[Edward Marquardt Residence]

Photograph of the Edward Marquardt Residence (located at ~2 miles North of Sisterdale off Sisterdale Road) in Kendall County, Texas.
Date: 1851
Creator: Texas Historical Commission
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History

Map of Kendall County

Blueline print of survey map of Kendall County, Texas, showing rivers, creeks, original land grants or surveys, and blocks of land. No scale information is given.
Date: 1862
Creator: Dietz, Osw.
Object Type: Map
System: The Portal to Texas History

Kendall County

Map of Kendall County, Texas, including the Hill Country region. The boundary line between Bexar and Travis Land Districts is shown on map. Scale ca. 1:133,334 (4000 varas per inch).
Date: August 13, 1862
Creator: Dietz, Osw.
Object Type: Map
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Marriage License: Benjamin F Dane and Adeline de V. Kendall, April 24, 1873] (open access)

[Marriage License: Benjamin F Dane and Adeline de V. Kendall, April 24, 1873]

A Kendall County marriage license for the marriage of Benjamin F. Dane to Adeline de V. Kendall, by H. Theis, the district court clerk. The back of the license includes further details about the issuance of the license.
Date: April 24, 1873
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Legal Document
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Kendall County Stock Mark and Brand Certification for Alex Kaiser] (open access)

[Kendall County Stock Mark and Brand Certification for Alex Kaiser]

Certificate for Alex Kaiser's stock mark and brand, signed by Kendall County Clerk of the District Court, Henry Theis. Includes drawings of both the mark and brand, as well as the location of the brand on the stock.
Date: May 24, 1875
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Legal Document
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Magazine Fire-Arms. (open access)

Improvement in Magazine Fire-Arms.

Patent for an "improved repeating fire-arm... contrived with a sliding breech-block, which is drawn back by crank on the right-hand side of the gun" (lines 6-9) including instructions and illustrations.
Date: September 14, 1875
Creator: Toepperwein, Emil A. F.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Photograph of Group of People in Front of Saloon]

Photograph of a group of people of various ages, standing on the porch of a one-story, stone building connected to another stone building with a facade. Some people are leaning against the walls, others are sitting on the porch steps, and others are sitting on wooden chairs scattered about the porch. The building with the facade, on the left, has tall narrow windows and a tall, arched door. A small fence sits to the right of the buildings. There are handwritten notes on the back of the photo about the buildings.
Date: 1878
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Adjustable Hammers for Fire-Arms. (open access)

Improvement in Adjustable Hammers for Fire-Arms.

Patent for "the particular construction and arrangement of such swiveling striker with its locking devices, and its combination with a double-barreled gun, whereby a single hammer may be employed for both barrels, the striker being capable of such adjustment as to bring it within the range of either nipple, or into an intermediate position between the two, for the prevention of accidents." (Lines 17-26) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: January 8, 1878
Creator: Toepperwein, Emil A. F.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History

Map of Kendall County [Texas]

Map shows property ownership, boundaries, and acreage of land plats in Kendall County, Texas and portions of Gillespie, Blanco, Comal, Bexar, Bandera, and Kerr Counties. Cadastral map. Scale [1:133,334].
Date: 1879
Creator: Walsh, W. C. (William C.), 1836-1924
Object Type: Map
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Hair-Triggers for Fire-Arms. (open access)

Improvement in Hair-Triggers for Fire-Arms.

Patent for "an improved trigger for fire-arms which shall be provided with a hair-trigger in such a way that the hair-trigger may be used or not, as may be desired, which shall be complete in itself, so that it may be applied to any kind of fire-arm without change in its construction" (lines 17-23), includes illustrations.
Date: May 20, 1879
Creator: Toepperwein, Emil A. F.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History

Kendall County

Map of Kendall County, Texas, including the Hill Country region. The boundary line between Bexar and Travis Land Districts is shown on map. Scale ca. 1:133,334 (4000 varas per inch).
Date: December 1879
Creator: Von Rosenberg, E.
Object Type: Map
System: The Portal to Texas History
Seed Planter. (open access)

Seed Planter.

Patent for a new and improved seed planter. This design "furnish[es] seed-planters for planting in hills or drills corn, sorghum, beans, rice, cotton, and other seeds, so constructed that the seed may be planted in any desired quantity, and at any desired distance apart, and with the rows at any desired distance apart" (lines 20-26).
Date: January 4, 1881
Creator: Holekamp, Julius
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Canceling Stamp. (open access)

Canceling Stamp.

Patent for a new and improved stamp canceler. This design utilizes a washer, flanges, and vertical slots "for the purpose of adjusting the roughened face of the head . . . so that the correct operation of the face is insured" (65-68). This represents an improvement over previous stamp cancelers.
Date: April 19, 1881
Creator: Grothaus, Frederick E.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Seed Planter. (open access)

Seed Planter.

Patent for a new and improved seed planter. This design consists "[i]n a seed planter, [with a] seed-dropping cylinder . . . with a row of recesses around its middle part, and rows of different-sized recesses provided with adjustable gage-screws around its end parts, whereby different-sized seeds can be dropped by the same cylinder" (lines 67-74).
Date: June 14, 1881
Creator: Holekamp, Julius
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bag Holder. (open access)

Bag Holder.

Patent for a new and improved bag holder. This design "consists mainly in the combination of certain parts having a capacity for adjustment relatively to the diameter of the bag, with certain parts having a capacity for adjustment relatively to the height of the bag" (lines 17-22).
Date: July 18, 1882
Creator: Holekamp, Julius
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Calf Weaner. (open access)

Calf Weaner.

Patent for a new and improved device for weaning calves. This design is "to be attached to the central cartilage of the calf's nose . . . with sharp points that come against the cow's bag when the calf attempts to suck; and the invention consists in attaching the parts . . . together like a pivot, forming a part of one of the points and adapting them to be held closed by means of a small screw, whereby the device is rendered very cheap, yet effective and reliable" (lines 15-25).
Date: May 29, 1883
Creator: Geissler, William F.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design "consists in a car-coupling formed of two coupling-hooks pivoted on a pivot projecting from the bottom of the car, which coupling hooks pass through an inverted-V-shaped guide-slot in the guide-plate, held in front of the pivot, and the said coupling-hooks are connected with a vertically-moveable bar for raising the coupling-hooks. The coupling hooks are raised and their free ends are pressed together, and if then the coupling-hooks are released they swing downward and their free ends are separated" (lines 7-18).
Date: June 24, 1884
Creator: Grothaus, Frederick E.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History

Blanco Sheet

Topographic map of a portion of Texas from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) project. The map includes towns, historic or notable sites, bodies of water, and other geologic features. Scale 1:125000
Date: 1887
Creator: Geological Survey (U.S.)
Object Type: Map
System: The Portal to Texas History
Axle Box. (open access)

Axle Box.

Patent for a new and improved axle-box. This design "relates to that class of axle-boxes in which anti-friction devices are employed for enabling the wheel to revolve on the axle with as little friction and wear as possible. [The] invention consists in providing anti-friction rods or rollers arranged between the axle and the vehicle-hub, and held in place in an improved manner" (lines 8-16).
Date: September 10, 1889
Creator: Hobron, Charles B.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History

[The Gass Schmiede Photograph #1]

Photograph of The Gass Schmiede, in Comfort, Texas. The focus of the image is a gate labeled "New Pattent Gate of Comfort," behind which stands a group of men and a horse-drawn cart. A man standing to the right is labeled "W. Brown, agent for them."
Date: 1890
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ointment for Skin Diseases (open access)

Ointment for Skin Diseases

Patent for "a liniment or ointment for the treatment of ring worm or cutaneous troubles, and the compound is described in the following specification and claim" (lines 10-13).
Date: April 4, 1890
Creator: Bergmann, Anton
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Photocopy of Beseler Bar Photograph]

Photocopy of a photograph of the interior of a bar room, printed on a sheet with a handwritten note about the name of the bar, and the date of the photo. The photo depicts a group of men standing in front of a bar counter, their backs to the camera, and three bar-tenders wearing aprons and standing behind the bar. The wall behind the counter is lined with mirrors, cabinets, and bottles.
Date: 1891
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History
Tool for Sinking Wells. (open access)

Tool for Sinking Wells.

Patent for improvements in tools for sinking artesian wells, that the tool “will perform its duty under all circumstance and excavate as well in hard materials as in soft earth, as quicksand and cavey formations, and will not have its functions interfered with when an insufficient flow of water is encountered.” (Lines 17-22) Illustration is included.
Date: June 16, 1891
Creator: Stephenson, James D.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car-Coupling. (open access)

Car-Coupling.

Patent for the invention of new and useful improvement to car-couplings. "This invention is an improved car coupling seeking among other improvements to provide simple, easily operated devices by which the cars may automatically couple..." (lines 7-10) Including instructions and illustrations.
Date: December 27, 1892
Creator: Vogt, August G.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History