City Connection February 2020C I T Y C O N N E C T I O NCITY C O N N E C T I O N
The Walker County Historical Commission, Sam Houston Memorial Museum, and City of Huntsville’s Sam Houston
Statue and Visitors Center will be observing Huntsville’s 39th Annual Texas Independence Day and General Sam
Houston Birthday Celebration on Monday, March 2, 2020.
Festivities will begin with a reception from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. at the Walker County Museum/Gibbs-Powell House,
located at 1228 11th Street.
The traditional march to Sam Houston’s gravesite at Oakwood Cemetery will commence at Old Main Pit, adjacent
to Austin Hall (located on the campus of Sam Houston State University) at 10:15 a.m. and proceed to Sam Houston’s
grave down University Avenue. The march will be led by the SHSU ROTC, along with Bearkat History Club,
Department of Student Activities, and members of the student body, faculty, staff, and administration.
A special ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. to honor General Sam Houston at his gravesite in Oakwood Cemetery,
located at the corner of Sam Houston Memorial Drive at 9th Street. This year’s featured speaker is prize-winning
historian and novelist, James L. Haley. Honored guests will include a number of General Sam Houston and Margaret
Houston’s descendants. The gravesite ceremony will also include the SHSU ROTC Color Guard and Rifle Team, special
music, the laying of wreaths, and a “Baptized Texan Ceremony”. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be
held in the Sam Houston Natural Science & Art Research Center, 710 University Avenue. Deadline to RSVP for the
“Baptized Texan Ceremony” is February 20.
The annual luncheon will be held at 12:30 p.m. at the W.S. Gibbs Conference Hall, Katy & E. Don Walker, Sr.
Education Center, 1402 19th Street. Reservations for lunch are due by February 20. After the luncheon, the celebration
will conclude with a “Toast to Texas”.
For more information on reservations and payment, please visit www.HuntsvilleTexas.com or contact Kimm
Thomas with the City of Huntsville Tourism Department via email at KThomas@HuntsvilleTX.gov or by calling 936-
291-5932. For additional details on the March 2nd schedule of events, visit www.SamHoustonMemorialMuseum.com
or www.WalkerCountyHistory.org.
39th Annual March 2nd celebration
FEB RUA RY 20 20 V OL. 16, ISSUE 5Learn more about City events at HuntsvilleTX.gov
Photo contributed by Shelley Petkovsek-BleekmanPhoto contributed by Shelley Petkovsek-Bleekman
F EB RUAR Y 20 2 0 V OL. 16, ISSUE 5
The Huntsville Public Library, in partnership with the Sam Houston State
University (SHSU) Law, Engagement, and Politics (LEAP) Center, will present a
free five-week Citizenship Preparation Course on Wednesdays in April. The
class will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the Huntsville Public Library Staggs
Community Room, 1219 13th Street. The course is designed to prepare
immigrants for the U. S. Naturalization Test and will cover the application
process, oral interview, and exam. All necessary materials will be provided. The
classes are taught by Mike Yawn, Political Science Professor at SHSU. Space is
limited and registration is required. Register for the course at
www.MyHuntsvilleLibrary.com. For more information, contact Mary Kokot,
Adult Services Coordinator, at 936-291-5471, or Professor Mike Yawn at 936-
294-1456.
Citizenship
Prep Course
begins
April 2020
STAYINFORMED
CAN’T ATTEND IN
PERSON? CATCH THECOUNCIL MEETING ONFACEBOOK LIVE OR
LIVESTREAMED ON OURWEBSITE.
Miss a meeting duringthe last few months? Nota problem! The City
archives City Council
meetings. Just visit theCity’s Website,
www.HuntsvilleTX.gov,
and click on Meetingvideo.
F EB RUAR Y 20 2 0 V OL. 16, ISSUE 5
The United States Constitution was adopted in 1787. The Constitution replaced the weak and ineffective
Articles of Confederation which had been the instrument of government for the United States following
Independence. Article 1, Section 2 created the House of Representatives as a proportional body. Clause 3 of
Article 1, Section 2 established a census to be taken every ten years beginning in 1790. The first census was
administered by Thomas Jefferson and was taken on August 2, 1790.
The language establishing the Census is shown here: “Representatives and direct Taxes shall be
apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective
Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound
to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual
Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States,
and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of
Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one
Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to
chuse [sic] three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-
York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five,
South Carolina five, and Georgia three.”
The census continued through 1840 as a compilation under the name of head of household as described
above. The 1850 was the first census to record all free persons by name, gender and age. The 1850 and 1860
census records include a Slave Schedule which compiled a list of persons held in bondage. The Slave
Schedules were limited to gender and age and were grouped under the name of the slaveholder. Following
the adoption of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ending slavery all persons were to be
enumerated without regard to race or prior servitude.
The Census questionnaires have evolved beyond the compilations of the early census. Over the years
commercial questions have been added. For example, the 1850, 1860 and 1870 censuses asked questions about
personal wealth and income. An example of the evolution of the role the census plays in commercial planning
is the inclusion in the 1930 census a question about the ownership of radios. Other early twentieth century
questions asked about home ownership, property values and rents paid.
The Census Bureau is now under the direction of the Secretary of Commerce. The next census will be
taken in 2020 in a methodical attempt to count every person residing within our nation and serving abroad in
the military. The process is a huge undertaking and will employ both questionnaires and statistical modeling.
Compiled census data is released in statistical detail following each census; however, information about
individuals is held in moratorium for seventy-two years.
Individual information for the 1950 census will be released in 2022.
- Contributed by Huntsville Public Library Reference Librarian Richard Lane
U.S. Census Records: a brief overview
F EB RUAR Y 20 2 0 V OL. 16, ISSUE 5