Photograph of Thomas Falconer wearing judge's robes and a wig, seated next to a table with books. Handwritten text on the back says: "Thomas Falconer, Judge of County Court, August 1854." Falconer was a member of the 1841 Texan Santa Fe expedition.
Letter from Thomas Falconer to John David Falconer, dated Dec. 5, 1841, but the December is probably a mistake for January since Falconer was captive in Mexico in December 1941. The letter chronicles Falconer's trip by steamboat down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers from Louisville, KY, to New Orleans, LA. There is a small sketch of the steamer, the William French. The letter gives details of the price of passage; accommodations and food; how the steamer is different from "ours"; the stokers (slaves) who "make a most infernal singing"; fellow passengers; Americans for whom "the making of money is their chief pursuit from the time they can talk until they die"; and various towns and cities along the way. From New Orleans, Falconer went to Texas where he was caught up in the Texan Santa Fe Expedition. This letter has a modern handwritten transcription available via the Portal to Texas History.
Letter from Thomas Falconer to "My dear Austin" in London. The letter was written in the third month of Falconer's captivity and posted from San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The letter recounts how he became part of the Santa Fe Expedition in June 1841 and narrates his experiences during the expedition. Falconer states that he was falsely told that the expedition was for trade when in fact its purpose was to capture Santa Fe. The letter describes his companions; the decline of Santa Fe's importance for trade; problems with the route and guides; lack of food; a camp fire that becomes a prairie fire; buffalo; and Indian attacks, scalpings, and deaths. A typed transcript of this letter is also available via the Portal to Texas History.
Three pages of the 1916-1917 course catalog that display chemistry courses offered at Southwestern University during the given school year. Pages display professors, topics, and short descriptions of courses.
Copy of the inventory of Martha Reed's estate on June 2, 1859. Includes monetary values for slaves named Abe, John, Owen, Jim, Bill, Lize, Sall, Luce, Jack, Ike, Nelson, Bet (and her child), Dan, and Joe. Also includes horses, cattle, and ranching gear.
Commencement address given by F.A. Mood before the Holston Conference Female College at Asheville, North Carolina in 1859, published that year as a pamphlet entitled “A theory on education.” P
