The Cornette Library welcomed members from the Amarillo Genealogical Society in 2014. Visitors were given a special behind-the-scenes tour featuring resources available in the Special Collections department.
For more information about Special Collections, please contact Sidnye Johnson, Special Collections and University Archives Librarian. Email: sjohnson@wtamu.edu Phone: (806)651-2209
Additional Special Collections resources are listed on the Genealogy InfoGuide page of Print Resources.
Some highlights from the Special Collections:
| Item | Collection | Call Number |
|---|---|---|
| Frontier Times (1923 - 1954; nonfiction magazine articles about the American West, including oral histories about Texans) | Special Collections - Sheffy | No call number-- Shelved at end of Sheffy Collection |
| A Complete Guide to Hunter's Frontier Times (an index) | Periodicals Dept. - Reference Shelves | F 381 .F86 B76 2000 |
| The Indian Papers of Texas and the Southwest, 1825-1916 (5 vols.) | Special Collections - Texas Poets' Corner | E 78 .S8 T49 1995 |
| Letters of Hard Times in Texas, 1840-1890 | Special Collections – Rare | F 386.5 .H6 |
| Story of a Texas County: It Occurred in Kimble, and How | Special Collections - Sheffy | F 392 .K4 F57 |
| Wilderness Calling: The Hardeman Family in the American Westward Movement, 1750-1900 | Special Collections - Texas Poets' Corner | CS 71 .H259182 H37 1977 |
Available at Cornette Library in microfilm. Usually not available in any format in most libraries in the United States.
Comprised of 50 “Series,” such as:
Easy to browse, but challenging to locate specific items or to read the hand-written documents.
There is not a single, detailed index to the entire Draper Manuscript Collection. The guide below describes the collection, each series, and the contents of each volume. Some names and places are indexed.
| Item | Collection | Call Number |
|---|---|---|
| Guide to the Draper Manuscripts (Includes index) | Periodicals Dept. - Reference Shelves | Z 6616 .D72 H37 1983 |
The volumes below have in-depth descriptions of 11 of the 50 series in the Draper Manuscript Collection. Also included is an index of the main names of people and places.
| Item | Description | Collection | Call Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Preston and Virginia Papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts | Covers Series QQ (Preston Papers) and Series ZZ (Virginia Papers) | Periodicals Dept. - Reference Shelves | F 576 .W82 v. 1 |
| Calendar of the Kentucky Papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts | Covers Series CC (Kentucky) | Periodicals Dept. - Reference Shelves | F 576 .W82 v.2 |
| Calendar of the Tennessee and King's Mountain Papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts | Covers Series XX (Tennessee) and DD (King's Mountain) | Periodicals Dept. - Reference Shelves | F 576 .W82 v.3 |
| Calendar of the George Rogers Clark Papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts | Covers Series J (George Rogers Clark) | Periodicals Dept. - Reference Shelves | F 576 .W82 v.4 |
| Calendar of the Thomas Sumter Papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts | Covers Series VV (Thomas Sumter) | Periodicals Dept. - Reference Shelves | F 576 .W82 v.5 |
| Calendar of the Frontier Wars Papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts | Covers Series U (Frontier Wars Papers), SS (David Shephard Papers), TT (SouthCarolina Papers), & UU (South Carolina in the Revolution Miscellanies) | Periodicals Dept. - Reference Shelves | F 576 .W82 v.6 |
The Draper Series consists of five volumes of documents selected from the Draper Manuscript Collection, annotated and edited by the Wisconsin Historical Society. The volumes cover the period just before and during the American Revolution.
Online at: http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/476423.html
Periodicals Dept. - Reference Shelves
E 230.5.O3 T6 1970
Historic editions shelved in Special Collections - Rare.
Not just a telephone directory. Modern editions include a reverse or “criss-cross” section that lists residents in order by street address.
1910 – 1916
1923 - 1976 (with gaps)
Theses written by WT students. Some local topics might be of interest to genealogists. Location: Archives. Some titles also available on microfilm.
| Author | Theses | Call Number | Microfilm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riley, Glyndon M. | The History of Hemphill County | LD5901.W754R55 1939 Thesis | Roll 5, no.63 |
| Paine, Clinton Leon | The History of Lipscomb County | LD5901.W754P35 1941 Thesis | Roll 7, no.110 |
| Tinkler, Estelle D. | Nobility’s Ranche: A History of the Rocking Chair Ranche | LD5901.W754T56 1941 Thesis | Roll 8, no.118 |
| Brooks, Una M. | The Influence of the Pioneer Women Toward a Settled Social Life on Llano Estacado | Thesis 378.764B87i 1942 | Roll 8, no.122 |
| Reisdorph, F.S. | A History of the German People in the Panhandle of Texas and Ellis County, Oklahoma | Thesis 378.764 R37h 1942 | Roll 9, no.138 |
| McCarty, John L. | The History of Tascosa, Texas | LD5901.W754 M12 1945 Thesis | Roll 11, no.167 |
| Phelps, LaVerne Pollard | A History of the Little Theater Movement in Amarillo From 1888 to 1946 | Thesis 378.764 P53h 1946 | Roll 11, no.171 |
| Phillips, Frances | The Development of Agriculture in the Panhandle-Plains Region of Texas to 1920 | Thesis 378.764 P55d 1946 | Roll 11, no.172 |
| Curl, Carroll A. | A History of Amarillo College, 1929-1946 | Thesis 378.764 C97h 1947 | Roll 11, no.175 |
| Rampley, Oliver Coleman | Early Education in the Texas Panhandle | Thesis 378.764 F17e 1947 | Roll 12, no.181 |
| Brown, Clois Truman | The History of Deaf Smith County, Texas | Thesis 378.764 B87h 1948 | Roll 12, no.186 |
| Flanagin, Charles P. | The Origins of Nazareth, Texas | Thesis 378.764 F58o 1948 | Roll 12, no.189 |
| Sparks, Mrs. T. C. | A History of the Amarillo Public Schools, 1889-1949 | Thesis 378.764 S73h 1949 | Roll 14, no. 245 |
| Holt, Clarence R. | A History of Gaines County, Texas | Thesis 378.764 H75h 1953 | N/A |
| Kaul, Leta Stoner | Use of Local Folklore as an Aid to Teaching | Thesis 378.764 K21u 1954 | N/A |
| Thompson, Robert L. | Selected Aspects of the Political and Economic Development of the Texas Panhandle to 1890 | Thesis 378.764 T47s 1957 | N/A |
| Lindsey, Jo Carol (Birch) | A Comparison of Selected Aspects of Frontier Social Life in East Texas (1822-1836) With That in the Panhandle of Texas (1800-1900) | Thesis 378.764 L75c 1958 | N/A |
| Lowe, Ida Marie Williams | The Role of the Railroads in the Settlement of the Texas Panhandle | Thesis 378.764 L91r 1962 | N/A |
| Hughes, Pollyanna Badgett | The Role of The Canyon News in the Development of Randall County | Thesis 378.764 H89r 1965 | N/A |
| Fanning, James Donald | The History of Goodnight College | LD5901.W754F367 1967 Thesis | N/A |
| Palmer, James O. | History of the Landergin Brothers Company Ranch | LD5901.W754P3 1967 Thesis | N/A |
| Eubank, Janice Rector | A History of Swisher County | LD5901.W754E93 1970 Thesis | N/A |
| Stuart, Patricia | Gosh, Ma’am (History of Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch) | LD5901.W754S89 1970 Thesis | N/A |
| Andrew, Catherine | Frontier Women of the Texas Panhandle | LD5901.W754A52 1973 Thesis | N/A |
| Moore, Jane | The Legendary Charles Goodnight | LD5901.W754M66 1973 Thesis | N/A |
| Edwards, Mildred | The History of Racial Integration in the Amarillo, Texas, Public Schools, 1915-1973 | LD5901.W754E3 1974 Thesis | N/A |
| Lee, Georgia E. | A History of the Canyon, Texas, Independent School District from 1889 Through 1923, with an Analysis for 1973-1974 | LD5901.W754L4 1974 Thesis | N/A |
| Ross, Richard J. | A Study of Historical Dwellings in Sherman, Motley, Ochiltree, and Childress Counties in the Panhandle, 1860-1920 | LD5901.W754R62 1974 Thesis | N/A |
| Furnish, Patricia L. | Separate and Unequal: Women in the Texas Panhandle During the 1930s | LD5901.W754F87 1992 Thesis | N/A |