Carlos E. Castañeda Papers, 1497-1958

Biographical Note

Historian, archivist, and educator, Carlos E. Castañeda was born November 11, 1896, in Camargo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. His father was a professor of French and government at the College of San Juan in Matamoros, but the family moved to Brownsville around 1910. Castañeda's parents both died before he was 15, leaving him with 3 sisters and 3 brothers. Though he began his college career as an engineering major, Castañeda switched to his major to history (under the influence of E.C. Barker), and graduated with a BA from The University of Texas in 1921, having been elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He was married in 1922, and his first daughter, Gloria, was born in 1923, the same year that he obtained his MA from The University of Texas and began teaching Spanish for the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

In 1927, Castañeda was asked to return to The University of Texas, to take control of the newly acquired Genaro García collection, the basis for the Benson Latin American Collection today. While acting as librarian for this collection, Castañeda began to work on his PhD, and to produce more articles on the early history of Texas. He also, in conjunction with Winnie Allen, started and ran the Mexican Photo Print Company, in order to recover copies of documents which he discovered in Mexico, a project that was doomed to failure once the Depression hit in 1929.

Castañeda finished his doctorate in 1932, his dissertation being a translation of the famous Morfi's History of Texas, a text believed lost, which he re-discovered while searching through the records of a Fransiscan monastery. Also in 1932 his second daughter, Consuela, was born.

Castañeda did not begin his career as a full professor for The University of Texas until 1940, after some protracted debate in the 1930s concerning his salary and teaching responsibilities (Castañeda felt that his salary had been reduced because of his ethnicity). It was these issues that led to his leaving in 1933 to become the Superintendent of the San Felipe School District in Del Rio, Texas, where he met with resistance from white families towards a Mexican superintendent. He would stay only a year.

After returning to The University of Texas for the 1935 school year, Castañeda continued not only his career as a professor, but his writing of Our Catholic Heritage in Texas, a seven-volume work on the early history of Texas. The writing of these books would span decades, the last volume not printed until shortly before Castañeda's death. Also shortly after his return to the university, Castañeda was knighted by the Catholic Church as a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre, and in 1951 became a Knight Commander in the Order of Isabel the Catholic of Spain. These honors were granted on the basis of Castañeda's long-time work with the Catholic community and Catholic history more generally.

Being concerned with the plight of minorities in Texas (such as in the San Felipe School district, where he was forced to obtain a court order to even open the school), Castañeda took another leave of absence in 1943 to work for the Fair Employment Practice Commission (FEPC), an agency that was concerned with helping minorities to obtain the same working conditions and jobs that whites were granted in the 1940s. The Commission would not last past the World War, however, and Castañeda returned to his teaching duties. He continued to actively work against discrimination, and became involved with the Pan American Union, for whom he gave a radio address in 1948 that was broadcast all over the New World.

In the 1950s Castañeda's health failed: he suffered three heart attacks during the decade, which severely limited his ability to write, teach, and stay active in his many causes. The author of twelve books and over eighty articles, and recipient of many honors, Castañeda died on April 3, 1958, at the age of 62.

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Scope and Contents

Personal and biographical materials(1911-1960), Correspondence (1920-1958), Literary Productions(1924-1958), Activities and Organizations(1428-1958), Collected Materials(1497-1958),Audiovisual Materials (1926-1956), and a small amount of Restricted Materials comprise the papers of Carlos E. Castañeda.

  Personal and biographical materials (5 linear inches) include financial records, publishing contracts, and student records.   Correspondence(18.3 linear feet) has two subseries: correspondence from his time in Virginia with the College of William and Mary, as well as a much larger subseries comprised of correspondence from 1927 to his death in 1958. Major correspondents include Eugene Barker, E.J. Burrus, J.T.Canales, Fred Chabot, Donald Coney, Eleuterio Escobar, Paul J. Foik, Chas. Hackett, E.E. Mireles, Alonso Perales, George I. Sánchez, and E.W. Winkler, among others.   Literary Productions(10.4 linear feet) include articles, speeches, and drafts of books, notably Our Catholic Heritage in Texas (commissioned by the Knights of Columbus) and Castañeda's translation of Morfi's ,History of Texas. Also included in this series are transcriptions, translations, and notes.   Activities and Organizations (5.8 linear feet) document Castañeda's involvement with The University of Texas, the Catholic Church, as well as his international activities and various projects he took on over the years. Materials from his time in Del Rio, his service with FEPC, his work in many voluntary organizations, his teaching and departmental activities, and his library and acquisitions work reflect his professional activities.   Collected Materials(1.6 linear feet) comprises newspaper articles, publications, and literary productions by others, including both manuscripts and printed materials. Included in this series is a collection of historical documents dating from the late 15th century to the early 20th century.   Audiovisual Materials (5 linear inches) include photographs, 8mm movies, phonodiscs, maps, and book illustrations.The bulk of this series is in photographs, although a collection of phonodiscs that record exerpts from Our Catholic Heritage in Texas are also included. A small   Restricted Materials series contains the records of students whom Castañeda taught or advised during his time as professor.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Access to some materials such as student or other confidential records may be restricted. Copyright restrictions apply.

Use Restrictions

The Carlos E. Castañeda Papers are currently being processed by Benson Latin American Collection staff. The collection is open to the public, but use may be restricted due to processing demands.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Cite as: Carlos E. Castañeda Papers, Benson Latin American Collection, University of Texas at Austin.

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Box and Folder Inventory

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