The Evolution of a State, or, Recollections of Old Texas Days

by Noah Smithwick

Book Overview

"I was but a boy in my nineteenth year, and in for adventure when I started out from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, with all my worldly possessions, consisting of a few dollars in money, a change of clothes, and a gun, of course, to seek my fortune in this lazy man's paradise."

Noah Smithwick was an old man, blind and near his ninetieth year, when his daughter recorded these words. He had stayed on in "paradise"--Texas--from 1827 to 1861, when...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0292720459
• ISBN13: 9780292720459
• Release Date: June 1983
• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Early Texas History

This is a must read book for any one wanting to get a good view of early Texas history

An Excellent Memoir

I learned of this book through the H-Texas History forum online and I was not disappointed. Occasional "old time" expressions make the account interesting and remind the reader that the writer is speaking from another time. The story as told from a first-person point of view was enhanced by my prior knowledge of events in Texas history. Reading about those events in the words of a person who was there was impressive. I highly recommend this book. I have purchased copies as gifts.

A Rare Personal Account of Early Texas

Noah Smithwick was an old man, blind and near his ninetieth year, when his daughter recorded these words. After his death in 1899, she polished the manuscript and had it published in 1900. He had stayed on in "paradise" Texas from 1827 to 1861, when his opposition to secession took him to California. This book is his story of these "old Texas days." If his memory for facts sometimes fails him, his stories never do.

Eyewitness Account of Early Texas

Noah Smithwick's recollections bring to life the early era of Anglo-Texas history. This book is filled with colorful characters and anecdotes, almost a who's who of people behind the place names of modern Texas. No other account matches this densely-packed eyewitness narrative as a color commentary of days before - and after - the Alamo. Against the backdrop of history, this book details many personalities and incidents that are unrecorded elsewhere.

The basic start for early anglo Texas research

Old Noah provides a somewhat biased insight into the early days of anglo Texas and the Texas Revolution. Unfortunately, old Noah's memory was somewhat moldy when he set his recollections down, conflicting with other contemporary reports of various issues. Nevertheless, this book is probably the first place to commence research in this field and is required reading for anyone who wishes to understand the attitudes and impressions of the period.