Miscellaneous Nacogdoches County Records

Collection

Identifier: B-0085

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The bulk of this collection are Nacogdoches Co. deeds for miscellaneous citizens. There are also land documents, promissory notes, field notes, broadsides for land or fugitives from the law, power of attorney and other probate documents, and entrance certificates. Researchers might find the entrance certificates, which are all from 1835 and in Spanish; and a pair of small broadsides from 1890-1891 for fugitives wanted for murder, of particular interest.

Dates

Creation: 1837-1898

Language of Materials

The collection is in English and Spanish.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

Biographical / Historical

Nacogdoches County is in the center of the pine belt of East Texas. It is bounded on the west and south by the Angelina River and on the east by the Attoyac Bayou. Rusk County borders on the north. Prior to the Texas Revolution the territory of Texas was divided into three departments, the area east of the Trinity River constituted the department of Nacogdoches. Later the departments were divided into municipalities with the villages called districts. After the revolution, the municipalities within the overall umbrella of Nacogdoches were divided into counties. From Nacogdoches County came Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Dallas, Gregg, Henderson, Hopkins, Houston, Hunt, Koufman, Polk, Raines, Rockwall, Rusk, Smith, Trinity, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood.

The name Nacogdoches is Caddo in origin and thought to mean "Place of Persimmon" or "Place of High Hill."

At the time of European contact, Caddo and Bidai Native American groups lived in what is now Nacogdoches County. In 1716, the Spanish established asettlement at Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe do los Nacogdoches only to abandon it two years later. Two years later in 1720 the Spanish tried again. They remained precariously in Nacogdoches until 1763, when Spanish colonial authorities ordered them to emigrate South to San Antonio. European settlement remained sparse in the area until 1779, when Gil Antonio Ybarbo led a group back to Nacogdoches area to establish the first permanent colonial settlement.

Extent

0.25 Cubic Feet

Additional Description

Arrangement

The bulk of this collection is described in 31 folders housed in a clamshell box with other collections. There are also six oversize items in a bundle. The collection is organized at both the item and folder levels.

The name and collection number was changed to Miscellaneous Nacogdoches County Records (B-0085) in October 2018 from Nacogdoches County-County Records (B-0087). Two folders were removed and their oversize contents added to Bundle 1. This resulted in the adjustment of folder numbering.