This section covers sources that provide biographical information on prominent Texans from all time periods and all fields of study. Apart from the sources listed here, biographical material is available through a variety of sources, including regional and county histories for information on early settlers. Local historical societies, newspapers, and some libraries maintain clipping files on prominent individuals and families in specific areas. Other subject sections in Texas Reference Sources (see, in particular, T-AJ Genealogy and T-DB History) may also include biographical resources. In addition, biographical information is available in the New handbook of Texas (T-AB8).

T-AH1  Biographical gazetteer of Texas: publications of the biographical sketch file of the Texas Collection at Baylor University.  William L. Ming, Virginia Ming. Austin: W. M. Morrison Books, 1985-1987.  6 v.
    Location guide to biographical sketches of over 50,000 Texas pioneers in over 200 works of Texas history. Alphabetical by name. Each entry gives name, dates, and titles of works, page numbers, and whether or not there is a photograph or portrait.

T-AH2  Biographical souvenir of the state of Texas, containing biographical sketches of the representative public, and many early settled families.  Repr. of 1889 ed.  Easley, SC: Southern Historical Pr., 1978.  950 p.  ill.  ISBN 0-89038-119-1
Also available: Dallas Microfilm Center, 1971?. Microfiche. 10 sheets;  Cox Library county, state & local histories, pt. 3, Prairies and Plains region, Texas, reel 5, no. 21;  Tucson, AZ: Americana Unlimited, 1974?. 1 reel;  Western Americana, frontier history of the Trans-Mississippi West, 1550-1900, reel 54, no. 520;  New Haven, CT: Research Pub., 1975. Microfilm. 1 reel.
    Includes indexes.

T-AH3  Cattle kings of Texas.  Claude Leroy Douglas.  Repr. of 1939 ed.  Austin: State House Pr., 1989.  176 p.  ill., maps, port.  ISBN 0983349449 (cloth); ISBN 0983349457 (paper)
Also available: Western Americana, reel 157, no. 1683;  New Haven, CT: Research Pub., 1975. 1 reel;  Dallas Microfilm Center, 1972. Microfiche. 4 sheets.
    This basic history of the Texas cattle barons has gone through several reissues. Includes bibliographic references.

T-AH4  The creative arts in Texas: a handbook of biography.  Goldie Capers Smith.  Dallas: Cokesbury Pr., 1926.  178 p.
    See T-BE28.

T-AH5  Debrett’s Texas peerage.  Hugh Best.  New York: Coward-McCann, Inc., 1983.  385 p.  ill.  ISBN 0-698-11244-X
    See T-AJ69.

T-AH6  Early settlers and Indian fighters of Southwest Texas: facts gathered from the survivors of the frontier days.  Andrew Jackson Sowell.  Repr. of the 1900 ed.  Austin: State House Pr., 1986.  viii, 844 p.  ill., ports.  $29.95 ISBN 0-938349-05-8
    Accounts from over 180 early pioneer settlers. Includes index.

T-AH7  East Texas, its history and its makers.  T. C. Richardson; Dabney White, ed.  New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1940.  4 v.  ill., maps, ports.
Also available: Dallas Microfilm Center, 1971. Microfiche (23 sheets, 10.5 x14.8 cm);  Genealogy and local history, LH11716, Ann Arbor, MI: UMI, 1998. Microfiche (24 sheets, 11 x 15 cm.)
    County histories in v. 2 and v. 3 end with a biographical sketch of the person for whom the county was named. v. 4 has biographies of the central figures in East Texas history. v. 4 includes name index. v. 3 includes name/subject index and bibliographical references.

T-AH8  Encyclopedia of frontier biography.  Dan L. Thrapp.  Lincoln, NE: Univ. of Nebraska Pr., 1991.  3 v.  $60 ISBN 0-8032-9417-4 (paper)
Also available: Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Pr., 1995. CDROM ISBN 0-8032-4425-8
    Approximately 4,500 entries arranged alphabetically with cross references where needed. Notes for each entry direct user to other sources. Includes name/subject index.

T-AH9  Encyclopedia of western gunfighters.  Bill O’Neal.  Norman, OK: Univ. of Oklahoma Pr., 1991.  400 p.  ill.  $24.95 ISBN 0-8061-2335-4 (paper); ISBN 0585198500 (ebook)
Also available: netLibrary
    255 individuals (including many law enforcement officers) who had reputations as gunfighters. Includes index and bibliography.

T-AH9a  Famous Texas folklorists and their stories.   Jim Gramon.   Plano: Republic of Texas Pr., c2001.   285 p.  ill.   ISBN 1556228252 (paper)
    See T-CF46.

T-AH10  Heroes of Texas, featuring oil portraits from the Summerfield G. Roberts Collection.  Introd. by Evelyn Oppenheimer; dedication by Paul Loftin; biographies by Horace Bailey Carroll, et. al.  7th ed.  Waco: Texian Pr., 1985.  iv, 141 p.  ill., ports. (some color)  $15.95 ISBN 0-87244-001-X
    Biographical sketches of major heroes of Texas: Stephen F. Austin, James Butler Bonham, Jim Bowie, David Crockett, James W. Fannin, Sam Houston, Mirabeau Lamar, Ben Milam, William Barrett Travis. Based on primary source research among old letters, diaries, family albums, newspapers, and period histories. Portraits by Charles B. Norman.

T-AH11  History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee, and Burleson counties, containing a concise history of the state, with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above-named counties, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families.  Repr. of 1893 ed.  San Antonio: Ingmire, n.d.  2 v.  ill, ports.
Also available: Ann Arbor, MI: UMI, 1980; 2 v. photocopy, Tuscon, AZ: Americana Unlimited.
    v. 1, 327 p.; v. 2, 316 p. Each volume has complete name index. Indexed by Index to the Lewis Publishing Company’s 1893 History of Texas, Mary Kay Holmes Snell and Eric Kunzbo, ed., 1977. 112 p.

T-AH12  Indian wars and pioneers of Texas.  John Henry Brown.  Repr. of 1880 ed.  Greenville, SC: Southern Historical Pr., 1994.  760 p.  ill., port.  ISBN 0-89308-120-5
Also available: Ninteenth century American Literature. Louisville, KY: Lost Cause Pr., 1962. Microopaque, 13 microcards (8 x 132 cm);  Cox Library county, state & local histories, pt. 3, Prairies and Plains region, Texas, reel 6, no. 25, Tucson, AZ: Americana Unlimited, 1974?.
    Biographical sketches of early Texas pioneers along with brief descriptions of Indian wars. Indexed by Everyname index of 7,000 entries from Indian wars and pioneers of Texas by John Henry Brown (Dallas: Texas Genealogical Soc., 1988), comp. by Verda Hamilton Wolfe, et al., for William Hunter McClean and donated by Mrs. McClean to the Texas State Genealogical Soc. Includes names listed in notes as well as within articles in Brown’s book.

T-AH13  Men of achievement.  Betty Burtis Babionoe, ed.  Texas ed.  Dallas: Biographical Arts, 1958.  278 p.
    Brief biographies of prominent Texas men in the field of business, commerce, and industry. Includes short history of the company or industry with which each was affiliated. Alphabetical name index is the only key to those included. Update of 1948 ed.

T-AH14  Notable men and women of Spanish Texas.  Donald E. Chipman, Harriett Denise Joseph.  Austin: Univ. of Texas Pr., 1999.  xvi, 359 p.  ill., maps, photos.  $40 ISBN 0-292-71217-0 (cloth); $17.95 ISBN 0-292-71218-9 (paper)
    Essays on 15 high-profile individuals, with a generic chapter on women. The authors have also published a variation of this work: Explorers and settlers of Spanish Texas for juveniles. Includes index and bibliographical references.

T-AH15  Rangers of Texas.  Roger N. Conger, et al.  Waco: Texian Pr., 1969.  xxv, 159 p.  ill., plates.  ISBN 0-87244-006-0
    Biographies John Coffee Hays, Samuel Walker, Ben McCulloch, Rip Ford, Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Leander H. McNelly, and John B. Jones.

T-AH16  Texas biographical dictionary.  New York: Somerset Pub., 1996.  2 v.  ISBN 0-40309-951-X
    v. 1, A-Ma; v. 2, Mc-Z. Includes some prominent Native Americans and Hispanics. "List of Persons" on p. vii-xxxix in v. 1 and v. 2.

T-AH17  Texas biographical dictionary: people of all times and all places who have been important to the history of the state.  Wilmington, DE: American Historical Pub., 1985.  202 p.  ill., port.  $45 ISBN 0-937862-54-1
Also available: Tuscon, AZ: Americana Unlimited. Microfilm.
    Brief biographical sketches.

T-AH18  Texas historical and biographical index.  Ronald Vern Jackson.  Bountiful, UT: Accelerated Index, 1984-  .  ISBN 0-89593-201-6

T-AH19  Texas under many flags: Texas biography by a special staff of writers.  Clarence R. Wharton.  Chicago, IL: American Historical Soc., 1930.  5 v.  ill., plates, ports., maps, facs.
Also available: Cox Library county, state & local histories, pt. 3, Prairies and Plains region, Texas, reel 3-4, no. 12-16. Tucson, AZ: Americana Unlimited, 1974?.
    Biographical material in v. 3-5.

T-AH20  Unsung heroes of Texas: stories of courage and honor from Texas history and legend.  Ann Ruff.  Houston: Lone Star Books, 1985.  126 p.  ill.  $9.95 ISBN 0-88415-864-0 (paper)
    Stories of 50 unheralded Texans dating from the 1836 revolution to the 1980s.

T-AH21  West Texas pioneers.  Linda B. Allie, Weldon I. Hudson, comp.  Fort Worth: L. B. Allie and W. I. Hudson, 1986.
    Reprints a series of articles on West Texas pioneers published in the Fort Worth star- telegram between Jan. 26 and May 31, 1933. Covers 542 individuals. Entry length ranges from a couple of sentences to about two pages. Names and information were submitted by the subjects themselves or by families or friends. Focus is on the geographic area from Fort Worth west and northwest to the New Mexico border. Useful for insights into life on the West Texas frontier.

T-AH22  Who’s who in Texas: a biographical directory, being a history of Texas as illustrated in the lives of the builders and defenders of the state, and of the men and women who are doing the work and molding the thought of the present time.  Emory E. Bailey, et al., ed.  Dallas: Who’s Who Pub. Co., 1931.  334 p.  ill., port.

T-AH23  Who’s who in the South and Southwest.  Chicago, IL: Marquis Who’s Who, 1947-    Biennial.  ISSN 0083-9809
    Biographical dictionary of noteworthy men and women of the Southern and Southwestern states.

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T-AH24  Black leaders: Texans for their times.  Alwyn Barr, Robert Calvert, ed.  Austin: Texas State Historical Assoc., 1981.  x, 237 p.  ill., port.  $18.95 ISBN 0-876-11055-3 (cloth); $9.95 ISBN 0-876-11056-1 (paper)
    Collection of biographical essays describing the lives of 8 African-American Texans who sought social change for themselves or their ethnic group. Includes index and bibliographical references.

T-AH25  Black Texans of distinction.  Garland A. Smith, ed.  Austin: Garland A. Smith Assoc.; printed by Texian Pr., 1947.  110 p.  ill.
    Early effort to provide a biographical overview of African-Americans in Texas. Biographies of 53 prominent Black Texans living and dead.

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T-AH26  Biographical register of the Confederate Congress.  Ezra J. Warner, Buck W. Yearns.  Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State Univ. Pr., 1975.  xxiii, 319 p.  ill., plates.  $30 ISBN 0-8071-0092-7
    Short biographies of all 267 men in the Confederate Congress, including members of the Texas delegation. Based on information from standard sources. Includes bibliography.

T-AH27  Lone Star generals in gray.  Ralph A. Wooster.  Austin: Eakin Pr., 2000.  vi, 330 p.  ill., maps, ports.  $24.95 ISBN 1-57168-325-9 (cloth); ISBN 0585161992 (ebook)
Also available: netLibrary
    Encyclopedic listing of 37 Texans who served as generals in the Confederate Army. Chapter 1 provides overview, including tables showing date and place of birth, education, occupation, which ones owned slaves, date of promotion, and whether killed, wounded, or otherwise injured. Chapter 2 deals with the Generals of the Army (John Bell Hood and Albert Sidney Johnson). Chapter 3 has entries for Major Generals. Chapter 4 lists Brigadier Generals by theater in which they served. Append. lists individuals who had general rank in the state army or state militia. Includes bibliography (p. 295-309), index, and endnotes.

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T-AH28  Our Tejano heroes: outstanding Mexican-Americans in Texas.  Sammye Munson.  Austin: Panda Books, 1989.  xi, 86 p.  ill.  ISBN 0-89015-691-3 (cloth); ISBN 0585161992 (ebook)
Also available: netLibrary
    Brief examination of the accomplishments and contributions of 20 Mexican-Americans from Texas, including historical figures such as Jose Antonio Navarro and more recent individuals such as Congressman Henry Gonzales.

T-AH29  Las Tejanas: 300 years of history.  Teresa Palomo Acosta, Ruthe Winegarten.  Austin: Univ. of Texas Pr., 2003.  xvii, 436 p.  ill., photos.  (Jack and Doris Smothers ser. in Texas history, life, and culture, no. 10)  $45 ISBN 0-292-74710-1 (cloth); $22.95 ISBN 0-292-70527-1 (paper)
    Narrative on the contributions of women of Spanish/Mexican descent to Texas history and culture from the 1700s to 2000. Append. 1 (p. 316-320) is a list of "Fifty Notable Tejanas". Append. 2 (p. 321-332) is a "Time Line" of significant events and personalities in Tejana history from 1716-2000. Includes notes (p. 333-383), bibliography (p. 385-408), and index (p.409-436).

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T-AH30  The men who made Texas free: the signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence: sketches of their lives and patriotic services to the Republic of Texas with a facsimile of the Declaration of Independence.  Samuel Houston Dixon.  Houston: Texas Historical Pub. Co., 1924.  345 p.
Also available: Cox Library county, state, & local histories, pt. 3, Prairies and Plains region, Texas, reel 12, no. 57. Tucson, AZ: Americana Unlimited, 1974?.

T-AH31  The signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence.  Louis Wiltz Kemp.  Repr. of 1944 ed.  Salado: Anson-Jones Pr., 1959.  398 p.
    Includes facsimile of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Brief biographies of the signers. Also corrects errors connected with the signers. Includes material about San Felipe de Austin, Washington on the Brazos, the convention hall, and the document itself. Includes index.

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T-AH32  Capitol women: Texas female legislators, 1923-1999.  Nancy Baker Jones, Ruthe Winegarten.  Austin: Univ. of Texas Pr., 2000.  xiv, 328 p. ill.  $45 ISBN 0-29274-062-X (cloth); $22.95 ISBN 0-29274-063-8 (paper)
    See T-CJ8.

T-AH33  Eminent women of the West.  Elinor Richey.  Berkeley, CA: Howell-North Books, 1975.  276 p.  ill., port.  $13.95 ISBN 0-8310-7110-9
    Includes index and bibliography.

T-AH34  Finder’s guide to the Texas women: a celebration of history exhibit archives.  Ruth Winegarten, ed.  Denton: Texas Woman’s Univ. Library, 1984.  xxxiv, 318 p.

T-AH35  Home builders of West Texas.  Kate Adele Hill.  Repr. of 1937 ed.  San Antonio: Naylor, 1970.  xx, 108 p.  ill., port.  ISBN 0-81110-366-8
    Personal interviews with wives of West Texas ranchers. Provides insights into life on the West Texas frontier as well as the legacy these women left the state. Portraits of each subject along with ranch scenes and brands.

T-AH36  Legendary ladies of Texas.  Francis Edward Abernethy, ed.  2nd ed.  Denton: Univ. of North Texas Pr., 1994.  xii, 237 p.  (Pub. of the Texas Folklore Soc., no. 43)  $17.95 ISBN 0-929398-75-0 (paper); ISBN 0585285985 (ebook)
Also available: netLibrary
    Biographical sketches of 25 women whose actions or deeds embody values and virtues that Texans admire or consider interesting. Time period covers early Texas to the early 1980s. Subjects include Emily Morgan, Belle Starr, Miriam “Ma” Ferguson, Babe Didriksen, and Janis Joplin. Each entry includes notes and/or biographical references.

T-AH36a  Lives and times of Black Dallas women.  Marc Sanders, Ruthe Winegarten, Harry Robinson, Jr., ed.  Austin: Eakin Press, 2002.  xiii, 230 p.  ill.  $29.95 ISBN 1571685839, 9781571685864 (cloth)
    Profiles of black Dallas women who made contributions to the city in the realms of education, religion, civil rights, business, clubs, politics, the arts, and culture.

T-AH36b  More than petticoats: remarkable Texas women.  Greta Anderson.  Guilford, CT: TwoDot, 2002.  x, 117 p.  ill.  $10.95 ISBN 0762712732, 978-0762712731 (paper)
    A look at the history of Texas through the stories of ten women, including African-American pilot Bessie Coleman and rancher Molly Dyer Goodnight.

T-AH37  Notable women of Texas.  Irving: Emerson Pub., 1984.  viii, 647 p.
    Based on information provided by the subjects. Covers family background, education, and career, civic, political, and social activities.

T-AH38  Outlaws in petticoats and other notorious Texas women.  Ann Ruff, Gail Drago.  Plano: Republic of Texas Pr., 1995.  xii, 172 p.  ill.  ISBN 1-55622-315-3
    The name is deceptive because not all of the women profiled ("Ma" Ferguson, for example) lived outside the law. Subjects include Belle Starr and Bonnie Parker. Includes index and bibliography (p. 161-166).

T-AH39  Pioneer women in Texas.  Annie Doom Pickrell.  Repr. of 1929 ed.  Austin: State House Pr., 1991.  488 p.  ISBN 0938349708
Also available: New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Library, 1993.
    Biographical sketches of significant pioneer women in the period before 1845.

T-AH40  Las Tejanas: 300 years of history.  Teresa Palomo Acosta, Ruthe Winegarten.  Austin: Univ. of Texas Pr., 2003.  xvii, 436 p.  ill., photos.  (Jack and Doris Smothers ser. in Texas history, life, and culture, no. 10)  $45 ISBN 0-292-74710-1 (cloth); $22.95 ISBN 0-292-70527-1 (paper)
    See T-AH29.

T-AH41  Texas women: a pictorial history from Indians to astronauts.  Ruthe Winegarten.  Austin: Eakin Pr., 1986.  ix, 187 p.  ill.  ISBN 0-89015-532-1
    Over 250 photographs. Subjects cover all ethnic groups. Time period is inclusive from Indians in pre-Colombian times to mid-1980s. Covers women from all walks of life and occupations. Photographs come from collections throughout the state. Biographical information based on sources in the project archives located at the Texas Woman’s Univ. Library in Denton. Includes index and bibliography (p. 173-186).

T-AH41a  Texas Women in World War II.  Cindy J. Weigand.  Lanham, MD: Republic of Texas Pr., 2003.  xi, 257 p.  ill.  ISBN 1556229488 (paper); 978-1556229480 (cloth)
    Stories of female World War II veterans now living in Texas.

T-AH42  Texas women: interviews and images.  Patricia Lasher; photos by Beverly Bentley.  Austin: Shoal Creek Pub., 1980.  204 p.  ill., port.  ISBN 0-88319-053-2 (paper)
    Interviews with 36 Texas women prominent in the areas of business, entertainment, law, medicine, politics, and ranching. Includes Mary Kay Ash, Dr. Bejy Brooks, Phyllis George Brown, Liz Carpenter, Rita Clements, Lita Cockrell, Oveta Culp Hobby, Sarah Hughes, Lady Bird Johnson, Barbara Jordan, Jaclyn Smith, Sissy Spacek, Annette Strauss, and Sarah Weddington.

T-AH43  Texas women of distinction: a biographical history.  Ina May Ogletree McAdams.  Austin: McAdams Pub., 1962.  332 p.
    Listed by both married and maiden names. Gives basic biographical information plus names of children, children’s spouses, grandchildren, and the paternal and maternal lineage of those women chosen because of their memberships, activities, support, and encouragement of the study of Texas history. Includes index.

T-AH43a  Texas Women on the Cattle Trails.  Sara R. Massey, ed.  College Station: Texas A&M Univ. Pr., 2006.  x, 326 p.  ill.  $29.95 ISBN 1585445436, 9781585445431 (cloth)
    Lengthy profiles of sixteen Texas women who drove cattle up the cattle trails from Texas to market in the latter half of the nineteenth century.

T-AH44  Texas women who dared to be first.  Jean Flynn.  Austin: Eakin Pr., 1999.  vii, 187 p.  $18.95 ISBN 1571682325 (cloth); ISBN 058522398X (ebook)
Also available: netLibrary
    Profiles Texas women who challenged male dominance in various fields, including business, civil rights, education, and politics. As the title suggests, the women portrayed were the first to enter their fields. Arranged alphabetically by name. Includes bibliographic references.

T-AH45  Women in early Texas.  Evelyn M. Carrington, ed.  Austin: Texas State Historical Assoc., 1994.  334 p.  ill.  $19.95 ISBN 0-87611-142-8 (paper)
    Sponsored by the American Assoc. of Univ. Women, Austin Branch. Brief biographies of 50 women who played significant roles in the early social and cultural development of Texas. Repr. of the 1975 ed. originally published in Austin by Jenkins Pub. Co.

T-AH46  Women in Texas: their lives, their experiences, their accomplishments.  Ann Fears Crawford, Crystal Sasse Ragsdale.  Austin: State House Pr., 1992.  431 p.  ISBN 0-9383-497-2-4 (cloth); ISBN 0-9383-497-3-2 (paper)
    Includes index and bibliographic references.

T-AH47  Women of Texas.  James M. Day, et al.; oil paintings by John French.  Waco: Texian Pr., 1972.  173 p.  ISBN 0-89015-305-1
    Biographies of 8 women who are remembered for symbolic reasons (Jane Long), for time and place (Cynthia Parker), for actions behind the scenes (Miriam Ferguson), or for accomplishments in their own right (Elisabet Ney).

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Updated: 31 October 2007
Copyright 2007, Texas Library Association

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