Southwestern Autobiography Index

 

Here are some titles listed by subject in the Southwestern Autobiography Index that might be of interest. Each describe published, primary sources of historical information located in the Arizona Collection, Department of Archives and Manuscripts.

Native Americans

Becker, Frank E., Navajo Way. Illustrated by Michael Sidrow.(Staten Island (NY): Indian Association of America, 1956). Call Number: E 97.B35 Hayden Arizona

Becker describes the difficulties Navajo soldiers faced in adjusting to Army life and the English language in preparation for service in World War II.

Kneale, Albert H., Indian Agent. (Caldwell (ID): Caxton Printers, Ltd., 1950). Call Number: E 93.K6 A3 Hayden Arizona

The author writes about his years in the United States Indian Service (1908-1935) among the Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Shoshone, Crow, Ute, Navajo, and Pima Indians.

Shinn, G. Hazen, Shoshonean Days: Recollections of a Residence of Five Years Among the Indians of Southern California, 1885-1889. (Glendale (CA): The Arthur H. Clark Co., 1941). Call Number: E 99.S39 S5x Hayden Arizona

Mr. Shinn writes about his experiences while living five years with Indians in California.

 

Missionaries in the Southwest

Pierson, Hamilton W., 1817-1888, In the Brush: Or, Old-Time Social, Political, and Religious Life in the Southwest. (New York: D. Appleton Press & Co., 1981). Call Number: F 396.P62 Hayden Arizona

A day to day account of Reverend Pierson's life as a minister in the Southwest, and a description of the people to whom the Reverend ministered.

Carlson, Laurie M., On Sidesaddles to Heaven: The Women of the Rocky Mountain Mission. (Caldwell (ID): Caxton Printers, Ltd., 1998). Call Number: E 78.W3 C35 1998 Hayden Arizona

Author Laurie Carlson reconstructs the lives of the first six white women to cross the Rocky Mountains (1836-1853), and who became missionary wives.

Bird, George Robert, Tenderfoot Days in Territorial Utah. (Boston: Gorham Press, 1918). Call Number: F 826.B58 Hayden Arizona

The author describes the settlements, customs, and beliefs of Mormons in Utah between 1870 and 1880.

 

The "Wild West"

Gray, John Plesent, 1860-1943, When All Roads Led to Tombstone: A Memoir. (Boise (ID): Tamarack Books, 1998). Call Number: F 819.T6 G73x Hayden Arizona

Editor W. Lane Rogers complies the diaries of Tombstone resident John P. Gray with secondary sources and photographs from the Arizona Historical Society and his own private archives. Gray was a rancher in New Mexico and southern Arizona who was an eyewitness to the shootout at the OK Corral and other events in Tombstone history.

Becerra, Francisco, A Mexican Sergeant's Recollections of the Alamo & San Jacinto. (Austin: Jenkins Press, 1980). Call Number: F 394.S2 B4 Hayden Stacks

First-hand accounts of the battles of San Jacinto and the Alamo as told by Sergeant Francisco Becerra. Following Becerra's narratives of the battles are letters and documents that aim to corroborate his claims of events.

Robert F. Kadlec et al., eds., They "Knew" Billy the Kid: Interviews with Old-Time New Mexicans. (Santa Fe: Ancient City Press, 1987). Call Number: F 786.B54 T48 Hayden Arizona

Editors Robert F. Kadlec, Jeff Dykes, and Marta Weigle compiled oral histories and interviews by historians employed by the Federal Writers Project during the Great Depression from New Mexican residents who had first-hand knowledge of the life and alleged exploits of Billy the Kid.

 

Ranching and Mining in the Southwest

Duncklee, John, Coyotes I have Known. (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1996). Call Number: SF 194.2.D85 A3 Hayden Arizona

Author John Duncklee recalls his days as a cattleman and horse breeder in southern Arizona during the late 1950s and 1960s.

Ailman, Henry B., Pioneering in Territorial Silver City. (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1983). Call Number: F 804.S58 A37 1983 Hayden Arizona

In March, 1871, Ailman joined up with a mining expedition and set out for New Mexico and Arizona and three years later he struck it rich in a silver mine. This book includes his wife's travel diary and memoir of life in the mining camp.

Poage, William Robert, After the Pioneers: Recollections of W.R. Poage. (Waco (TX): Texas Collection, Baylor University, 1969). Call Number: F 392.B842 1969 Hayden Arizona

Congressman William R. Poage portrays life of ranch families in central Texas in the first decades of the 20th century.

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