Genealogy and Local History Blog

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“This Indenture Made . . .”: The Importance of Local Land Records in Genealogical Research

We come and go, but the land is always here. And the people who love it and understand it are the people who own it–for a little while. Willa Cather, O Pioneers! There are many types of land transactions, but in today’s blog we’ll explore the particular genealogical value of local land records and how you can use them to further your research. These actions between parties, also known as conveyances, take place mostly under the authority of the county government. From the moment European settlers arrived on the Atlantic coast, obtaining cheap land on which to settle and farm was a priority. The vast majority of them had never owned land in their countries of origin because only the wealthy could afford to buy it, often in large tracts. The opportunity to possess and work one’s own parcel of land in the New World was enticing to those who...

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A “Shirt factory at Grapevine”: How the WPA Provided Work for Grapevine Women during the Great Depression

Continuing our focus on how Grapevine dealt with the Great Depression, today we look at the Grapevine sewing room and how it developed. Sewing room projects were under the Works Progress Administration (later Work Projects Administration) (WPA), established on November 1, 1935 to provide work to unskilled women and to get them ready for private work, as well as to supply goods to a non-competitive market without purchasing power. Sewing rooms became the backbone of the women’s division of the WPA. On February 12, 1935, Mayor B. R. Wall “Signed [a] contract with Government for Shirt factory at Grapevine.” Later known as the Grapevine Sewing Room, it was located at 413 S. Main in the north half of the old City Hall, and it served as a means of employment for many Grapevine-area women during its existence. The room was prepared for use by local residents E. L. Jordan, who...