About Lost Texas Roads

 

LostTexasRoads.com celebrates local history.  It connects old Bexar County east of San Antonio to the important events that define Texas and the United States of America.  It reveals stories of individuals and communities along roads and trails laid out by Spanish, Mexican, Texan and United States governments. On its pages, events related to Texas Independence, the Republic of Texas, Texas Statehood, European immigrants, Plantation Slavery in Bexar County, the Civil War and the Wild West are connected to the lives of individuals and communities.

Regina Tolley and Allen Kosub attended St. Mary’s University and shared a love for history classes. In 1968, they met in a history class.   Hubert J. Miller and Dr. Felix D. Almaraz, their favorite professors, have been a continuing source of inspiration.   Dr. Almaraz has become a friend and mentor.

Regina believes that history is best understood and expressed through personal connections.  “For me, the creation of communities, immigration and the behavior of people may best be explained by studying individuals and families.”   By studying records of kinship and constructing personal biographies, Regina brings a deeply personal perspective to LostTexasRoads.com.

For Allen, history provides a way of explaining why ordinary people do extraordinary things.  “Lost TexasRoads.com is not about legends; it is about the ordinary people who live in the shadow of legends and are heroes in their own right.”

Allen and Regina have worked with communities and historical organizations to reveal important properties and have them designated by the Texas Historical Commission as “historic properties.”

Acknowledgements:

 

The La Vernia Historical Association, the La Vernia Heritage Museum 

The Wilson County Historical Society

Ira Lott, Geraldine Smedler and Allie Mitchell (now deceased) for introducing us to the rich history of the African-American community of East Bexar County.

Frank Faulkner (now retired) and the staff of the Texana and Genealogy Department of the San Antonio Public Library for maintaining, sharing and guiding us through this most important resource for Bexar County history.

Judge Robert Thonoff of Karnes County whose work on the Spanish Colonial period in Texas provides the foundation for understanding Texas in its infancy.

John & Shirley Grammer, Maurine Liles and Gene Maeckel are local historians from Wilson County (formerly a part of east Bexar County) with whom we have spent many delightful hours scouting the countryside and records. Their knowledge, enthusiasm and friendship are a treasure.

Eva Martinez, Wilson County Clerk

Gerard C. (Gerry) Rickhoff, Bexar County Clerk