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Biographies provide useful genealogical information such as an individual’s birth date and place (including foreign birthplaces where applicable); family members; occupation and education; and social, political, and religious affiliation. They may also contain a physical description of the person, his or her previous residences, and immigration information. Biographies are the product of family knowledge or previous research compiled about early settlers and prominent citizens of the state, county, or town. Many lesser-known individuals may have biographical sketches written about them in local histories. | Biographies provide useful genealogical information such as an individual’s birth date and place (including foreign birthplaces where applicable); family members; occupation and education; and social, political, and religious affiliation. They may also contain a physical description of the person, his or her previous residences, and immigration information. Biographies are the product of family knowledge or previous research compiled about early settlers and prominent citizens of the state, county, or town. Many lesser-known individuals may have biographical sketches written about them in local histories. | ||
===Biographies in Local Histories=== | |||
*Biographical information is often found in '''state, county, and town histories'''. | |||
*Towards the end of the 19th century, began publishers soliciting short biographical/family histories from local founding families, offering to publish them in an upcoming local history. This then became an incentive for family members to buy a copy of the book. | |||
*Families represented were '''not necessarily prominent'''. Practically everyone living there, especially in the Midwest, counted as an early settler. | |||
*These biographies often start with '''the first member of the family to settle in the area''', and detail their descendants at the time of publishing. They may tell '''where the family moved in from'''. Children's marriages often are given, with '''maiden names''' included. | |||
====Finding Biographies==== | |||
*The [[Texas, United States Genealogy#Counties|'''county Wiki page''']] lists several county histories. It also lists '''local libraries, and societies''' which probably have copies of local histories. | |||
*Many histories are no longer under copyright and can be found in the following '''online, digitized book collections'''. Search with keywords "History" and "the name of your locality" (state, county, or town). | |||
**[https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/ '''FamilySearch Books'''] | |||
**[https://books.google.com/ '''Google Books'''] | |||
**[https://www.worldcat.org/ '''World Cat'''] | |||
**[https://www.hathitrust.org/ '''HathiTrust'''] | |||
**[https://archive.org/ '''Internet Archive'''] | |||
*The FamilySearch library has extensive collections of these local histories. Many are digitized. Search the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog '''FamilySearch Catalog'''] under your locality for the topics "Biography" and "History". | |||
See [[United States Biographies|United States Biographies]] for information on nationwide biographical collections. See also the "[[Texas History|History]]" and "[[Texas Genealogy|Genealogy]]" sections for additional sources. | See [[United States Biographies|United States Biographies]] for information on nationwide biographical collections. See also the "[[Texas History|History]]" and "[[Texas Genealogy|Genealogy]]" sections for additional sources. | ||
{{Adoption Hidden Ancestors}}Most of the major archives mentioned in [[Texas Archives and Libraries]] have collections of biographical materials. | {{Adoption Hidden Ancestors}}Most of the major archives mentioned in [[Texas Archives and Libraries]] have collections of biographical materials. | ||
=== Biographical Gazetteer of Texas === | === Biographical Gazetteer of Texas === | ||