Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools:

An Inventory of Texas Confederate Woman's Home Resident Files at the Texas State Archives, [ca. 1900], 1913-1965 (bulk 1932-1950)

History of the Texas Confederate Woman's Home

The Texas Woman's Confederate Home was initially established and operated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC). In 1903 the organization created a Wives and Widows Home Committee, which raised funds for the home and oversaw its construction. The UDC purchased property in north central Austin for the home, and in 1906 A. O. Watson was hired to design a building on the site. In 1905 the 29th Legislature passed a bill to transfer the home to the state but it was vetoed by Governor Samuel W.T. Lanham (House Bill 387, Regular Session). In 1907 a constitutional amendment providing for state ownership of the home was rejected by Texas voters (Senate Joint Resolution 12, 30th Legislature, Regular Session). The Confederate Woman's Home was opened in 1908 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy to care for widows and wives of honorably discharged Confederate soldiers and other women who aided the Confederacy. Residents were required to be at least sixty years of age and without means of financial support. Some of the women had been residents at the Texas Confederate Home, residing with their husbands, and transferred to the Woman's Home. The United Daughters of the Confederacy operated the home until 1911, relying solely on donations to cover expenses. The State of Texas assumed control of the Home on March 10, 1911 by provisions of Senate Bill 275 (32nd Legislature, Regular Session). The property was deeded to the state and the facility was placed under a six-member board of managers. At the time of the transfer, the institution had eighteen residents. The two-story facility, constructed in 1906-1907, had fifteen bedrooms. At its opening on June 3, 1908, three women were admitted to the home; by 1909 it housed sixteen. In 1913 the state constructed a large two-story brick addition, designed by Page Brothers, architects, which included twenty-four new bedrooms. A brick hospital building was built in 1916, with a hospital annex added eight years later.

The institution was placed under the Texas State Board of Control in 1920 by the 36th Legislature (Senate Bill 147, Regular Session). The Board appointed a manager for the home and was responsible for appropriations and maintenance. The Home housed between eighty and 110 residents from 1920 through 1935. From 1938 to 1945, the population of the home fell from eighty-seven to fifty-five. In 1949 administration of the Home was transferred to the Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools (House Bill 1, 51st Legislature, Regular Session). In 1963 the last three residents were moved to private nursing homes at state expense, and the facility was closed. The state sold the property in 1986. During its fifty-five years of operation the Home cared for over 3400 women.

[Information for the history of the home was taken from the Handbook of Texas, from the general laws and the records themselves.]

Scope and Contents of the Records

Records consist of applications, death certificates, correspondence, bills, receipts, occasional photographs, and summary data sheets on residents (name, birthdate, residence, name of parents and children or other relatives, religious denomination, date entering the home, usually a death date, burial arrangements, and sometimes a statement as to who is to receive the effects of the resident upon her death). Dates covered are [ca. 1900], 1913-1965, with the bulk dating 1932-1950. These are the resident files of the Texas Confederate Woman's Home, operated initially by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, then by the Texas State Board of Control, and finally by the Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools. Correspondence is generally between the superintendent of the home and family members of residents, some is between the resident and family members. In some cases, correspondence is present before the resident was admitted concerning her forthcoming admittance and after she died, especially when the resident did not leave a will and there were multiple heirs to whatever the resident had left in her effects or her accounts at the Home. Correspondence is also present between the superintendent and the resident while she was on furlough visiting her family. Topics of the letters concern the activities of the resident at the home; conditions at the home; concerns of the superintendent over the behavior of residents; arranging for arrivals, discharges, and furloughs of residents; and notifying families of the medical conditions of the resident and of the resident's death. Family members did not always come for funeral services held at the home, so some letters have descriptions of the services and the internment at the State Cemetery. Residents of the Confederate Woman's Home had the option to be buried at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Portions of these records fall under Public Information Act exceptions: medical records (V.T.C.A., Occupations Code, 159.002 (Medical Practice Act)); information about social services received by recipients (Human Resources Code, Title 2, Section 12.003). Most of the original applications to the home were removed because they contained a signed affidavit by a physician. The part of the application containing the medical record was redacted on photocopies of the applications. The redacted applications are in the resident files. The original applications will become available 100 years after the date of the signed medical affidavit on the application. If the original application did not contain the physician's affidavit, it was left in the resident's file. A few letters are present that discuss various social services assistance some recipients of the home received, in these cases the information regarding the assistance was redacted on a copy of the original letter. If a requester wishes to review the redacted information we are obligated to seek an open records decision from the Attorney General on whether the records can be released. The Public Information Act allows the Archives ten working days after receiving a request to make this determination. The Attorney General has 45 working days to render a decision.

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.).

Under the Copyright Act of 1976 as amended in 1998, unpublished manuscripts are protected at a minimum through December 31, 2002 or 70 years after the author's death.

Technical Requirements

None.

Related Material

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item), Texas Confederate Woman's Home resident files, Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession number: 1973/171

These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Texas State Board of Control on June 13, 1973. The files were initially sent to the United Daughters of the Confederacy in July 1964 by the Confederate Woman's Home when it closed; they were then transferred by the UDC to the Board of Control on September 14, 1972.

Processing Information

Laura K. Saegert, November 2004

Detailed Description of the Records