Abstract This dissertation uses archival and interpretive methods to examine the life and contributions of Mary Smith McCrory Jones in Texas. Specifically, this project investigates the ways in which Mary Jones emerged into the public sphere, utilized myth and memory, and managed her life as a widow. Each of these larger areas is examined in relation to historiographicaly accepted patterns and in the larger context of women in Texas, the South, and the nation during this period. Mary Jones, 1819-1907, experienced many of the key early periods in Anglo Texas history. The research traces her family’s immigration to Austin’s Colony and their early years under Mexican sovereignty. The Texas Revolution resulted in her move to Houston and her first brief marriage. Following the death of her husband she met and married Anson Jones, a physician who served in public posts throughout the period of the Texas Republic. Over time Anson was politically and personally rejected to the point that he committed suicide. This dissertation studies the effects this death had upon Mary’s personal goals, her use of a widow’s status to achieve her objectives, and her eventual emergence as a “Professional Widow.” Mary Jones’s attempts to rehabilitate her husband’s public image provided her with opportunities which in turn led her into a larger public sphere, enabled her to maintain her social-economic status as a widow, and to shape the public image of both her husband and parts of the Texas image. Mary Jones attempted to publish Anson’s papers, rehabilitate his memory, and preserve papers and artifacts from the period of the Republic. Directly and indirectly this led to the preservation of the San Jacinto battlefield, the reburial of her husband, the discovery of a copy of the Texas Declaration of Independence, the founding of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and her key role as steward of the Alamo. The research uses archival and interpretive methods to examine Women’s organizations and clubs as they emerged during her lifetime and her role as member or leader. Hundreds of Mary and her family’s personal letters survive in various Texas archives. Additionally, Anson’s journals and personal memoirs provide invaluable insight into Mary’s family life, character, and relationships. This research will include a review and comparison of her efforts with other women who in the process of protecting and reconstructing their husband’s images moved into a larger public sphere. Mary Jones served as president of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas for seventeen years. This provided her with the platform she needed to promote Anson’s image, focus memory and money upon the Texas Republic era, and move into a public sphere for herself. This dissertation contends that the work that Mary Jones did in her efforts to construct a positive public image for her husband eventually drew her into state-wide leadership roles, aided her to successfully reach social-economic goals even though widowed, and to effect the preservation and role of the Alamo in public memory.

The limestone façade of the Alamo shows several areas of biological growth with black and gray streaks and blotches discoloring the stone. This thesis investigates the identity of the microorganisms on the stone, using two: DNA identification, and lab cultures grown from samples of the biofilm. By using both approaches, a better understanding was gained of the range of organisms present. Through these tests, it was found that the dominant organism on the limestone is cyanobacteria, of the genus Chrooccocus. Lab cultures revealed other organisms, including possibly fungi photobionts and algae. Through analysis and comparison of historic and contemporary photographs, patterns of recolonization are investigated. To further understand the effects of the biocide treatments, cultured samples were treated, and their reactions monitored. To better understand the possible relationship between the Alamo stone and its colonizing organisms, physical properties of the stone were investigated. SEM images, Edax minerology and water absorption were used to characterize the stone. This study is the first of its kind to investigate Native Texas quarried architectural limestone. Although studies have been conducted on historic monuments around the world to identify biological growth, none have focused on Texas limestone. By using both DNA and lab culture identification, this study adds to a wealth of investigations of other conservation professionals, applying it to a subject that has not been studied in this way before. By understanding the colonizing organisms, a sustainable conservation regimen can be determined. / text

A study of the feeding and movement patterns of largemouth bass in Alamo Lake, Arizona, using stomach analysis, ultra-sonic telemetry and echo-location revealed that feeding is an important determinant of the behavior of individuals and of their composition. The diurnal foraging activity showed a circadian rhythm associated with dawn, dusk, and mobility of prey. The size and type of prey consumed was largely influenced by the size and hunger state of the predator and by the prevailing environmental conditions. All sizes of bass fed mostly on shad, but the quantities consumed were influenced by the avail- ability of alternate prey and location of shad. Foraging mode and habitat selection were influenced by size and shape of bass and their metabolic requirements, whereby, the juveniles ( ≤ 25.0 cm) and adults ( ≥ 40.7 cm) haunted the littoral zone, but the medium size bass (25.1 - 40.6 cm) occupied the limnetic zone. The diel movements of feeding caused segregation of sizes which in turn enhanced their utilization of the more abundant resources at the most opportune times. For example, during floods, bass moved en masse into the littoral zone to feed on the abundant food caused by allochthonous enrichment, but during draw-down, only the medium size bass migrated into the deeper waters to seek out the limnetic shad leaving the juveniles and larger adults in the littoral zone. Although the movements and feeding of largemouth bass in Alamo Lake may not be thoroughly explained by any single environmental factor, of the variables measured, water temperature, oxygen and turbidity seem to be the most important. Likewise, the high perennial production of bass in the lake may not be attributed solely to (1) the enormous addition of allochthonous nutrients during floods, (2) the concentration of prey during the draw-down, or (3) a high primary production that, in turn, sustains a high secondary production, but to a combination of all these variables interacting in different ways during different seasons.

Six different nations have claimed sovereignty over some or all of the current state of Texas. In the early nineteenth century, Spain ruled Texas. Then Mexico rebelled against Spain, and from 1821 to 1836 Texas was a Mexican province. In 1836, Texas Anglo settlers rebelled against Mexican rule and established a separate republic. The early Anglo settlers brought their form of civilization to a region that the Spanish had not been able to subdue for three centuries. They defeated a professional army and eventually overwhelmed Native American tribes who wished to maintain their way of life without inference from intruding Anglo settlers. This history fostered a people who consider themselves capable of doing anything—an exceptional population imbued with a fierce sense of nationalistic and local rooted in the mythic memoirs of the first Anglo settlers. The purpose of this study is to explore the origin and development of Texan exceptionalist beliefs. The “taming of the Texas wilderness,” the Alamo, the defeat of Santa Anna at San Jacinto, the formation of a republic that earned recognition by major foreign powers, Stephen F. Austin, Davy Crockett, William Travis, are all elements in the great Texas myth. From the letters and documents of the early settlers, the extensive papers of Stephen F. Austin, the war papers of the Texas Revolution, newspapers of the era, and other sources, it is apparent that the early Texas settler did not come to Texas for any altruistic purpose. Texas provided a second chance for many who had been previously unsuccessful and an opportunity to gain riches from the extensive land bounty granted by the Mexican government. This research provides additional depth to a neglected part of Texas history. Removing the mystique of the Texas legend reveals a far more colorful and complex period. These early Texans were a complex, divided, greedy, racist people who changed the course of the United States and established a legend that has withstood the test of time.

The American Genre Film Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 2009 by Tim League, founder and CEO of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. With a sense of rebellion against established film archives, AGFA is dedicated to the collection of 35mm prints of exploitation films from the 1960s-1980s in order to conserve and distribute these neglected films. A confluence of issues including the history of the films in the collection, AGFA’s connection with the Alamo Drafthouse, and influences from the hipster subcultures combine to inform AGFA’s practices and mission. This thesis will explore how the American Genre Film Archive conforms to and rebels against the established archive community by means of its mission and institutional structure. Also, this thesis will explore AGFA as a hipster institution through its collecting and exhibition practices. AGFA’s roles in the wider film archive community and the hipster community converge into an unusual archive serving unusual films. / text

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Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Supervisor: John E. Roueche. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

How did the Daughters of the Republic of Texas use historic preservation to help create and perpetuate Texas nationalism? Historic sites are an important part of creating and maintaining a nation-state’s national identity, but even more so when the nation no longer exists. The DRT preserved and created a common Texas national history with the preservation and interpretation of the Alamo and the French Legation Museum. The Alamo is the principal symbol of the Texas identity. Before the Alamo was a place of state and national reverence, before it was a battle site, before it was the Alamo, it was a Spanish mission, San Antonio de Valero. Yet, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas reconstructed the history of the mission so as to include only the thirteen days (February 23- March 6, 1836) when it was the site of one of the most important and well-known battles in the War for Texas Independence. This interpretation decision has shaped the way the Alamo is viewed through our collective memory. The French Legation Museum in Austin is important to the story of nationalism in Texas. Although it is not as recognized as the Alamo, the French Legation Museum is a crucial component in the story of Texas as an independent republic. The French Legation gives Texans a physical history of the Republic of Texas, thus strengthening and perpetuating the Texas national identity. The DRT’s preservation decisions at Alamo and the French Legation perpetuate the memory of Texas as an independent republic, and thus preserve the Texas national identity. / text