“Using English Language Finding Aids for Texas Research through the Civil War.”
From ‘What is a finding aid?’ to ‘How to find and use them to best advantage.’ Robert de Berardinis talk is a survey of the primary published and web-based bibliographies/indexes. He willl cover Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO), A Guide to the History of Texas, Handbook of Texas (also online), as well as the eight new finding aids for the Clayton Library Friends series Preserving Texas.
Robert is
a retired grocery company executive and transplanted thirteenth generation
Louisianian. Robert and his wife Julia have lived in Houston since
1964.
Genealogy is his passion and French Research his expertise, He has published four books this year; an Index to French Superior Council Records; French Officials, Officers and Soldiers 1710-1770, Analytical Index to Documents Concerning Military and Civilian Personnel in French Archives Concerning the Province of Louisiana; and Some of the Ancestry of Michel Billeaudeau of Ville Platte, Louisiana. He has authored 60 articles that have been printed in State and National Genealogical publications. In addition to his writing de Berardinis has lectured in five states on French and Spanish language genealogy.
Robert is currently serving his third term as a director of Clayton
Library Friends. His contributions to the Clayton Library are extensive.
He has served as a library volunteer in several capacities. He instrumental
in the acquisition of the Cuban Papers for Clayton. This collection is
the largest collection outside Spain and larger than the Library of Congress
holdings. He has contributed time and expertise in microfilming and acquisition
of Texas Land records for Clayton thus preserving them from destruction.
He promoted the acquisition for Clayton Border crossing records from the
early Texas era; He has developed and presented educational programs for
genealogists.