A Guide to the Joseph E. Taulman Collection, 1783-1994

Biographical Sketch

Joseph Edward Taulman (1867-1946) was born in Brazos County, Texas, and moved with his family to Hubbard City, Texas, in 1880. As a young man he worked as a printer, saddle and harness maker, and cowboy. In 1893 he began working as a photographer in Hubbard City and remained in that business until 1919. He moved his family to Fort Worth in 1920, and he worked as a linotype operator for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram from 1925 until his death. Mr. Taulman also served for many years in the Texas State Militia and the Texas National Guard. He and his wife, Araminta (McClellan) Taulman, were avid collectors of family history and Texas historical material, including photographs, books, household items, and branding irons. Mrs. Taulman was the great-great granddaughter of the Reverend Daniel Parker, who brought the first Baptist church to Texas in 1833. Parker’s brothers, Silas and John, built Parker’s Fort in Limestone County, the scene of the May 1836 massacre in which nine year-old Cynthia Ann Parker was captured by the Comanches. An active genealogist, Mrs. Taulman researched Parker and Taulman family history, and she also served as State Historian for the Daughters of the Republic of Texas in the 1930’s.

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Scope and Content Note

The Taulman Collection consists of photographs and papers documenting Taulman and Parker family history, and more broadly, the history of Texas and the South. The pictorial materials were made or collected by Joseph Taulman. The majority of the photographs are of people, particularly members of the extended Taulman and Parker families. Others are studio portraits made by Mr. Taulman and snapshots of historical sites, including pioneer homes, interiors, outbuildings, barns, and fences. There are also views of Austin and San Antonio at the turn of the century.

The earliest original documents in the collection date to the American Revolution and include Peter Taulman’s discharge papers from the Continental Army. Other letters from 1800-1830 describe the activities of the Taulman family in New Jersey and Ohio. There are also several letters from Taulman sons who fought with General William Henry Harrison in the War of 1812.

Most numerous are the documents pertaining to the Parker family. These include the Articles of Faith of the Pilgrim Predestination Regular Baptist Church, signed at Lamotte, Illinois by Parker family members and others in 1833. Other documents relate to the establishment of the church in Texas, where it was the first organized Baptist church. The collection contains land grants from North Carolina, Illinois, and Tennessee, where the Parkers lived before coming to Texas, as well as original land grants from the Republic and the State of Texas, and a Mexican land grant to Daniel Parker. An 1837 letter from Sam Houston to Daniel Parker relates to the problem of defense on the frontier.

The collection’s Civil War era letters and notes primarily describe the war in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas. The correspondence of Francis Asbury Taulman, father of Joseph E. Taulman, with Cecilia Lawton of Atlanta and with Northern relatives portrays the war experience on the battlefield and at home. After serving in several Texas battalions and cavalries, Francis Taulman was captured; his written recollections document his confinement at Ship Island, Alabama. Correspondence between Mrs. Joseph A. Parker and her husband, who served at Velasco during the war, portrays conditions in Texas.

The post-Civil War documents pertain mainly to Taulman family business ventures, as well as Joseph Taulman’s business affairs and military service. Genealogical materials and correspondence compose the largest segment of the collection, documenting the history of the Taulman and Parker families. There are also yearbooks, correspondence, and programs pertaining to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, 1890’s-1945. Extensive newspaper clippings collected by the Taulmans relate to varied aspects of the history of Texas and the South, the Parker and Taulman families, as well as current events of the 1930’s-40’s and political cartoons.

Source: Massey, Jack. “A Survey of the Joseph E. Taulman Collection in the Archives of the Library of the University of Texas.” August 1963. (Joseph E. Taulman Collection, Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.)

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Restrictions

Use Restrictions

Some restrictions apply. Contact repository for further information.

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Administrative Information

Cite As

Joseph E. Taulman Collection, 1783-1994, Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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