Scope and Contents The diary kept by Edwin Welsh Bush documents his journey from Gallatin, Sumner County, Tennessee to Texas in 1852. Bush entered the state by way of Pendleton’s Ferry and then made his way through Milam, San Augustine, Melrose, and Nacogdoches. The diary also contains notes written about travels through Texas and return trips to Tennessee between 1853 and 1854. Interesting anecdotes include Sam Houston’s railroad speech in Nacogdoches June 14, 1853; the Fourth of July in Melrose; the...

Scope and Contents "The First Oil Well in Texas and the Southwest" gives an account of the drilling at Oil Springs by Lyne Taliaferro Barret in 1866. The paper includes a description of the drilling techniques and tells of negotiations for financial backing. "Peter Ellis Bean--Man with a Story" is a biographical sketch of Bean. "The History of Melrose" gives family histories of the Hardeman, Mast, Walling, Hall, and other families residing...