "Madam, your brass may get you into the association, but you will never have the right to get in under that section as it stands," his amendment to create "lady members" was unanimously defeated by the others at the meeting. Ford's leaving the meeting was seen as a negative effect to the other charter members who were counting on his

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

influence to support the group at the political level. The first president was

Oran M. Roberts Oran Milo Roberts (July 9, 1815May 19, 1898), was the 17th Governor of Texas from January 21, 1879, to January 16, 1883. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Roberts County, Texas, is named after him. Early life Roberts was born in Laure ...

, with

Julia Lee Sinks Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e. ...

, Guy M. Bryan and

Charles Corner Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

elected as vice presidents. Dues for membership were $2 a year in 1897. TSHA began to hold annual meetings in Austin. The first annual meeting was held on June 17, 1897. Topics included "The Expulsion of the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

s From

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that comprises most of 41 counties. It is primarily divided into Northeast and Southeast Texas. Most of the region cons ...

, "The Last Survivor of the Goliad Massacre," "The Veramendt House," "Thomson's Clandestine Passage Around

Nacogdoches Nacogdoches ( ) is a small city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Nacogdoches is a sister city of the smaller, similarly named Natchitoch ...

," and "Defunct Counties of Texas." There was also a group business meeting. By 1928, TSHA had a membership around 500 individuals.

Notable members

* Ben H. Procter, president from 1979 to 1980 * Florence Warfield Sillers

Selected TSHA fellows

* Paul H. Carlson (1992), Texas Tech

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

and a specialist in Texas and the American West *

A. C. Greene A. C. Greene (born Alvin Carl Greene Jr.; 4 Nov 1923 – 5 April 2002) was an American writer – important in Texas literary matters as a memoirist, fiction writer, historian, poet, and influential book critic in Dallas. As a newspaper jou ...

, book critic, historian, poet, journalist, and essayist

Publications

The organization produces three educational publications, in addition to the '' New Handbook of Texas'': * The ''Southwestern Historical Quarterly'' (originally called the ''Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association'') is the oldest continuously published scholarly journal in Texas. This journal usually features 16 articles per year, covering topics in a range of appeal. * ''Riding Line'' is published by the agency as a quarterly newsletter. It features news and current information on statewide historical activities. * The ''

Texas Almanac The Texas Almanac is a biennially published reference work providing information for the general public on the history of the US state of Texas and its people, government and politics, economics, natural resources, holidays, culture, education, rec ...

'' is a biennially published reference work providing information for the general public on the history of the state and its people, government and politics, economics, natural resources, holidays, culture, education, recreation, the arts, and other topics. TSHA acquired the ''Texas Almanac'' as a gift from the A. H. Belo Corporation on May 5, 2008.

Educational programs

* Educational Department: Founded in 1939, looks to promote the teaching of Texas history in the states’ schools. * Junior Historians of Texas: An extracurricular program for students in grades four through twelve. * Texas History Day: Provides an opportunity for students to develop their knowledge of history in an annual state-level history fair for students in grades six through twelve. * History Awareness Workshops: Helps educators develop teaching strategies for informative content and practical classroom applications. * Heritage Travel Program: a one-week traveling seminar dealing with a specific subject in Texas history held at summer.

''Handbook of Texas''

The organization publishes the ''New Handbook of Texas'' which is a six-volume multidisciplinary encyclopedia of Texas history, culture, and geography. In addition, the ''Handbook of Texas Online'' is provided by TSHA for internet historical research of Texas.

List of presidents

A list of presidents of the TSHA: * Oran M. Roberts (1897–1898) * Dudley G. Wooten (1898–1899) * John H. Reagan (1899–1905) * David F. Houston (1905–1907) * A. W. Terrell (1907–1912) * Zachary T. Fulmore (1912–1915) * Adele Briscoe Looscan (1915–1925) * T. F. Harwood (1925–1929) * Alex Dienst (1929–1932) * W. R. Wrather (1932–1939) * Harbert Davenport (1939–1942) * L. W. Kemp (1942–1946) * Pat Ireland Nixon (1946–1949) * Earl Vandale (1949–1951) * Herbert P. Gambrell (1951–1953) * Claude Elliott (1953–1955) * Paul Adams (1955–1957) * Ralph W. Steen (1957–1959) * Merle M. Duncan (1959–1962) * Fred R. Cotten (1962–1964) * George P. Isbell (1964–1965) * J. P. Bryan, Sr. (1965–1967)

References

Citations

Sources

* *

External links

*
''Southwestern Historical Quarterly'' online
* ''Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association''. Fulltex
via HathiTrust
various dates {{Authority control State history organizations of the United States Organizations established in 1897 Historical societies in Texas University of North Texas History of Texas University of Texas System