Welcome to Shaping Your Family Tree, also known as SYFT, as in “sifting” through records for your family tree. Our primary purpose is to encourage you in your genealogical pursuits. While actively encouraging you, we can consult (check out our Services) and inform with a multitude of Resources, like links, maps, books and materials.
Subject areas of recent interest:
- WW1 records, particularly focused on the Texas Army National Guard units. Excellent source for information is The Texas Military Force Museum at Camp Mabry, Austin. Admission to their museum is free.
- Texas Land Grants for Americans settling in the northern province in Coahuila and Texas in the latter 1820s through 1830. The Texas State Historical Association has summarized the Land Grants, while the Texas General Land Office (GLO) contains actual grants, character certificates, muster rolls and more. The Portal to Texas History has GLO maps by county, which can be used to plot ancestor’s land grants.
- Historical online college yearbooks, particularly those in Texas. Many online resources exist; watch for an upcoming blog on available resources, though these three were recently examined (for women in the 1920 decade); the Prickly Pear of Abilene Christian College in Abilene, Texas, the Lasso of Howard Payne College in Brownwood, Texas, and the Sou’wester of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.
- Migrations from the United Kingdom to Texas in the 1800s. In one instance, an ironworkers union voted to financially support members interested in emigration to Texas, due to unemployment and overproduction issues.
- House histories. A recent study revealed the history of the Castolon Store, a frontier border trading post located in Brewster County, Texas.
No matter where you are in your research journey, please scan through these materials or better yet, send me an email. Our team would love to assist in spreading the joy that comes from solving a family mystery!
Images. Photograph. Desert Bluebonnets. March 2015. Santa Elena Canyon River Access, Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, Big Bend National Park. Phyllis Zumwalt, photographer. Private collection.