Index to Pioneer History of Midland, Texas
My cousin, Sandy, sent this photo to me just a few weeks ago. I hadn't ever seen it before, at least not that I recall.. It's a picture of the ranch that some of my Midland, Texas relatives lived in (Winnie and Will Phillips).
When I started digging around for records in Midland County, I found a book, published in the 1920s, called A Pioneer History of Midland County, Texas. I was intrigued and excited to see what the book might have to offer, but when I checked the index, to my sorrow, I didn't find my relatives' names. However, because it was the only record in the library concerning this area, I decided I would read it anyway, so as to glean some knowledge as to how these relatives lived. As I thumbed through the book, I found it had several sections. After the biographies in the front, there followed branding registrations, and there, among those branding registration marks, I found some of my family members. I was so excited, and wondered what else the book might contain that was not in the index.
As I continued to search through its pages, I found several other listings of familiar names. I knew then I had to index this book over again. As it turned out, the index had only been done for the biographies at the front of the book, and even that index didn't contain all of the names it could have. I started indexing it over again, this time including all place names that were associated with a family name, as well as all of the names of people I could find. It took me about 6 - 8 months, and my husband had to write a simple database program for me to use, as Microsoft Excel wasn't invented yet. Later, I converted into a Word format, but haven't put it into Excel. As a result, the index isn't pretty, but it's got right around 7000 names/places, and might just help someone with family in the Midland area.
If you find your family amongst these pages, let me know, and I'll send email you a photo of the pages your family members are listed on. You can email me at [email protected]. The files are in alphabetical order, and the entries aren't perfect, so you may find some mistakes you can bring to my attention. Let me know if you have any trouble viewing one of these index pages.
When I started digging around for records in Midland County, I found a book, published in the 1920s, called A Pioneer History of Midland County, Texas. I was intrigued and excited to see what the book might have to offer, but when I checked the index, to my sorrow, I didn't find my relatives' names. However, because it was the only record in the library concerning this area, I decided I would read it anyway, so as to glean some knowledge as to how these relatives lived. As I thumbed through the book, I found it had several sections. After the biographies in the front, there followed branding registrations, and there, among those branding registration marks, I found some of my family members. I was so excited, and wondered what else the book might contain that was not in the index.
As I continued to search through its pages, I found several other listings of familiar names. I knew then I had to index this book over again. As it turned out, the index had only been done for the biographies at the front of the book, and even that index didn't contain all of the names it could have. I started indexing it over again, this time including all place names that were associated with a family name, as well as all of the names of people I could find. It took me about 6 - 8 months, and my husband had to write a simple database program for me to use, as Microsoft Excel wasn't invented yet. Later, I converted into a Word format, but haven't put it into Excel. As a result, the index isn't pretty, but it's got right around 7000 names/places, and might just help someone with family in the Midland area.
If you find your family amongst these pages, let me know, and I'll send email you a photo of the pages your family members are listed on. You can email me at [email protected]. The files are in alphabetical order, and the entries aren't perfect, so you may find some mistakes you can bring to my attention. Let me know if you have any trouble viewing one of these index pages.
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