Texas Secretary of State:

An Inventory of General Correspondence of the Department of State, Republic of Texas at the Texas State Archives, 1822-1859, undated, bulk 1835-1846

Agency History

The Secretary of State is a constitutional officer of the executive branch of state government, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate for a term concurrent with the governor's (a two-year term at first, a four-year term since 1974). The office was first created by the Constitution of the Republic of Texas in 1836 (Article VI, Section 10), and has been continued by each succeeding Constitution.

The only duty of the Secretary of State specified by the Constitution of 1836 was to receive "returns of all elections for officers who are to be commissioned by the President" (General Provisions, Section 2). The 1st Congress approved a Joint Resolution on December 13, 1836 "defining the duties of the heads of departments of the government." However, the duties of this cabinet (composed of the Secretaries of State, War, Navy, and Treasury, and the Attorney General) were expressed in extremely vague terms, i.e.: "to conform to and execute the instructions of the president, whether general or particular; and to give respectively and collectively, such needful aid and counsel whenever required so to do by the chief magistrate of the republic, as may be requisite to a firm, wholesome and harmonious administration of the government." Much of our knowledge of what the Secretary of State did during the Republic period derives from the existing records themselves. Although never so stated in law, obviously a major function of the Secretary of State under the Republic of Texas was diplomatic, a function unique to Texas' history as an independent nation.

During the next nine years of the Republic's existence, Congressional acts added little in the way of explicit duties: to receive from the chief justices of the county courts "a description of their county boundaries, and such other information and observations relative to the same, as they may conceive conducive to the convenience of their citizens" (December 17, 1836); to furnish Texan consuls with instruction for the proper regulation of foreign trade (December 18, 1837); to contract for the printing of the laws and journals of the Republic of Texas, and to arrange for their distribution (December 18, 1837 and later dates); to contract for the translation and compilation of Republic laws into Spanish ("the Castilian language") (December 18, 1837 and January 12, 1842); to become the depository for a Library purchased for the Republic of Texas (January 24, 1839); to create a Patent Office, as a bureau of the office of Secretary of State, and to grant patent rights "for any new and useful art, machine, instrument or composition of matter, liberal arts, sciences or literature, books, maps or charts, or any new and useful improvement of the same . . . invented or discovered" (January 28, 1839); to draw from the war department funds appropriated to run a boundary line between the Republic of Texas and the United States (November 26, 1840); to assume the duties of the Postmaster General, appointing and supervising a clerk for a bureau called the "General Post Office," and to receive from the former Postmaster General all records of the abolished Post Office Department (January 18, 1841); to issue writs of election to fill certain vacancies in counties (December 7, 1841).

Except for its diplomatic duties, most of the functions of the Secretary of State under the Republic were apparently continued during the period of early statehood following annexation. An act of the 1st Legislature (approved May 9, 1846) "to define the duties of Secretary of State" included the following: to maintain a register of all official acts of the governor, and to provide the same to the legislature when required (this duty had also been spelled out by the first state Constitution, 1845); to keep a complete register of all officers appointed and elected in the state; to commission all such appointed and elected officers when not otherwise provided for by law; to record depositions and affirmations required by law to be made by resident aliens wanting to hold real estate in Texas; to arrange and preserve all books, maps, parchments, records, documents, deeds, conveyances, and other papers belonging to the State, that have been or may be properly deposited there, and sealed with the state seal (which copies shall be considered admissible as evidence in the state's courts of law); to attend every legislative session to receive bills which have became laws, and to bind and maintain such bills and enrolled joint resolutions in the office of the Secretary of State; to deliver a certified copy of these laws (with indices and marginal notes) to the public printer, and to edit and correct them after printing; to distribute the printed laws and journals to a list of state, local, and federal officials specified; and to furnish forms to county election officials for election returns, and to receive certified election returns from these officials for members of the legislature (this last duty included in "an act regulating elections," approved May 11, 1846).

An act of February 11, 1854 created a Board of Commissioners composed of the Secretary of State, the Comptroller, and the Attorney General, "to superintend the arranging and filing of the archives of the late Republic of Texas and of the State Legislature, and also the recording of the Journals of the said Congress and State Legislature ... to be deposited in the General Land-office of the State." An act of December 14, 1863 made the Secretary of State "the custodian of the records of the Senate and House of Representatives." And an act of March 25, 1887 provided that "the entire archives of the late Republic of Texas, ... together with the records, books, and journals of said Congress" would be "deposited in the Office of the Secretary of State," and "declared to be Archives of said office."

(Sources include: the Secretary of State Republic of Texas records appraisal report (December 1998); and the enabling legislation (1836-1887).)

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Scope and Contents of the Records

Domestic correspondence, home letters, and correspondence relating to domestic affairs were all created and/or collected by the Texas Department of State, later the office of the Secretary of State, during the normal course of business (mostly excluding diplomatic and consular business), and document the non-diplomatic functions of the Department of State of the Republic of Texas, and the Secretary of State's office of the State of Texas. The records date 1822-1859, undated, bulk 1835-1846.

Domestic correspondence consists chiefly of letters received by the Executive and State departments (including the Consultation, Provisional, and Ad Interim governments), and also outgoing letters of the Department of State; as well as letters received by Sam Houston as commander-in-chief of the Army. Also included are some commissions, resolutions, and proceedings of citizen's meetings and committees of safety, reports to the President, and addresses of the Convention of 1836 to the people of Texas. Materials prior to the Republic include correspondence, circulars, and reports of Mexican political chiefs and citizens. These records date 1822-1845, bulk 1835-1845. Also included are four letter books containing domestic correspondence, 1836-1842 (which contain, among other things, lists of commissions, estimated expenditures, reports on county boundaries, and lists of county officers). Subjects covered include military defense, Indian relations, land claims, supplies for the Army, the Texas Navy, organization of the government, appointments and commissions, loans and credit of the government, capture and disposition of Santa Anna, claims against the Republic, relations with other nations, elections, printing and translation of laws, reports on county boundaries, and colonization contracts. Correspondents include Robert A. Irion, Stephen F. Austin, Juan N. Seguin, and the presidents of the Republic--David G. Burnet, Sam Houston, Mirabeau B. Lamar, and Anson Jones.

Home letters are letters received and sent by the Secretary of State, with some going to the Executive Department, Provisional Governor, and the General Council. Dates covered are 1835-1847. Also included are two letter books labeled "Home Letters," 1842-1847: one contains letters from the Secretary of State to Republic officials, both national and county; the other contains a list of Perote Castle prisoners, correspondence and colonists lists for several colonization ventures, and a copy of the annexation ordinance adopted July 4, 1845. Most letters pertain to Presidential nominations, appointments, resignations, and supplies for the Army and government offices; also the Texas Navy, postal contracts, claims against the government, printing and distribution of laws, county boundaries, elections, bonds and oaths of office, receipts for payments, and some election returns are covered. Correspondents of note are the presidents of the Republic--David G. Burnet, Sam Houston, Mirabeau B. Lamar, and Anson Jones.

Correspondence relating to domestic affairs consists of letters received by the Department of State, the Executive Department or the Provisional Government. Dates covered are 1825-1846, the bulk being 1836-1846. This series of letters was added by State Archives staff to the General correspondence from various sources (including but not necessarily limited to records of the Provisional government, the Convention of 1836, Proclamations of the President, Indian Affairs, and letters received by the President); they were added after the transfer of the other subseries--Domestic correspondence and Home letters--and therefore contain documents that are not listed on those original inventories. Subjects covered include Indian affairs, relations with Mexico and other nations, organization of the government, contracts, resignations and appointments, loans and credit of the government, colonizations, land claims, claims against the Republic, supplies for the government and the Army, and proclamations of the President. Correspondents include Stephen F. Austin, Santa Anna, William Bryan, and the presidents of the Republic--David G. Burnet, Sam Houston, Mirabeau B. Lamar, and Anson Jones.

Finally, a one-volume index to incoming and outgoing correspondence of the President/Governor and the Secretary of State covers the years 1822-1859. Information given in the index includes dates and names of correspondents. Names are arranged first in a roughly alphabetical order, and are then divided by type of correspondence: general (untitled), Army and Navy of Texas, Colonial Affairs, Financial Affairs, and Indian Affairs. Because the Secretary of State’s records are not maintained as they were when the index was created, it cannot really be used to locate specific correspondence. It is nevertheless useful as a guide to what kinds of correspondence were received and sent, providing a context and therefore adding to our knowledge and understanding of the period. Researchers need to consult the several other series of correspondence (domestic correspondence, home letters, and correspondence relating to domestic affairs) to locate specific items written to or by the Secretary of State or the President/Governor.

[Note: Researchers need to consult all three series of general correspondence, including domestic correspondence, home letters and correspondence relating to domestic affairs.]

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Materials do not circulate, but may be used in the State Archives search room. Materials will be retrieved from and returned to storage areas by staff members.

Restrictions on Use

Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).

Technical Requirements

The four letter books are restricted due to their fragile physical condition, so researchers must use the microfilmed copies of these volumes.

Microfilm readers are available in the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building. Ask staff members for exact locations.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item and cite the series), General correspondence of the Department of State, Republic of Texas, Texas Secretary of State. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession numbers: 1904/001, 1905/003

These records were transferred to the Texas Department of Insurance, Statistics, and History (the predecessor of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission) by the Texas Secretary of State on May 25, 1905; and April 25, 1906.

Processing Information

Processed by State Archives staff, dates unknown

Finding aid encoded by Tony Black in EAD Version 2002 as part of the TARO project, July 2010

Authority name and other changes by Tony Black, February 2011.

Additions to related material by Tony Black, August 2013.

Appraisal Information

Texas State Archives staff completed an appraisal of the Texas Secretary of State holdings already in the custody of the Texas State Archives in December 1998. Fifty-seven series of these holdings were determined to be archival, including General correspondence of the Department of State, Republic of Texas. The complete appraisal report (in two parts: Republic of Texas records, and non-Republic records) is available for consultation online at http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc/appraisal/sosrepublic.html and http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc/appraisal/sosstate.html , and also in the search room of the Texas State Archives.

Other Formats for the Records

The letterbooks were microfilmed (35mm) due to their fragile physical condition, so researchers must use the microfilmed copies of the volumes.

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Detailed Description of the Records

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