Special Collections

Special Collections, located on the second floor of Cornette Library, houses various materials of interest to genealogists. The Sheffy Collection and the Texas Collection cover Texas and the West. Books in these collections are included in the Library's online catalog. Materials covering the University and the surrounding area are kept in the Archives. Various government documents, periodicals, and books are also available on microfilm, microfiche, and other microform formats.

Microfilm/microfiche readers are available. Copies can be made using a WTAMU Buffalo Gold card or a copy card which can be purchased at the Research & Access Desk on the first floor. Inquire at the Periodicals/Special Collections Desk for assistance with Special Collections. The Special Collections area is being remodeled during the Fall 2001 semester. Please call the Desk (651-2209) for hours, availability, and special conditions that apply to using the collection.

African Americans

  • Anti-Slavery Propaganda in the Oberlin College Library
    • Index: Farnsley, Charles & Farnsley, Nancy. Anti-Slavery Propaganda in the Oberlin College Library.
      Z 1249 .S6 L67 1968 (Special Collections Reference)
  • Carnegie-Myrdal Study: The Negro in America
    • Index: E185 C37 1945 Contents REF/SC (Special Collections Reference)
  • Federal Writers' Project. Slave Narratives

Agriculture

  • Agricultural Journals (These journals primarily date from the 20th century. They are not indexed.)
  • Henry A. Wallace Papers
    • Index: The Wallace Papers.
      Z 6616 W239 R63 REF/SC (Special Collections Reference)

American History

  • Columbia University Oral History Collection
    • Index: Mason, Elizabeth B. & Starr, Louis M. (Eds.) The Oral History Collection of Columbia University.
      Z 6621 C725 1973 REF/SC (Special Collections Reference)
  • Draper Collection of Manuscripts
    Consult the following to find documents within the collection:
    • Calendar of the George Rogers Clark Papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts
      F576 .W82 v.4 (Special Collections Reference)
    • Calendar of the Kentucky Papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts
      F576 .W82 v.2 (Special Collections Reference)
    • Calendar of the Tennessee and King's Mountain Papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts
      F576 .W82 v.3 (Special Collections Reference)
    • Preston and Virginia Papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts (Series QQ and ZZ)
      F 576 .W82 v. 1 (Special Collections Reference)
    • The Revolution on the upper Ohio, 1775-1777
      E230.5.O3 T6 1970 (Special Collections Reference)
    • Harper, Josephine L. Guide to the Draper Manuscripts
      (Special Collections Reference)
  • Jeffersonian Americana Collection
    • Index: Jeffersonian Americana, List of Titles (mimeographed in Special Collections Reference)
  • Pamphlets in American History
    • Index: Pamphlets in American History, Group I: a Preliminary Short Title List
      (Special Collections Reference)
  • Stevens' Facsimiles of Manuscripts in European Archives Relating to America, 1773-1783
    • Stevens, B. F. Stevens' Facsimiles of Manuscripts in European Archives Relating to America, 1773-1783: with Descriptions, Editorial Notes, Collations, References and Translations
      (Special Collections Reference)

American West

  • Cheyenne and Arapaho Agency Letter Books
    • (vol. 1, C & A Darlington 1876). Indian Archives Division, Oklahoma Historical Society
  • Plains and Rockies
    • Index: Farnsley, Charles & Farnsley, Nancy. Lost Cause Press Microcard Collection: The Plains and Rockies, November 1969
      (Special Collections Reference)
  • Texas as Province and Republic, 1795-1845
    • Index: Streeter, Thomas W. Bibliography of Texas 1795-1845: Texas as Province and Republic.
      Z 1339 S8 1983 REF/SC (Special Collections Reference)
  • Western Americana
    • Covers the Anglo-American, Spanish, and French West; fur trade and early explorations; trails west; Mormon Utah; politics and diplomacy of expansion; Indians; other ethnic influences; extractive industries, agriculture, livestock industry, government and scientific exploration; transportation; urban development; land and water; conservation; culture, religion, and education; government and politics; travel accounts, memoirs, and reminiscences; women; directories and guide books; and regional, state, and local histories.
    • Index: Western Americana: An Annotated Bibliography to the Microfiche Collection of 1012 Books and Documents of the 18th, 19th, and Early 20th Century.
      Z 1251 W5 W47 REF/SC (Special Collections Reference)

Confederate States of America

  • State Secession Debates
  • Confederate States of America Congress, 1861-1865

Great Britain

  • British Parliamentary and Sessional Papers
  • Challenger: Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876
  • Changes of Government, Cabinet Reconstructions, and Political Crises: 1837-1901
  • Library of English Literature
    • Index: The Microbook Library of English Literature
      Z 2011 L73 REF/SC (Special Collections Reference)
  • Rolls Series (History of Great Britain and Ireland)

Library of American Civilization Collection

The Library of American Civilization (LAC) collection consists of 19th- and 20th century magazines, journals, books, government documents, and other materials. A four volume index (The Microbook Library of American Civilization) covers all items in the collection with the exception of the magazines and journals. The index is located on the Special Collections Reference shelves at Z1236 L5 1971 REF/PER.

Below is a list of selected magazines and journals in the Library of American Civilization collection. For a complete list of LAC magazines and journals, search the Cornette Library's online catalog using "library of american civilization" as a phrase. Also consult the Library's online catalog to determine availability and location.

  • American Journal of Education
  • The American Law Journal and Miscellaneous Repertory
  • American Quarterly Review
  • The American Review: A Whig Journal, Devoted to Politics and Literature ..
  • The American Whig Review
  • The Andover Review: A Religious and Theological Monthly
  • Appleton's Journal
  • Appleton's Journal of Literature, Science and Art
  • Appleton's Popular Science Monthly
  • Architectural Record
  • Arena
  • The Atlantic Monthly
  • Catholic World
  • The Century: A Popular Quarterly
  • Christian Examiner
  • Christian Examiner and Religious Miscellany
  • The Commercial Review of the South and West
  • The Common School Journal
  • De Bow's Commercial Review of the South & West
  • De Bow's Review
  • De Bow's Review of the Southern and Western States
  • The Dial: A Magazine for Literature, Philosophy, and Religion
  • Harper's Monthly Magazine
  • Harper's New Monthly Magazine
  • The Historical Magazine and Notes and Queries Concerning the Antiquities, History, and Biography of America
  • The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste
  • Hunt's Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review
  • McClure's Magazine
  • The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review
  • The Nation
  • Niles' National Register
  • Niles' Weekly Register
  • The Outlook
  • The Overland Monthly
  • The Overland Monthly, Devoted to the Development of the Country
  • The Popular Science Monthly
  • Putnam's Monthly
  • Scientific American
  • Scribner's Monthly
  • The Southern Quarterly Review
  • The United States Magazine and Democratic Review
  • The Weekly Register
  • The Western Messenger

Medicine

History of Nursing

  • Index: The History of Nursing: An Index to the Microfiche Collection. Volume 1: The Adelaide Nutting Historical Nursing Collection, Teacher's College, Columbia University.
    (Special Collections Reference)

National Archives Collections

  • Collections of WWII War Crimes Records
  • Dispatches from U.S. Ministers to Great Britain
  • Diplomatic Instructions of the Department of State 1801-1905, Venezuela
  • General Records of the Department of State
  • Notes from the British Legation in the U.S. to the Department of State
  • Records of the Bureau of Census 1850: Mississippi
  • Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior Relating to Wagon Roads
  • Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824-1881
  • Records of the Bureau of Reclamation Project Histories and Reports of Reclamation Bureau Projects
  • Records of the Works Project Administration
  • Southern Superintendency 1851-1871 Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs

Presidential Papers

Indexes are available for each of these presidential papers in Special Collections Reference.

  • Chester A. Arthur
  • Grover Cleveland
  • Ulysses S. Grant
  • Benjamin Harrison
  • Andrew Jackson
  • Andrew Johnson
  • Abraham Lincoln
  • James Madison
  • William McKinley
  • Franklin Pierce
  • Zachary Taylor
  • John Tyler
  • Martin Van Buren
  • George Washington

United States Government

  • American State Papers
  • U.S. Debates and Proceedings of Congress, 1789-1824
  • U.S. Register of Debates in Congress 1827-1837
  • Congressional Globe (23rd-42nd Congress 1833-1873)
  • U.S. Department of State. Foreign Relations of the United States