October Special Events at the DRT Library are a Hit!

Library visitors during Founders Day.

Those who have visited the DRT Library know that during regular weekday business hours it is a non-browsing library, open to researchers only. However, during two Saturdays this October, the Library hosted Open Houses and invited visitors to peruse highlights from the archival collections that were on display.

Volunteer Kay Garsnett staffed the library's table during Founder's Day and let everyone know about the Open House.

The first Open House was held in conjunction with the Alamo’s living history program, Fall at the Alamo, on October 10. The second was held on October 24 as part of San Antonio Founders Day; as one of the fifty historical and cultural exhibitors at the celebration, the library also staffed a booth on the Alamo grounds. This was the first year the library was open with exhibits during Fall at the Alamo; it was also the first year the library participated in Founders Day, which in the past was held at other locations in San Antonio. These events coincided with American Archives Month, which promotes the significance of archives.

More than 2,000 people visited the library during the two October events.

One of the exhibits being prepared for Fall at the Alamo.

The exhibits at both Open Houses showcased outstanding examples of different types of materials in the collections, including maps, photographs, letters, newspapers, government records, books, artifacts, and items of popular culture. During both events, visitors were able to see one of the library’s two copies of the Texas Declaration on Independence; a letter written by Alamo defender Daniel Cloud; examples of redback currency printed by the government of the Texas Republic; a copy of the Telegraph and Texas Register from March 1838; and a cased ambrotype of Alamo survivor Anglina Dickinson. The remaining items on display, however, were different for each Open House. Since the focus of Fall at the Alamo was daily life in Texas during the Republic period, the library’s exhibit for that event focused on materials from approximately 1836 to 1846. By comparison, visitors who came to the library during Founders Day saw items dating from 1579 to 1932; they were especially interested in seeing a petticoat that belonged to Susanna Dickinson and using a stereoscope from the early twentieth century.

These two Boy Scouts weren't the only visitors who enjoyed viewing three-dimensional images through the library's stereoscopes; kids, and even adults, were fascinated with them, too.

Visitors examining "Genl. Austin's Map of Texas with Parts of Adjoining States," published by Henry Schenck Tanner in 1840.

Library visitors examining the various archival materials on display during Founders Day.

Fort Sam Houston’s Gift Chapel

The Post Chapel at San Antonio's Fort Sam Houston.

Earlier today, a celebration held at Fort Sam Houston marked the 100th anniversary of the post’s Gift Chapel, which was dedicated on October 17, 1909, even though construction on the building was not yet finished. The original dedication festivities were marked by a parade and a speech by President William Howard Taft, who had been in El Paso the day before meeting with Mexican President Porfirio Diaz.

This panoramic photograph, originally part of the Leo M. J. Dielmann Papers, shows President Taft speaking in Alamo Plaza during his trip to San Antonio in October 1909. The President is on a platform in front of the Alamo's Long Barracks; the right side of the Alamo church and the uppermost curve of the its facade are visible beyond the barracks on the right. (SC97.24)

The chapel at Fort Sam Houston was designed by well-known San Antonio architect Leo M. J. Dielmann, and his father, John C. Dielmann, served as the general contractor for the project. Leo Dielmann’s personal and professional papers are housed at the DRT Library; partially because it is comprised of so many sets of oversized architectural drawings and plans, the collection is one of the largest in the library’s archives. A second, similarly extensive, collection of additions is also available for research, although it has not yet been completely processed; a preliminary inventory for the collection is available at the library.

John C. Dielmann's store at 306 E Commerce Street, April 27, 1907. From left to right are Leo M. J. Dielmann, his brother William V. Dielmann, Henry Burns, John J. Jehl, John C. Dielmann, the bookkeeper, and George Theis.

An undated photograph showing the interior of John C. Dielmann's business. Leo M. J. Dielmann is seated on the far right, and his father, John C. Dielmann, is the second man from the left.

The collections contain numerous materials – including plans, drawings, specifications, and photographs – that help document the history of the Fort Sam Houston Chapel. The records also demonstrate Leo M. J. Dielmann’s involvement in its development within the broader context of his work on other private and public structures, particularly churches, in San Antonio and throughout Texas.  A selection of these items have been included in this entry. [Please note that, due to the size of some of Dielmann's original drawings and plans, only a section of them could be scanned and shown here.]

Dielmann's presentation drawing of the chapel's exterior, which shows how he envisioned the building would look when completed.

A detail of Dielmann's preliminary drawing of the first floor of the chapel.

A detail of Dielmann's preliminary drawing of architectural details in the chapel's vestibule.

An undated photograph showing the construction of the chapel.

Click here for a full citation of the documents and images included in this entry.

“How Old Man Henry and His Family are Getting Along in America”

On October 13, 1856, Henry Baumberger, a recent immigrant and resident of San Antonio, wrote to family and friends in his native Switzerland. The document is part of a collection of eight lengthy letters written by and to Baumberger between 1856 and 1867. Written in an older Sütterlin German script that is no longer used, the letters have been translated into English.

The first page of Henry Baumberger's letter of October 13, 1856. "On this here letterhead," he told his family and friends, "you see some views etc. of our City of San Antonio."

In the letter of October 13, Baumberger described life in Texas in great detail for loved ones living very differently in Europe. “The way people live here is strange,” he wrote. “You hardly will believe me if I tell you the truth and I am telling you nothing but the truth.” On one hand, Baumberger found much to criticize in San Antonio:

An enormous rudeness is generally prevalent in this country. Nobody cares about enlightenment and education. Nobody lived intellectually. Everybody strives for money and for money only. Money is the idol that is worshipped. The officers are not in the least interested in public welfare…Every day on the streets you can see loafers by the dozens, carrying knives and pistols. They are looking for trouble and stab or shoot, as they please. Every week some people are killed in the public street. And as the officers are mostly people of the same kind, usually nothing is done about it. Every night horses, mules or cattle are stolen. In the beginning all this seemed terrible to me and I was afraid of these rascals but not now any more.

On the other hand, however, Baumberger also described circumstances in Texas that he believed and observed to be an improvement over conditions in Switzerland. He explained ways in which American women enjoyed more legal rights than their European counterparts; praised laws that protected debtors from losing all of their property and belongings as payment to creditors; and described the “very happy life” enjoyed by Texas farmers, even though they were “sometimes raided by wild Indians.” Despite his mixed feelings about life in Texas, Baumberger ultimately wrote that “in general I am doing pretty well and so far I never regretted that I have emigrated [sic] to America.”

A detail of the last page of Henry Baumberger's letter, which he closed by asking that his loved ones "don't forget" him, "now in a far away country."

Based on evidence in the letters, Henry Baumberger (born circa 1823) and his wife, Anna Weiss Baumberger, immigrated to Texas with their two daughters, Anna (born circa 1852) and Eliza (born circa 1855). In his letter of October 13, Henry marveled that his young children could “already babble [in] English.” In the same letter, he happily announced the birth of his son, Henry, and explained that the “little fellow is already now an American citizen, because everybody born here is as a matter of course a citizen of this country.” Sadly, in a letter dated July 18, 1857, Baumberger informed his relatives and friends that baby Henry had died from a fever. “God has called him away,” he wrote, “and the hearts of the parents are struck again, because this is the third boy we had to see leaving us…I had trusted to have at last a male offspring. But it was not so to be.” However, by 1867 the Baumberger expanded to include two additional children: Paulina (born circa 1858) and Charles (born circa 1863).

While Henry Baumberger had worked as a teacher in Switzerland, his letters in the DRT Library document the variety of jobs he undertook in Texas: at different times he worked as a merchant, a beer garden owner, and an owner of shipping business that transported freight by wagon from San Antonio to Mexico or Port Lavaca. The 1870 census listed Henry as a member of the San Antonio police force and the 1880 census stated that he was once again working as a teacher.

Click here for a full citation of the documents and images included in this entry.

American Archives Month: Events at the DRT Library

During the month of October, the DRT Library will be holding two Open Houses in conjunction with special programs being held on the Alamo grounds:

Fall at the Alamo

Saturday, October 10, 2009

10:00 am – 4:30 pm

San Antonio Founders Day

Saturday, October 24, 2009

11:30 am – 4:30 pm

Special items from the library’s 450 archival collections will be on display, including:

• An original copy of the Texas Declaration of Independence, one of about thirteen known to still exist.

• A map of Texas drawn by Stephen F. Austin in the 1820s.

• A letter written by Alamo defender Daniel Cloud while en route to San Antonio.

• A cased photograph of Angelina Dickinson, Alamo survivor.

Researchers will not be able to access library materials during these events. Patrons interested in conducting research at the library should return during regular business hours or contact library staff at drtl@drtl.org.

We look forward to seeing you at the library!

American Archives Month: You Are a User of Archives…And You May Not Even Know It!

Sponsored by the Society of American Archivists and the Council of State Archivists, American Archives Month is held in October to celebrate the importance of archives as institutions that preserve and shape individual memory and the collective memory of communities.

Last year during Archives Month, we posted a blog entry describing what archives are, what archivists do, and why archives are important. This year the focus of Archives Month is the impact of archives. Archivists can collect statistics about the numbers of people who physically visit their repositories and use their collections or who receive information from or about the archives via email, telephone, or websites. Additionally, beyond these patrons are people who utilize archives indirectly because they benefit from the dissemination of historical information based on research conducted in archives. As archivist Paul Conway wrote in 1986, “users of archives are…all beneficiaries of historical information. By this definition, it is unlikely there are many non-users of archives.”

Put another way, when asking who benefits from archives, the answer is “YOU”! This is true even if you’ve never set foot in an archives. Every day you rely on the ability of organizations to preserve accurate records and make them accessible and depend on the work of researchers who study these records and share their findings. Simultaneously, you encounter ways in which past events – big and small, from the distant past and the very recent past – are studied as a way of making sense of the present. Consider the following scenarios in which archives play a vital, if not sometimes unrecognized, role:

• You contact your alma mater to request a duplicate copy of your high school or college transcript.

• You watch a documentary that includes historic images or video footage.

• You watch a historical movie in which crew members consulted historians or archival sources in order to accurately (although not perfectly!) recreate life in the past.

• You read a book – a work of non-fiction in any subject or even a work of non-fiction – in which the author used historical documents or cites other scholars who have studied historical records.

• You read a newspaper article or watch a news program that cites government or business reports, includes statistics showing change over time, shows images or footage of events in the past, or features an expert discussing the history behind a current situation.

• You consult past contracts, reports, policy statements, correspondence (including email), project documents, financial information, or other files at your place of employment in order to perform daily business transactions, comply with legislative and regulatory requirements, protect the interests of the organization and its stakeholders, and conduct research and development of new products or services.

• You watch or listen to a sporting event that contains a “today in history” feature, cites players’ statistics over a period of time, or includes historic images or footage of an important athlete or event.

• You contact your bank or other lending institution to confirm your account balances.

Moreover, chances are that you are an archivist for your own records. This is the case if you manage personal and/or family records such as birth certificates; school transcripts, report cards, or diplomas; pay stubs and other employment records; deeds; mortgages; insurance records; and financial documents such as tax records and bank statements. You may also be an archivist who preserves your family’s history by saving ancestors’ letters and other records as well as historic photographs or home movies. Professional archivists do the came kind of work, although they bring knowledge, skills, values, and training to the endeavor of preserving extensive collections of records for the indefinite future and making them accessible to researchers.

References:

Paul Conway, “Facts and Frameworks: An Approach to Studying the Users of Archives,” American Archivist 49 (Fall 1986): 396.