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Texans by Blood, Sweat & Tears

For thousands of years Native Americans called the lands of Texas home.  In 1528, the first Europeans happen upon Texas and in 1718 a Spanish expedition founded San Antonio.  The 1800s witnessed an onslaught of settlers from around the world coming to Texas to build a future.  Regardless of personal backgrounds, nationalities, ethnicities, or religions, Texas required a toll paid in blood, sweat and tears. 

Demmer vs Dornstin: A Case of Mistaken Identity

Historians struggle with the fear that an error or omission will produce faulty conclusions. The contributions of Joseph N. Dornstin were attributed to another good man by an historian who claimed that Dornstin changes both his given and surnames.

Dr. James H. McMahon

James H. McMahon served the medical needs of residents in Wilson and East Bexar County.  His...

Edward Hall Cunningham

Edward Hall Cunningham was among a few Texans who made the transition from slave holding planter before the Civil War to baron of industry. His wealth and influence became the thing of legend. The success of his business, based on the use of convict labor, made him a controversial figure admired by some and reviled by others.

Erastus “Deaf” Smith

Arrival in Texas Erastus “Deaf” Smith's land grant placed him in the path of Texas history.  The Siege of Bejar, the Fall of the Alamo...

Freedmen – Black and White

Confederate newspapers in San Antonio wrote that “open graves” awaited them upon their return. . .

Gideon Lee, Jr.

In the 1840s, a new road crossing the American continent past through the lands east of San Antonio creating a speculative real estate boom....

Hugo Kott

Hugo Kott, the son of Richard and Johanna Allerkamp Kott was born in Gillespie County, Texas on February 2, 1874.  His father was born in...

James M. Trainer

James M. Trainer was Justice of the Peace for precinct #4 of East Bexar County.  He served at a time when the rule outlaws...

James Nipper

James Nipper was a pillar of the Mount Olive community of East Bexar County. He was...

Joe Shely: One Revolution, One Ranger

When United States District Attorney A. J. Evans emerged from the meeting he declared that if the council would give him one man he would guarantee the complete breaking up of the Mexican Revolutionists on the American side of the Rio Grande. That man was Captain Joe Shely.

John Edgar Trainer

John Edgar Trainer served as a deputy under two legendary Bexar County sheriffs:  T.P. McCall and...

Joseph N. Dornstin

Arriving in Texas in 1841, Joseph Dornstin was a pioneer who blazed the trail that would be followed by Silesian settlers in the decades that followed.