The Texas State Genealogical Society’s Lone Star Family Trails Podcast Library
by Suzan Younger
The Texas State Genealogical Society announced its new podcast series – Lone Star Family Trails – on April 26, 2022. A podcast is a collection of digital audio files. The author(s) of a podcast post the audio files on their website and make them available via the Internet for listening on the website or for downloading to a personal smartphone, iPod, tablet, or similar device. The Lone Star Family Trails podcasts will introduce listeners to “resources, records, and the historical context of the Lone Star State: Texas.”
The TxSGS podcast authors use an interview format for their new podcasts. A host from the TxSGS interviews an expert representative from a Texas repository who provides background information and details about the highlighted repository. Hosts for this series are Sue Kaufman, Randy Whited, and Ron Barnett. The expert guest for each repository will discuss collections of genealogical interest housed at the repository. TxSGS will post a blog article about each episode on its website with additional information about the podcast. As of this date, two published podcasts contain exceptional programs and information you won’t want to miss.
In Episode #101 –The Texas Collection and University Archive at Baylor University, Ron Barnett hosts the first podcast and interviews Amie Oliver, interim director of the Texas Collection and an assistant librarian at the Baylor University Carroll Library in Waco, Texas. The Texas Collection and University Archives are privately-held collections. They are a special library, archival research center, and the University Archive housing material relating to the history and heritage of Texas. The collection is open to the public.
Ms. Oliver gave an introduction and overview of the collection. Four examples of the collections with genealogical material include:
- Regional Historical Resource Depository (RHRD) has microfilm containing birth, marriage, death, deeds, land, tax, and more for the Texas counties of Bell, Bosque, Burnet, Coryell, Falls, Hamilton, Hill, Lampasas, Limestone, McLennan, and Williamson. The microfilm is available through the interlibrary loan program.
- The Biographical Gazetteer of Texas (BIO-GAZ) with biographical sketches of Texans
- An extensive map collection, including over 14,000 maps of Waco and historical Texas, is housed in the Frances C. Poage Map Room.
- African American Collections with materials documenting the African American experience across Texas, specifically in Waco, Texas.
In Episode #102 – The San Antonio Genealogical and Historical Society Library, Sue Kaufman continues the series with an interview with Barbara Froebel, president and historian of the San Antonio Genealogical and Historical Society.
The San Antonio Genealogical and Historical Society Library https://txsaghs.org/cpage.php?pt=38 is located at 911 Melissa Drive, San Antonio, Texas. The library contains over 15,000 books, 700 maps, and computer access to major genealogical websites such as Ancestry.com. Fold3.com. HistoryGeo.com, and the New England Historic Genealogical Society website. This library is a Family History Center (FHC) Library Affiliate, giving visitors access to otherwise restricted microfilm images. Ms. Froebel provides an excellent overview of the collection in this podcast.
Please check out the new TxSGS Lone Star Family Trails podcast series. The first two podcasts will complement the DGS Summer 2022 Seminar with Kelvin Meyers. The Dallas Genealogical Society will present Gone to Texas – Finding Your Ancestors in Land and Probate on July 16, 2022, in person at the Dallas Central Public Library and live-streamed via Zoom.
Kelvin’s program offers four presentations:
- Plowing Through the Land Records to Find Your Ancestors
- Tracking the Land Tax Records
- Probate: More Than a Will
- Texas Records & Repositories
