Böcker av Lorna Geer Sheppard

The material set forth in this two-volume series is from The Northern Standard, a weekly newspaper published in Clarksville, a small town in the northeastern corner of Texas. Founded in 1842 by Charles DeMorse, a New York lawyer and veteran of the Texas Revolution, the paper was published under his editorship for forty-six years. The paper grew to become the second largest in circulation in Texas and DeMorse himself was hailed as the Father of Texas Journalism. The Standard provided its readers with a full offering of what was happening in Clarksville, Northern Texas (as well as the rest of Texas), the nation, and even the world of the mid-1800s. Volume I focuses on Red River County and its seat, the town of Clarksville, during the years 1846 to 1860. The former Red River District of the Republic of Texas, it is mother county to thirty-nine present Texas counties. Volume II focuses on what happened in many of those calf counties during the same fourteen year time span: from the days of the Republic, to Statehood, and finally, the Civil War. Some of these counties were already well established, some were still developing, and others were in their infancy. Beyond these counties was the frontier with its wild native inhabitants. This rich source of names, dates and other genealogical tidbits is enhanced by indices.

The Northern Standard, later renamed The Clarksville Standard, was a weekly newspaper first published in 1842 by Charles DeMorse in Clarksville, a small town in the northeastern corner of the Republic of Texas. The paper grew to become the second largest in circulation in Texas and DeMorse was hailed as the Father of Texas Journalism. In 1856 and 1857, times were good and everyone thought life would only get better. New technology brought change, both good and bad. Texas agriculture took a giant leap forward with the introduction of mechanical threshers and reapers. The telegraph and railroads connected many states, and would eventually include Texas. But periodically, even in the face of seeming prosperity, economies crash and times become tense. The Crash of 1857, resentment against immigrants, the Dred Scott decision handed down by the Supreme Court, the Underground Railroad, and insurrection conspiracies all contributed to the undercurrent of stress in society. The Whig party was disappearing, the Democrats were split between North and South, the Republican Party was forming, and the Know Nothings' American Party rounded out the political combatants of the day. All this, along with town activities, marriages and deaths, celebrations, crops, weather and more were covered in the Standard. Both the genealogist and the student of Texas history will prize this work. For the genealogist, there is a wealth of names. For historians, this volume offers a taste of the people, events and attitudes in motion which were to shape Texas and the United States. An every name index enhances the text.

The Northern Standard, later renamed The Clarksville Standard, was a weekly newspaper first published in 1842 by Charles DeMorse in Clarksville, a small town in the northeastern corner of the Republic of Texas. The paper grew to become the second largest in circulation in Texas and DeMorse was hailed as the Father of Texas Journalism. In 1854 and 1855, Texas was still "growing up." The Standard was more than a country newspaper. It published national and international news received from "exchange papers" from other parts of Texas, the Eastern seaboard, and even Europe. A myriad of political ideologies, temperance, and the growing issue of slavery and abolition were some of the topics discussed. Local news focused on Clarksville and the reader's home terrain: Bowie, Cass, Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Hopkins, Hunt, Jack, Johnson, Kaufman, Lamar, Montague, Parker, Red River, Tarrant, Titus, Upshur, and Wise Counties. Town activities, marriages and deaths, celebrations, crops, weather and more were covered. Both the genealogist and the student of Texas history will prize this work. For the genealogist, there is a wealth of names. For historians, this volume offers a taste of the people, events and attitudes in motion which were to shape Texas and the United States. An every name index enhances the text.