The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 62, July 1958 - April, 1959 Page: 551
617 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Texas Collection
Our immediate plans were to spend three or four days in El Paso
unearthing local history that might be pertinent and contacting the
persons that I knew might have "something important." "Something
important," it turned out, was spread all over El Paso, the upper and
lower valley of the Rio Grande, and the few days stretched to an un-
believable seven before we tore ourselves away from the local his-
torians and institutions, leaving several stones unturned.
On Sunday, the 19th, our first real working day, we called on Mrs.
Emmie Wheatley Mahon, granddaughter of the main contractor for
the 1857-1861 overland mail, George Henry Giddings. Her aunt, Miss
Emily, daughter of Mr. Giddings, was there also to renew an acquaint-
ance we had begun in December, 1954, when I had been in El Paso
(with wee Rob) to spend Christmas with Private McMillen. We talked
for two hours, showing them our maps and discussing the route, as
well as the seminar paper Mrs. Mahon had written at Texas Western,
on the early stage line. In showing us some of the family papers that
involved the stage, Mrs. Mahon admitted she would like to have made
the stage line her thesis subject had she not done a great deal of work
on another subject. We all were carried away in comparing notes on
Giddings, and soon Miss Emily realized she was late to a dinner en-
gagement.
The following day we breakfasted by cooking out on our rented
trailer lot where we had parked our canvas-backed pickup. Then off
to the downtown office of Cleofas Calleros who was in charge of the
Butterfield Overland Centennial in El Paso in September. That he
was busy did not dissuade me from asking him for all the informa-
tion he had on the SA-SD Mail. He looked over our maps, gave me
a copy of the Butterfield Overland Brochure No. i, and in a min-
imum of words told me I could see his newspaper articles at the
Public Library. We spent part of the afternoon talking to Dr. Rex
Strickland, Dean of Graduate Work at Texas Western, and a local
historian. He suggested a new source for information, and presented
me with a copy of John W. Denny's A Century of Freemasonry at
El Paso, the first publication in Texas Western's "Studies in Regional
History" series. After checking out a few volumes from T.W.C.'s
Library we rushed "home" to cook outside, put the kids to bed, and
take notes on the bibliography in Mrs. Mahon's paper and record part
of a reference via J. L.'s tape recorder.
Tuesday, bright and early, after a slow breakfast over charcoal,
J. L. took the kids on some automotive errands while I was left in
peace to peruse the lovely El Paso Public Library; (my adjective
refers to architectural facilities and organizational ones). There I
encountered Mrs. Hamer, once a cohort of mine at the Barker Texas
History Center at U. T., now a reference librarian in more modern
surroundings. She is working on the newly acquired "Shipman551
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 62, July 1958 - April, 1959, periodical, 1959; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101173/m1/652/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.