The End of Another School Year

Are you reminiscing about your school years? We have yearbooks for the McKinney High School, McKinney North High School and McKinney Boyd High School.

The collection for the McKinney High School includes:

• Bison: 1914 - 1917


• Lion: 1941 - present (missing the following: 1944, 1948-1954, 1956-1975, 1977-1979, 1984-1987, 1991, 1996, 2004)

McKinney North High School includes:

• Reflections: 2002 - present (missing the following: 2004, 2006)

McKinney Boyd High School includes:

• 2007 - present

If you have one of the missing yearbooks and don't want it any more, please don't throw it out. We would love to add it to our collection.

Upcoming Events at the Roy and Helen Hall memorial Library:

June 9th at 7:00: Come to the North Collin County Genealogical Society Meeting. The guest speaker will be Guy Giersch, the Historic Preservation Officer for teh City of McKinney. Mr. Giersh will be will be talking about the early history of McKinney and how architecture is the embodiment of the human spirit.

June 18th 10:00 am - 12:00 pm: The Registrar and Lineage Committee of John Abston Chapter of DAR will be available to assist anyone interested in DAR who thinks they have a Revolutionary War Patriot, or would like to know if they have a Patriot. They will offer guidance in finding a lineage and assistance/advice on how to gather proof for submission with a DAR application.

Change in Blog Day:

Due to a change in my other obligations, I will now be blogging on either Friday or Saturday each week.

Railway passenger lists of overland trains to San Francisco and the West

When the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, there was great celebration of being "connected to the rest of the world." The West was no longer separated by the snowy reaches of the Sierras, and the railroad brought to the Pacific States and Territories a mighty flood of prosperity, as well as new immigrants. This work provides a reconstruction of passenger arrivals between 1870 and 1873 using contemporary sources, such as journals, diaries, letters, magazines and newspaper lists. This effort addresses Overland Trains, bound west, with passengers tabulated at the time of passing Ogden, Utah; Carlin, Nevada; Battle Mountain, Nevada; and Mojave, California. This two-volume work covers the period of 1870 to 1873, and contains approximately 32,000 names. The passenger lists are arranged chronologically, and, generally, contain departure date, arrival date, or "passed through" date; passenger names; and place of residence. When families were traveling together, an indication of "spouse", or "child", with no name given, will often follow the passenger entry.

Mark Your Calendar:

June 9th at 7:00 pm: North Collin County Genealogical Society will have as their guest speaker Guy Giersch, the City's Historic Preservation Officer. Everyone invited.

Oral Histories and Upcoming Event

Oral Histories:

The Oral History Collection that was recorded in 1976 to celebrate the Bicentennial of the United States. Colin County the Way It Was interviewed Collin County citizens about their early lives in Collin County. These interviews were heard on KMMK McKinney radio on Sundays during 1976. Bicentennial Documentary came about through a grant from the American Revolutionary Bicentennial Commission of Texas. The original collection is on cassette tapes. We have recently copied these tapes to CDs. Bring your headphones and listen to these fascinating stories! The CDs are in the Genealogy Librarian’s office for now – we will soon have a set in the file cabinet with the cassette tapes.

Upcoming Event:

Don't forget the North Collin County Genealogy Society meeting Thursday evening at 7:00 at the Roy and Helen Hall Library - guest speaker Ted Wright will talk about Uncle Gus Wilson.

Upcoming Events and New Items

Upcoming Events:

Thursday May 12, 7:00 pm.: The North Collin County genealogical Society will be hosting Ted Wright. Mr. Wright will be speaking about Uncle Gus Wilson. Mr. Wilson was considered a Santa Clause. Giving away of farms was a habit with “Uncle Gus.” He gave away much property such as land, securities, cash, autos, etc. Many worthy persons have been “remembered” by “Uncle Gus”. He was a pioneer settler of the Roland community.

Saturday, June 18, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm.: The John Abston DAR Chapter in McKinney will assist anyone interested in DAR who thinks they have a Revolutionary War Patriot, or would like to KNOW if they have a Patriot. We would offer guidance in finding a lineage and assistance/advice on how to gather proof for submission with a DAR application.


New Items for April 2011:

• First Settlers of the Mississippi Territory


• Cherokee Citizenship Commission Dockets Vol. II, III and IV: 1880 – 1884 and 1887 – 1889


• Revolutionary War Pensions Awarded by State Governments 1775 – 1874, the General and Federal Governments Prior to 1814, and by Private Acts of Congress to 1905


• Tyrell County North Carolina Minutes Court of Please and Quarter Sessions, Book 1: 1735 – 1754, Book 2: 1755 – 1761, Book 3: 1762 – 1767


• Jack County Cemeteries Thru December 31, 2005 Final Issue


• Jack County, Texas Marriage Records 1900+ From Miscellaneous Sources


• Sabine County, Texas Marriages: 1880 – 1930 Vol. 1


• Confederate Soldiers Buried in Arkansas: a Compilation Representative of all Confederate States


• Index of Documents Department of Nacogdoches 1826 – 1836


• Jackson County Ky. Obituaries 2002 – 2003


• The North Carolina Gazetteer: a Dictionary of Tar Heel Places and Their History second edition


• Colony of North Carolina 1735 – 1764 Abstracts of Land Patents Vol. 1


• Railway Passenger Lists of Overland Trains to San Francisco and the West, Vol. 1: 1870 – 1871, Vol. 2: 1871 – 1873


• Scott County, Arkansas: a Gateway to the West


• Caswell County North Carolina Will Books 1777 – 1814, 1784 Tax List, Guardians’ Accounts 1794 – 1819 and Caswell County North Carolina Will Books 1814 – 1843, Guardians’ Accounts 1819 – 1847, 1850 & 1860 Census Mortality Schedules, Powers of Attorney from Deed Books 1777 – 1880


• The Vestry Book of Kingston Parish Mathews County, Virginia 1679 – 1796


• Early Western Augusta Pioneers [Virginia]


• McKinney Courier-Gazette January 3,2010 – March 31, 2010 (microfilm)


• The Ultimate Search Book: 2011 Edition Worldwide Adoption, Genealogy & Other Search Secrets


• Tennessee Records of Marion County: County Court Minutes 1842 – 1847, Historical Records Project Official Project No. 65-44-1475


• A Guide to Texas Research – revised edition 2008


• Fannin County, Texas in the Civil War


• Red River County, Texas in the Civil War


• Morris County, Texas in the Civil War


• Hampshire County (Virginia – now West Virginia) Minute Book Abstracts: Vol. 1 1788 – 1802 and Vol. 2 1817 – 1823


• McKinney (Images of America series) – we have two copies of this book in the Roy and Helen Hall library. One can be checked out, the other is Reference and will remain in the library. We also have a copy that can be checked out at the John and Judy Gay Library.


• Gateway to Texas: History of Red River County (this one can be checked out)