The Texas You Don't Know: From Noah to 1870

By Rick McCaw

I taught History for 34 years. I may not always have told the history according to what was in the textbook, but often told what was left out. My students challenged me to write a book of the various stories I told them. Some of the stories I mentioned came from my history professor at SFA. There was no textbook in his class. I gathered stories about every aspect of Texas history from historians and professional authors for this book. As a result of my research and documentation, I have been able to tell the rest of the story that was not said in the textbook. The best part was reading the words of participants who contributed to the history of Texas and including them in this book. While compiling all these stories, I would have greatly appreciated having access to a book like this. Often, a statement by my students would say, "That's not true; that did not happen!" I always told them, "You have a computer, research it and prove me wrong." However, the students remembered the stories more than dates or facts at the end of the year. This book is more like a one-stop reference book. You can find a story about one of our Alamo defenders who sold slaves after buying them from the pirate Jean Lafitte. One of our famous defenders came to Texas after murdering a man and leaving his pregnant wife and child. One of the largest owners of land in the Nacogdoches area was a black man who owned slaves. I taught for 29 years in Upshur County, but I did not know that Sam Houston was stoned by residents there while speaking "why not to secede from the Union." One last tease: Northeast Texas was known as the Devil's Triangle after the Civil War. This book contains 150 stories, some a paragraph and a few several pages long. The proof is provided with references for any doubting readers, and the reader will be assured that these are not "Tall Tales." This book is recommended for all ages.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0D984KPYS
• ISBN13: 9798323577118
• Release Date: June 2024
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 346 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"