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Index to San Antonio Register

The current index covers issues from May 29, 1931 through May 29, 1959.

You may browse any part of the index by choosing a letter from the list below. Please read the introduction to learn about some of the peculiarities in the microfilm and how to use the structure of the index to find names.

Note: The following pages are quite large and—depending on your browser—may take several minutes to fully load. Thank you for your patience.

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Introduction to San Antonio Register Index

Peculiarities in the Microfilm

The microfilm reels contain an error throughout. Page 8 of each issue has been misplaced by one week, for example, the March 27, 1936 issue contains page 8 from the April 3, 1936 issue. These pages are designated as follows: 1936/03/27: 8 (filmed in 04/03 issue).

The first two issues for 1941 are filmed out of order. 1941/01/24 appears first, followed by 1941/02/21. Regular weekly order resumes with 1941/01/03.

Some issues of the paper are missing the bottom half; therefore, the top half is the only piece microfilmed. These issues are: 1937/07/16, 1937/07/23, 1937/07/30, 1937/09/3, 1937/09/10, and 1937/12/31.

Due to a printing error, 1940/08/30: 7 is unreadable and therefore not indexed.

The Nov. 7, 1941 issue was filmed twice, once after the Oct. 17 issue and again after the Oct. 31 issue.

The January 9, 1942 issue is filmed out of order and appears after the May 1, 1942 issue. The January 23, 1942 issue comes after the February 13, 1942 issue.

Using the Structure of the Index to Find Names

The following guidelines, used by the indexers, may help users of the San Antonio Register index to find names of individuals that may not appear in the alphabetical groups of the index. It was believed that index entries for many individual names might have been "lost" if put under their own names because users probably would not know these names in advance. Therefore, these names have been grouped under the categories described in these guidelines.

On the other hand, the names of well-known citizens, business leaders, church leaders, educators and politicians may be found under their own names. Many cross-references have been provided from more general categories to help users locate these prominent citizens.

The categories in these guidelines represent actual entries in the index. Detailed instructions are given for the handling of names for each of these categories.

Accidents and Injuries

This category covers all accidents and injuries except for automobile accidents and burns, which have their own index entries. Names of accident victims appear only under "Accidents and Injuries" unless they appear in a "headline" story. In that case entries are also made under the victims' names.

Advertising

Graphic advertisements have been omitted. However, if there is a brief article about a particular business, it is included. There are many of these "blurbs" about beauty shops, restaurants and clubs, and frequently for new businesses that have opened.

Anniversaries

Names of people celebrating anniversaries appear under this heading. Separate entries have not been made for the names of individual couples unless there is a substantive article about a particular event, or unless there have been other articles written about these persons.

"Weddings and Engagements" is handled in a similar fashion.

Assaults

Names of assault victims appear only under "Assaults" unless it is a headline story. In that case, an entry is also made under that person's name. Names of the victim and perpetrator appear in the entry as follows:

Assaults

Allen, Henry, slashed on the face by Levi Stevens, 1940/12/13: 1
Anthony, Lena, beaten by Isaac Anthony, 1940/01/19: 5
Arkadie, Mrs. Lawrence, stabbed with butcher knife by husband, 1936/08/14: 1

Exceptions: If the indexer discovers that the "perpetrator" has been involved in multiple crimes, an entry is made for him/her under "Crime and Criminals". See "Crime and Criminals" in these guidelines for handling of these names.

Likewise, if the indexer notices that a person who has been the victim of an assault also has been the victim of some other crime, a main entry is made for that victim as well. These names also appear under the heading "Assaults," as for all other victims of assault.

Murders appear under "Murders and Murderers".

Births

All births appear under the "Births" heading as shown below:

Births

Jones, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur, son

Business and Businesses

Only general articles go under this heading. All business names go under the specific categories of businesses listed below. Every time a new category of business is added to the index, a See reference under the "Business and Businesses" heading is also added.

Business and Businesses

See also Chambers of Commerce
See also See also Employment and Unemployment
See also National Negro Business League
See also National Recovery Act/Administration
See also San Antonio Negro Chamber of Commerce
See also specific type of business

Automotive Businesses
Banks
Barber Shops
Beauty Salons and Schools
Beer Industry
Clothing Stores
Coffee Companies
Department Stores
Florists
Funeral Homes
Furniture Stores
Grocery Stores
Insurance Companies
Liquor Stores
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Stores
Pharmacies
Photography Studios
Railroads
Restaurants and Clubs
Shoe Stores
Soft Drink Bottling Companies
Tailors

See references are made from individual company names to the business category where they can be found, e.g.:

Joske's Department Store

See Department Stores

Churches

Each church is indexed under its own name. New church names are added to the list of See reference under "Churches."

Cities of South Texas (Community News)

News about other cities in the "Community News" section is omitted. If there is an article about some other city elsewhere in the newspaper, it is included under the city name. News about assaults, murders, and other crimes frequently appeared for Corpus Christi. These items are indexed the same as if these events had occurred in San Antonio.

Colleges and Universities

Only general subheadings appear here. Main entries are made for each college. A list of all colleges appears under the "Colleges and Universities" heading.

All Texas colleges are indexed completely, including sports. For colleges in other states, sports items are omitted.

Crime and Criminals

This heading is used for habitual criminals, for people who committed more than one type of crime, and for other criminal acts that don't fall into the categories listed as See also references under "Crime and Criminals."

See references are made from the person's name to "Crime and Criminals." If the person is prominent or already has several entries under his name, however, a See reference is made from his/her name under "Crime and Criminals" to the main entry, i.e.,

Crime and Criminals

Bellinger, Charles

See Bellinger, Charles

Deaths

All deaths are listed under "Deaths" as well as the person's name. "Cards of Thanks" and "In Memoriam" items are omitted.

Divorces

Names of individual divorce filings are not listed. An entry is made by year, e.g.:

Divorces

divorces in 1945
divorces in 1946

Articles about the divorce of prominent people, or people who already have an index entry, will have an entry under the "Divorce" heading as well as under their own names.

Education

Articles about education in general go here. Any article about specific schools go under the school's name.

Engagements

See "Weddings and Engagements"

Entertainment

This heading is for general entries only that don't fit into the categories that are shown as See references below:

Entertainment

See also Movies
See also Music and Musicians
See also Radio
See also Restaurants and Clubs
See also Theater and Theaters

Gossip Columns

These are grouped together under "Social Notes." See references for individual column names refer users to the "Social Notes" heading.

Legal Columns

These columns are omitted.

Medical Columns

These columns are omitted.

Military Personnel

Entries for Texas military personnel appear either under the military branch in which they served, or under the conflict in which they served, such as World War II or Korean War, as shown in the following examples.

US Navy

service personnel

name....

World War II

service personnel

name....

If the name has more than two subentries, a main entry is made instead, with a cross-reference from under the conflict name to the name of the person.

World War II

service personnel

Dawson, Robert A.

See Dawson, Robert A.

Awards, medals, and other honors: individual entries are made for these service personnel and also under the conflict, e.g.:

World War II

decorations and honors

name....

Ministers

Pastors with two or less entries are listed under their church name. Pastors with more than two entries have a main entry for their own names. For these pastors, a See reference is made under the church name:

Bethel AME Church

Stepteau, Rev. C. Harold
See Stepteau, Rev. C. Harold (Bethel AME Church)

Movies

Articles about movies are omitted unless they are of importance to African-Americans. For example, if a film is produced by blacks or has a black star, it is included. Movie reviews and notices of movie showings are omitted.

Murders and Murderers

Names of murder victims may be found under their own name and under the "Murders and Murderers" category. Names of murderers are included under "Murders and Murderers." If there are several articles about the murderer, they may be found under his or her name. Cross-references under "Murders and Murders" lead the user to these names.

Music and Musicians

Musician or music groups that have only one or two subentries are listed under both "Music and Musicians" as well as their own names. If the musician or group has more than two subentries, a cross-reference is made to his/her/their name under "Music and Musicians" and all the entries about the musician/group appear under the main heading.

Names of musicians appearing at local clubs may be found under the club's name in the "Restaurants and Clubs" main entry.

Names

Main entries are provided for personal names for almost all front page articles. If the indexer discovers many entries for a particular name scattered under subject categories, these entries are gathered together under a main entry for that person.

See also indexing instructions under the following headings:
Anniversaries
Assaults
Births
Business and Businesses
Churches
Colleges and Universities
Deaths
Ministers
Murders and Murderers
Music and Musicians
Organization Names
Schools
Social Clubs
Sports
Weddings and Engagements

"Negroes" as a Heading

This term is used in accordance with its appearance in the Register, and only for very general topics. Other headings such as "Civil Rights," "Negro History," "Race Relations," and "Racial Prejudice" also exist. There are also headings for specific rights, e.g., "Jury Service," "Voting Rights," and so on. See also references will be added for "Blacks" and "African-Americans" as these terms appear in the more recent issues.

News

All Texas news of general interest is indexed, such as political events or legal issues. News about other cities and states is omitted unless it is of some importance to African Americans in general. For example, housing units in cities like Dallas or Chicago would be of general significance and is indexed under "Housing."

National news is omitted unless its about the NAACP or something of significance to the African American community. For example, there are items about some student in New York receiving a degree, or an article about longest-serving Chicago firefighter, etc. These kinds of things are omitted. But articles on lynching, voting, civil rights, etc. are included.

Obituaries

See "Deaths" in these guidelines.

Organization Names

Entries are made for names of specific organizations. See the instructions at "Business and Businesses," "Names," and "Social Clubs."

Pastors

See "Ministers" in these guidelines.

Personal Advice

These columns are omitted.

Personal Names

See "Names" in these guidelines.

Religion

Only very general announcements and news items go here. The heading "Churches" is also available for general entries about churches. A list of specific churches also appears under "Churches."

Schools

Only general subheadings appear here. Entries are made for individual school names. A complete See also list of schools appears under "Schools." "Colleges and Universities" is also available.

Social Clubs

Entries are made under the name of each social club. A complete list of the clubs appears under "Social Clubs" in the index. Each time a new club name heading is added, a See also reference is also made under "Social Clubs."

Social Notes

Little notices about trips to other cities, parties, etc. are generally omitted. Names of regular columns are included under the "Social Notes" heading, such as "Alamo Briefs," and "Jo's Jottings" along with the year, as shown below. Both "Alamo Briefs" and "Jo's Jottings" contain marriage, death, and birth information and are included in the index. The names of these columns change over time. When a new column name appears, A See reference is made from the column name to "Social Notes."

Social Notes

Alamo City Briefs for 1943
Jo's Jottings for 1943

Sports

Only general entries go here. A heading is made for each type of sport reported. See references are made from names of individual teams to the sports category where they can be found.

Boxers are entered as subheadings under "Boxing" except for well-known boxers. See references are made for these well-known boxers from under the "Boxing" heading to their names.

News about college and school teams is included under the names of individual colleges and schools.

Texas News

See "News" in these guidelines.

Wars

Entries are made for each conflict. See also "Military Personnel" in these guidelines.

Weddings and Engagements

Weddings are listed here with the bride's name first. Separate entries are not made for names of individual couples, unless there is already a heading for that person in the index or if more entries appear for that person at a later time.

Anniversaries have their own heading as described earlier.