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About the Collection
In late December of 2003, an agreement was signed which made Special Collections the official repository of the archives of the Texas Society Sons of the American Revolution (TXSSAR).
With this agreement, two very important things happened. First, the TXSSAR Archive found a permanent home where the materials will be preserved, organized, and made available to researchers, scholars, and visitors. Second, the Texana Collections fulfilled an important part of its mission—to preserve and make available important historic and cultural materials of Texas for current and future generations.
The primary goal in preserving this collection is to organize the TXSSAR Archives to document the history of the Society in Texas; its activities, projects, and accomplishments. We continue to work closely with members of TXSSAR who are eager to help fill gaps in the collection, by providing missing newsletters, sending in scrapbooks, and by providing any type of materials or artifacts to help make the TXSSAR Archives a truly complete record of the Texas Society Sons of the American Revolution. Additionally, other materials relating to the American Revolution continue to be added to the collection.
Published Materials
The collection contains various published books by and about the Sons of the American Revolution, including histories of chapters and societies, rosters, annuals, books on various aspects of the Revolutionary War, and other patriotic subjects.
The collection also contains many individual issues of chapter, state, and national newsletters, but no complete run of any title. Most, if not all, of these newsletters cannot be found in other collections, libraries, or archives, which makes this collection unique in preserving these materials for future researchers. We are actively seeking missing issues, and will gratefully accept donations to the TXSSAR Archives.
Published materials in the TXSSAR Archive can be found in the Libraries catalog.
Scrapbooks
The collection holds over 50 scrapbooks assembled by the State Historian and by members from various chapters and groups. Scrapbooks contain original photographs of members and events, letters, artwork, newsletters, clippings, documents, etc. Each is a unique item recording the activities of TXSSAR and its chapters and groups.
Papers
Correspondence, e-mails, reports, minutes of meetings, and the files of a number of officers and chapters are preserved in the TXSSAR Archives. Examples of specific holdings include the files of the Hill Country Chapter, the files of Frank A. Gibson, files from the Plano Chapter, and files from the Liberty Chapter.
The Archive also contains microfilm copies of the early membership applications, as well as the first bound volume of original applications. Signed proclamations, original charters for closed chapters, research on chapter histories and on TXSSAR founding member Ira Hobart Evans, and materials from the collection of Past President General Clovis Brakebill are also part of the collection.
Photographs
Sets of photographs and collections in photo albums documenting events are a major part of the collection. Many of the physical photographs in the collect date from 1985 and 2001, but a large number of born-digital photographs, from 2016 to present, have been added to the digital TXSSAR Archive and can be found on The Portal to Texas History.
Artifacts
Plaques, trophies, medals, badges, flags, flag streamers, and other objects relating to the history and activities of the Texas Society Sons of the American Revolution and to the Sons of the American Revolution are an important part of the TXSSAR Archives.
View the finding aid of the TXSSAR Archives to further review the collection. Some digital materials from the TXSSAR Archives are available on The Portal to Texas History.
