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NACOGDOCHES ARCHIVES RECORDS
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==== Contents:

Entrance Certificates and Certificates of Citizenship
Censuses (Padrones) 1783-1835
Elections (Eleciones) 1823-1835
Military Reviews 1773-1830s


The Nacogdoches Archives Record Group includes a variety of
records maintained by national, regional, and local
officials--both political and military--of the Mexican
government from the mid-eighteenth into the early nineteenth
century. The records include Spanish colonial and Mexican
national government correspondence, decrees, and reports;
the correspondence and reports of military and political
officials stationed in the Provincias Internas (1776-1824)
and, later, the State of Coahuila y Texas; records of the
Department of Nacogdoches (Northeastern Texas), 1830-1836;
and municipal records of Nacogdoches and vicinity. Until
the 1830s, the records are written in Spanish. The records
of the Municipality of Nacogdoches (not to be confused with
the Department of Nacogoches) are a mixture of both English-
language and Spanish-language documents after 1830.

Most of the records concern only the northeastern portion of
the state of Coahuila y Texas. If the person being
researched did not come to Texas through Nacogdoches or did
not settle in northeast Texas, his records may be in the
Bexar Archives at the Center for American History at the
University of Texas at Austin.

All the documents contained in this record group have been
microfilmed, and the reels placed in the Genealogy
Collection for the convenience of researchers. They may also
be requested on interlibrary loan through a local library.
Entrance Certificates and Certificates of Citizenship (reels
16 and 17), the Censuses (reels 22 and 23), Election Returns
(reels 23 and 24), and Military Reviews (reel 24) all
contain potential genealogical information. Original
materials from the Nacogdoches Archives are not pulled for
research purposes unless the film copy is illegible.


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ENTRANCE CERTIFICATES AND CERTIFICATES OF CITIZENSHIP
Nacogdoches, 1821-1828, 1835

Foreigners arriving in the state of Coahuila y Texas had to
"prove, by certificate from the authorities of the place
from whence they came, that they are Christians, and also
the morality and propriety of their conduct." To become a
citizen, the foreign settler had to go before the municipal
authorities and swear to "abide by and obey the general
Constitution, and that of the State; to observe the religion
as stipulated by the former; and in a book (the register of
foreigners) which shall be kept for that purpose, his name
and those of the members of his family, if he has any, shall
be set down; noting the country from whence he comes,
whether married or single, his employment; and he having
taken the requisite oath, shall be considered thenceforward,
and not before that time, a fellow-citizen."

The registers of foreigners and oaths of citizenship found
in the Nacogdoches Archives cover the 1820s and 1835.
Other, scattered certificates appear occasionally in the
records of the alcalde.

Entrance certificate registers give the newcomer's name,
marital status, and the date the certificate was issued.
Citizenship certificates provide the person's name, age,
place immigrating from, marital status, religion, and
occupation. Certificates of citizenship issued in the 1820s
also give length of residence in Texas.

The original records are written in Spanish (except for a
few of the 1835 citizenship certificates). A translation of
these records is cataloged in both the card catalog and
Texas State Electronic Library under the title _Certificates
of Entrance Relative to Admission to Settle in Texas Under
Colonization Laws_.

The volume of translations should not be confused with Betty
Fagan Burr's similarly titled _Nacogdoches Archives 1835
Entrance Certificates_. This book extracts the genealogical
information contained in the _Certificates of Entrance_
translations and provides an index to names, both of
colonists and witnesses, that appear in the volume. The
information is recorded in columns labeled: "Number,"
"Type," "Status," "Date-1835," and "Witnesses."

The small group of Entrance certificates for the 1820s have
no individual certificate numbers. The approximately 822
certificates for 1835 have been numbered. They were written
some three to five per page on 16" x 14" sheets, folded in
half to create five "ledgers." Certificates #1-152 cover
January through May 1835; #153-385, May through June; #386-
498, June through September; #499-637, also June through
September; and #638-822, September through December. A
separate series, Citizenship Certificates for 1835, includes
45 additional names.

The in-house finding aid for these records lists the name of
the colonist (and any variant in spelling), and certificate
or page number of the document. Names of witnesses are also
given in the 1835 entrance certificate listings.

The State Archives has retained a copy of this finding aid
for the convenience of patrons, but the records must be
searched on the microfilm reels 16 and 17.


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CENSUSES (PADRONES) (1783-1835)

Census records for the period 1783-1796 include mission
rolls, reports of foreigners, and statistical
recapitulations. For the period between 1797 and 1826,
several ranch censuses are included. From 1826 to 1828 all
census rolls are statistical except for one list of persons
married by a judge. Thereafter, for Nacogdoches the series
includes one regular census and a statistical summary
annually. From time to time lists of foreigners occur.


Mission rolls:
information varies, but most give names of Indians
as heads of household and all other names in the
family

Census and Report of Foreigners (18th century):
Name
Residence or nationality
Age
Marital status
Wife's name
Children--their sexes and ages

Ranch Censuses:
Family names and information
Listing of "goods" (broken down by numbers and
types of cattle, horses, sheep, etc.)

Padron or full Census (1828 and following):
Name
Marital status
Occupation
Religion
Age
Family members

Lists of Foreigners (19th century):
Name
Country
Entered from
Profession
Passport
Passport number and issuing date
Date of "presentation"
Where residing

Census records are located on microfilm reels 22 and 23.


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ELECTIONS (ELECIONES) 1823-1835

Election returns present something of a challenge to the
researcher. They include

Names of persons who voted in election
Names of persons voted for.

The records, when they are "alphabetized" are arranged
alphabetically by first name. Thus, when listing the vote
totals for the "E's," the roll includes:

Estevan Austin
Erasmo Seguin
Eugenio Flores
Encarnacion Vasques
Eligio Gortari.

The names are ranked according to the number of votes
received.

Election and voter rolls are located on microfilm reels 23
and 24.


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MILITARY REVIEWS (1773-1830s)


Military Company Lists
Names arranged in descending rank
Rank
Reason for absence from muster (where applicable)

Military diaries: occur most frequently in the later
records and list the unit operations from day to
day, rather like the entries in a ship's log.

Military Reviews are recorded on microfilm reel 24.