Texas is known as the Lone Star State; friendship is the state motto. Texas comes from the word teysha meaning hello friend in the language of the Caddo Indian tribes. Spanish explorers and settlers used this word to refer to the friendly tribes throughout Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

It leads the nation in total productivity. It is the leading oil producer in the nation. More beef is produced in Texas than in any other state. It is still the nation's largest cotton producer. Texas is a giant in the space industry, and is a major player in high technology. Fittingly, Texas also boasts the largest of all the state capitol buildings, constructed of 15,000 carloads of pink granite.

No state has a greater variety of reptiles, or a more diverse selection of flowers, than the great state of Texas. Among them the Horned Lizard (toad), the official state reptile and Bluebonnets, the official state flower.

Texas joined the Union for the first time in 1845, December 29th. Then, the Civil War occurred. Texas seceded from the Union over the course of the first part of 1861 and joined the Confederacy. Readmission seems to have been a gradual process.**

"When the war ended in April 1865, Texas was still considered to be in revolt (the last battle of the Civil War was fought on Texas soil after the surrender at Appomattox). Although a state of peace was declared as existing between the United States and the other Southern States on April 2, 1866, President Andrew Johnson did not issue a similar proclamation of peace between the U.S. and Texas until August 20, 1866, even though the Constitutional Convention of 1866 had approved on March 15, 1866 an ordinance to nullify the actions of the Secession Convention.**

Southern States remained under military government until their legislatures adopted the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the United States Constitution. Their readmission to full national status varied from state to state (Georgia was readmitted twice). In April 1869, the U.S. Congress passed an Act authorizing voters of Virginia, Mississippi and Texas to vote on their new state constitutions and to elect state officers and Members of Congress. Three months later, President U.S. Grant signed a proclamation submitting the Texas Constitution to the voters of the state."**

Here is a list of genealogical resources for you to consider when doing your family history:


Texas State Library

Texas Marriages

Texas Deaths

TexasGenWeb

Cyndi's List

Texas Death Records/Obits

Local Catholic Church History and Genealogy of Texas

Genealogy in Texas and Beyond

Texas Interments

Distant Cousin

Cousin Connect

Texas

Rootweb Texas



**Sources Cited:
Answerbag.com