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TXGenWeb Robertson County Books & Master's Theses |
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I T A L I A N C O L L E C T I O N |
This is the beginning of a new collection at this website that will record information about Robertson County's Italian immigrants. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, a number of immigrants from various places in Italy (including a large contingent from Sicily) settled in the Brazos River bottomlands outside of Hearne near the Mumford community. The rich dark soil and abundance of fresh river water created an ideal environment for raising cotton and other crops. Plantations of all shapes and sizes were prevalent throughout the Brazos River bottom. Although many families that originally settled this area have now moved out of the river bottom and into town, their rich cultural heritage remains.
It is hoped that a volunteer who is either related to some of these early immigrants or who has close ties to many of these settler families will volunteer to adopt this page and place information about Robertson County's Italian immigrants online. Anyone with information about these families, including dates & places of immigration, family bible records, books & articles, immigration & naturalization records, family trees & GEDCOM files, etc., is encouraged to contribute whatever they wish. Churches, civic & fraternal leaders & groups, historians, family griots, & public-spirited individuals are all urged to volunteer to help preserve online the important contributions made by this special immigrant population.
| Resources | Descriptions |
| Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery In Hearne | Most of the early Italian settlers and some of their descendants are buried at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Hearne. This cemetery has recently been inventoried and most burials are now recorded online. |
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Hearne On The Brazos Biographical Sketches |
The book Hearne On The Brazos contains fifteen biographical sketches of prominent local Italian immigrants. These are listed at Brazos Bottom Italian Biographical Sketches In Hearne On The Brazos. The family information contained in these sketches has also been incorporated into the above cemetery list. |
| History Of Saint Mary's Catholic Church In Hearne | The Texas Collection at Baylor University in Waco, Texas has in its collection the following book: The First One Hundred Years, 1872-1972: A History Of Saint Mary's Catholic Church, Hearne, Texas. A copy of this book needs to be obtained and a volunteer is needed to scan or type it for inclusion at this website. |
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A History Of Cotton Culture Along The Middle Brazos River |
Texas A&M University History Professor Dale Baum purchased a copy of this thesis from the university's library and contributed it to this site. This 1939 University of New Mexico thesis was written by Manford Eugene Jones (who later served as superintendent of Hearne public schools). It is used with permission of Manford Allen Jones, son of the author Manford Eugene Jones. This thesis is available at Cotton Culture. Of particular interest are the Robertson County and Italians sections. |
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Village Of Mumford Article |
The Robertson County Historical Commission's Village of Mumford Article details information about Mumford's early years, including the introduction of Italian immigrants into the Brazos River bottom between Hearne and Bryan. |
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History Of Robertson County |
James Walter Baker devotes half a page (p. 311) of his book to Mumford's Italian Immigrants, including a list of names of Italians associated with Robertson County's Brazos bottom. |
| Mumford Cemetery | A volunteer is needed to inventory and record burial information for the Mumford Cemetery. |
| Articles | The Handbook of Texas Online has an article on Mumford as well as a general article on Italian Immigrants In Texas that mentions the Sicilian population of the Brazos River region. |