Researching Texas Ancestors during the Civil War and Reconstruction

Sponsored by the Texas State Genealogical Society

During the Civil War, thousands fought, but many Texans stayed home, protecting the frontier and keeping the home fires burning.

With husbands away, women emerged in new roles. During Reconstruction, county government changed, and the federal government intruded. Freed slaves had to make their way in unfamiliar territory. Thousands of immigrants — from the South and overseas — migrated to Texas.

The Civil War and Reconstruction provide genealogists with unique research opportunities. Circumstances, special laws, and multiple constitutions led to the creation of records not found during any other time in the nineteenth century. Investigating these records can illuminate your ancestors and lead your research in new directions.

Learn more by registering for the Save Texas History Symposium.

About the Speaker

Teri E. Flack is a genealogy and historical researcher, consultant, and lecturer who has researched family history for over 30 years. She serves on the Texas State Historical Resource Advisory Board, a state-level board dedicated to the preservation and use of Texas’ documentary heritage. She is the first genealogist to sit on the board in over a decade. Teri is a member of the Travis County Historical Commission for which she serves as Travis County historical marker chair.

Preserving records and making them accessible is one of Teri’s passions, so she chairs the Texas State Genealogical Society’s Records Preservation and Access Committee and serves as the Texas state liaison to the national RPAC.

Recently, Teri was elected a Fellow of the Texas State Genealogical Society. She holds a Master’s degree in History, with a concentration in Public History; MBA; Paralegal Certificate; and B. S. in Education from Texas State University.

About the Symposium

The Save Texas History Symposium: In the Shadow of the Dome: Austin by Day & Night, will take a look at the history of Austin in a whole new light, and examine diverse aspects of Austin’s history in the 19th century. You can register for the symposium here.

Symposium Sponsors & Exhibitors

Sponsors:

Additional Symposium Sponsors:

Texas Society of Professional Surveyors (TSPS)

Dolph Briscoe Center for American History

Texas School for the Deaf

TCU Press

University of Texas Press

David A. Furlow, P.C.

Hillco Partners

Crinkstuff Vintage Texana & Rare Books

Dorothy Sloan Rare Books, Inc.

The Witte Museum

Exhibitors:

Texas Historical Foundation

Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society

Austin History Center Association

Texas A&M University Press

Brush Square Museums — The City of Austin

Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin

Save Austin’s Cemeteries

Society of Southwest Archivists (SSA)

Austin Genealogical Society