Descriptive Summary
Brashear, Katherine McGowen, 1844-1914
Katherine McGowen Brashear Sheet Music and Autograph Albums
1838-1861
Materials are in English.
Col 13529
1.0 linear foot (1 oversize box)
Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library at the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas
A native of Houston, Texas, Katherine McGowen (1844-1914) was married to John J. Brashear, a lawyer and Harris County official.
Consisting of three autograph albums and a collection of sheet music, the Brashear papers provide a window on the religious and social life of Katherine McGowen and her mother.
Biographical Note
Born into a family that would become prominent in the civic life of Houston, Texas, Katherine McGowen Brashear also married into a family with important ties to the area. Her mother, Sarah Robinson, a Pennsylvania native, came to Texas in the late 1830s, soon after her marriage to (Belitha?) Christopher. A widow by 1840, in that year she married Alexander McGowen, who came to Texas from Alabama in 1839. McGowen represented Harris County at the 1845 convention that approved the annexation of Texas to the United States and later served three terms as mayor of Houston.
The McGowen’s daughter Katherine, one of eight children, was born in Houston in 1844. In 1862 she married John J. Brashear, who soon after joined the Confederate Army, serving through the end of the Civil War. After his return home, Brashear practiced law in Houston, also serving as Harris County Judge. The couple had six children; one of them, Sam Houston Brashear, continued the family tradition of public service when he was elected mayor of Houston in 1898. Katherine McGowen Brashear died in 1914 and is buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Houston.
Scope and Content Note
Consisting of three autograph albums and a collection of sheet music, the Brashear papers provide a window on the religious and social life of Katherine McGowen and her mother.
Sarah McGowen kept an autograph album containing two entries from 1838, probably shortly before her first marriage, while in Natchez, Mississippi. Most of the entries date from 1845-1852 during her residence in Houston and touch on religious themes. Several of the inscriptions came from Methodist clergymen, including Orceneth Fisher, George Rottenstein, and Henry P. Young.
The two albums of Katherine McGowen were used during her teen years, ending the year before her marriage. Inscriptions from friends, usually in verse form, overflow with emotion and sentiment, bestowing wishes for future happiness and asking for her remembrance.
The bound volume of sheet music used by Katherine McGowen gathers works published from the 1830s to the 1850s. The selections include several works by Texas composers, particularly those of Charles Gustave Fitze, along with popular favorites of the period, patriotic songs and tunes and classical reductions.
Access Restrictions
No restrictions. The collection is open for research.
Usage Restrictions
Please be advised that the library does not hold the copyright to most of the material in its archival collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to secure those rights when needed. Permission to reproduce does not constitute permission to publish. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright, literary property rights, and libel.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Katherine McGowen Brashear Sheet Music and Autograph Albums, 1838-1861, Col 13529, Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Maurice, Alexander, and Norman Adams in memory of their mother, Mary McAshan Adams, 2006 June.
Processing Information
Processed by Warren Stricker, 2006.
Finding aid edited and encoded by Caitlin Donnelly, 2010 November.
Index Terms
Personal Names
Brashear, Katherine McGowen, 1844-1914.
McGowen, Sarah Robinson, 1815-1873. Fitze, Charles Gustave, 1829-1915.
Subjects
Piano music--19th century.
Popular music--United States--To 1901.
Teenage girls--Texas--Houston--Social life and customs.
Women--Religious life--Texas--Houston.
Women--Texas--Houston--Social life and customs.
Locations
Houston (Tex.)--Social life and customs.
Genres/Formats
Personal papers.
Autograph albums.
Sheet music.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Katherine McGowen Brashear Sheet Music and Autograph Albums, 1838-1861
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Autograph albums, 1838-1861
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Sarah McGowen, 1838-1852
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Katherine McGowen, 1858-1860
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Katherine McGowen, 1859-1861
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Loose leaf, removed from album
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Sheet music, bound volume, 1839-1859
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James E. Magruder, "In my heart an image dwelleth," 1854
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Charles Gustave Fitze, "I know not why I love thee," 1859
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Charles Gustave Fitze, "Sunny south polka," 1859
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Charles Gustave Fitze, "Elmora polka," 1859
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Charles Gustave Fitze, "Texas star schottisch," 1857
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Charles Gustave Fitze, "Starlight schottisch," 1858
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Charles Gustave Fitze, "Waverley schottisch," 1858
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Francis H. Brown, "Western trappers camp song," 1856
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Henry Kleber, "The rainbow schottish," 1852
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Unknown composer, "Grand Russian march," undated
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T. J. Martin, "Smith’s march," 1848
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Albert Holland, "Cherry alley," 1852
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James Bellak, "Plain cotillion," 1854
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William C. Glynn, "Bayeux’s quick step," 1844
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Charles Gustave Fitze, "Starlight schottisch," 1858
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William R. Dempster, "The lament of the Irish emigrant," 1843
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Joseph Ascher, "Vaillance: polka militaire," undated
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F. W. Smith, "Camptown races," 1856
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L. Louis, "Departed days," 1855
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Charles Grobe, "We met by chance," 1854
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P. S. Gilmore, "Good news from home," possibly 1854
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F. Kücken, "We met by chance," undated
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Charles Grobe, "Brilliant variations on Ossian’s seranade," 1856
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Ludwig van Beethoven, "Favourite landler waltz," undated
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Stephen C. Foster, "Gentle Annie," 1856
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Charles Gustave Fitze, "Waverley schottisch," 1858
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N. Barker, "Uncle Sam’s farm," 1850
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Unknown composer, "Rackensack jig or the Arkansas traveler," 1851
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Ludwig van Beethoven, "Gertrude’s dream waltz," undated
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Stephen C. Foster, "Willie we have missed you," 1854
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H. P. Weller, "Answer of Ben Bolt, or, Ned Brace," 1852
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James Bellak, "Coral schottisch," 1856
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S. M. Crannis, "Do they miss me at home?" 1853
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E. Williams Denison, "Prayer of the dying Californian," 1857
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Joseph Labitzky, "The elfin waltz," undated
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L. V. H. Crosby, "The grave of Washington," possibly 1846
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W. Loftin Hargrave, "Wait for the wagon," 1851
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J. Pfeiffer, "Henrietta polka," undated
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Francis Panorino, "Bird waltz," undated
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Rosa Hughes, "Lulu," 1853
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Franz Kotzwara, "The battle of Prague," undated
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Ludwig van Beeethoven, "Clara, or last waltz," undated
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J. Morrison Heady, "Where is the spirit land," 1851
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I. B. Woodbury, "He doeth all things well, or, My sister," 1847
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Joseph H. Butler, "When the moonlight gilds the sea," 1853
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J. Blockley, "Hearts and homes," undated
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W. C. Peters, "Sweet memories of thee," 1839
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Unknown composer, "The Russian march," undated
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G. Anderson, "The Battle of Waterloo," undated
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Henry Russell, "The old arm chair," 1840
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Stephen Glover, "I love the merry sunshine," undated
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Francis Scott Key, "The star spangled banner," unknown
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Unknown composer, "United States marine march," undated
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John Richter, "Fanny polka," 1854
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F. Hunten, "Une perle," undated
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Chas. White, "Old Bob Ridley," 1855
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Francis H. Brown, "Yes I’ll come to thy mountain home," 1852
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Charles Grobe, "Les borde d’Ohio," 1853
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Unknown composer, "Hail Columbia," undated
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Unknown composer, "Beethoven’s dream," undated
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J. E. Müller, "Love not," 1844
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Unknown composer, "Annie Laurie," undated