Only collections with inventories are listed in alphabetical order through the links above. This represents only about half the total collections in the archives. Please contact the History Center regarding material not included.

Brief History
The History Center traces its origin to the founding of the Galveston Historical Society on August 3, 1871. The Society was chartered to collect materials documenting the Republic of Texas and Texas during the Civil War and Reconstruction. In 1894, it was renamed the Texas Historical Society. The Society stored its archives at the Rosenberg Library, which opened in July 1904. On April 29, 1931, the Library's Board of Directors assumed ownership of the Texas Historical Society's collection. Under Librarian Frank Chauncy Patten, 1904-1934, the Rosenberg Library acquired historical materials on its own.

Dedicated space for the archives finally came with completion of the Library's Moody Wing in 1971. In 1976, a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission enabled the Library to provide access to its archives. In July 1983, the Library's Board of Directors approved the renaming of the archives as the Galveston and Texas History Center. The History Center joined the Fox Rare Book Room and the Museum as part of the newly created Special Collections Department in 1985. This organization remained in effect until 1994, when the Museum became a separate department.

Collecting Scope
The History Center collects materials pertaining to Galveston during all time periods and Texas from the Spanish period through the end of the Civil War. Acquisitions conform to the Collection Development Policy, revised in October 2001.

Description: Manuscripts comprise the History Center's largest and, in many ways, most significant component. These include personal and family papers and records of businesses, military units, social and cultural organizations, and religious institutions. The manuscript collection documents Galveston throughout all periods and Texas from the Spanish period through 1865.

Significant holdings include papers of Gail Borden, Jr., James Morgan, Samuel May Williams, and A. R. "Babe" Schwartz; and records of the Galveston Wharf Company, the Galveston Cotton Exchange, and various Kempner family business interests. The History Center also holds a sizable volume of the Rosenberg Library's records.

Each manuscript collection carries a unique accession number, which is assigned in sequence in the manuscripts shelf list. For example, "97-0002" designates the collection as being the second manuscript accessioned during 1997. The accession number thus serves as a means of identifying and locating the particular collection.

Beginning in the year 2000, a new eight digit numbering system is used. An example, “2004-0003” cannot be confused with the Twentieth Century collections.

Access: The Manuscripts Index (see card catalog) selectively indexes names, places, and subjects appearing in manuscript collections. The descriptors are derived from inventories or scope notes, or directly from the collections themselves. Detailed inventories are available for many collections.

The level of processing varies according to the collection's importance, volume, and complexity. Larger collections may be inventoried to the folder level or even to the folder's contents. Smaller collections are often merely described with a scope note. Manuscript collections are cross-indexed in the thesaurus. A handful of collections have been described and indexed on Dynix. A published guide, Manuscript Sources in the Rosenberg Library (Z1339. R74; see reading room ready reference cart) is available, although it is dated (copyright 1983).

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Galveston and Texas History Center, Rosenberg Library, 2310 Sealy Avenue, Galveston TX 77550
Voice (409) 763-8854 ext. 127- Fax (409) 763-0275

GTHC WebTeam GTHC, Rosenberg Library.