See the Value of old School Records:
Matagorda County Texas
School Records
October 10, 2016 by Guest Blogger, Dorothy Horan
Most children, ages 4–5, in the United States attend free public schools beginning with preschool or kindergarten.
While newer school records are not available to the public, some older public records created by schools are beginning to become available to researchers.
Records kept by teachers may be found at historical societies or other document repositories.
A recent addition to the FamilySearch collection of databases is a great example.
The Texas, Matagorda County, School Census Records collections published on FamilySearch.org.
To view the images, you must have a free FamilySearch account.
The FamilySearch wiki describes how to search this collection and also provides tips for how to follow up on your findings. . . Click on "Read More."
Most children, ages 4–5, in the United States attend free public schools beginning with preschool or kindergarten.
While newer school records are not available to the public, some older public records created by schools are beginning to become available to researchers.
Records kept by teachers may be found at historical societies or other document repositories.
A recent addition to the FamilySearch collection of databases is a great example.
The Texas, Matagorda County, School Census Records collections published on FamilySearch.org.
To view the images, you must have a free FamilySearch account.
The FamilySearch wiki describes how to search this collection and also provides tips for how to follow up on your findings. . . Click on "Read More."
The Value of School Records
Government-sponsored free public schools generally began to be established after the American Revolution.
Private and church-sponsored schools existed previously.
Public schools in Texas began to be created in 1854.
Government-sponsored free public schools generally began to be established after the American Revolution.
Private and church-sponsored schools existed previously.
Public schools in Texas began to be created in 1854.
Advantages to Using School Records
- School records may supply birth information before birth records were kept and where birth records are not readily available.
- School records were kept regularly, including years when neither federal or local census records were recorded. Federal census records do not list the names and ages of children before 1850. School census records help supply information about children before and after that year.
School records often include:
- Student rosters— Student rosters may list the name, age, residence, and birthplace of children.
- School newspapers— School newspapers, often kept by upper-level classes, may give a view of school life. They report events such as dances, sports, debates, and other school activities. School newspapers can be the next best thing to going back in time to your ancestors’ school dance.
- School censuses— School census records were kept partially to determine funding needs. School districts, county archives, or state archives may have custody of these records. They often place families in a specific locality and give information about the family. The Matagorda County school census has records for both black and white children, which were usually kept separately. Often, the census records were organized by family and listed:
- The name of the school or school district.
- The county or town where the family lived.
- Names of parents.
- Names of children in each family.
- Ages or birthdays of children.
- Yearbooks
- Report cards and grade records
An Example
Below is an excerpt from the Matagorda County school census.
Ola Mae (or May) Alexander, whose full name is something like Olivngy, was an African American girl.
She had two brothers who attended the same school she did.
Below is some information gleaned from school records from 1935–1940, the years she attended the school.
Below is an excerpt from the Matagorda County school census.
Ola Mae (or May) Alexander, whose full name is something like Olivngy, was an African American girl.
She had two brothers who attended the same school she did.
Below is some information gleaned from school records from 1935–1940, the years she attended the school.
It is interesting to follow Ola Mae and her brothers through the years they appeared this school census. Some notable things about the family are:
- Willie (or Will or Willy) is listed as deceased on the 1935 census, so the mother, Lottie, raised the children alone for many years.
- Generally, families were listed together in school census records; however, Ola Mae and A. J. were listed on separate pages in the 1936 school census. It could have been an oversight, or they could have been living in separate homes at the time. The fact that A. J. has a guardian and is living in Blessing rather than Bay City suggests that he was living apart from the rest of the family.
- James appears only in the 1939 and 1940 school censuses. He may have been living somewhere else or attending another school before that time.
- The transcription of Lottie’s name changes, which is not surprising because many clerks still recorded names according to what they heard not according to what may have been written. It appears that Lidy Franklin is Lottie or Ladie Alexander and that she married Willy before his death.
More Information
You can find out more about families who lived in the Matagorda County area—or in any part of Texas—on the
Texas Vital Records page on the FamilySearch wiki.
These records may give you more information about families who lived in the area during the period 1930–1940.
For a listing of new collections published by FamilySearch, visit the FamilySearch media page.
You can find out more about families who lived in the Matagorda County area—or in any part of Texas—on the
Texas Vital Records page on the FamilySearch wiki.
These records may give you more information about families who lived in the area during the period 1930–1940.
For a listing of new collections published by FamilySearch, visit the FamilySearch media page.