AFFAIRS OF THE ASSOCIATION
To all the news of the sudden death of Judge Alexander W. Terrell came as a great shock. Notwithstanding his venerable age and his great usefulness in the past, one felt that there was much that he could yet do. No one feels this more keenly than the members of the Texas State Historical Association, whose presiding officer he was. His varied public career, his extensive acquaintance with the public men of three generations, his remarkable memory, his keen analysis of personal motive and character, and his unusual gifts as a conversationalist had given him an extraordinary fund of knowledge and personal reminiscence. For a long time addresses on patriotic or memorial occasions alone served to make drafts on these riches, but during late years, in response to the insistent demands of his friends, he agreed to write his memoirs. It is hoped that he had made much progress in this undertaking, but the fact that the task was far from complete is quite certain. His election to the presidency of the State Historical Association on March 2, 1908, and his re-election and the exercises that marked the annual meetings since had helped to draw his attention to this kind of work. To the October Quarterly, 1910, he contributed an article on “The City of Austin from 1839 to 1865”; to the January Quarterly, 1911, he contributed a revision of his memorial address on “Stephen F. Austin,” and among the last things to engage his attention was an article now in press and to appear in the October Quarterly, entitled “Reminiscences of General Sam Houston.” These were, however, only the beginning of many similar articles that he had planned, some of which he had almost completed.
In the death of Judge Terrell the Texas State Historical Association has lost a distinguished member and a faithful and efficient officer, and the state has lost a citizen whose richly endowed mind could have contributed much to recovering the unwritten history of its stirring past.
E. W. Winkler, Z. T. Fulmore, E. C. Barker, Committee. September 15, 1912.
The annual meeting of the Texas State Historical Association will be held at the University of Texas on March 2, 1913. Members will receive further announcements and copies of the program during February.
How to cite:
"AFFAIRS OF THE ASSOCIATION", Volume 016, Number 3, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, Page 337 - 338. http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v016/n3/back_10.html
[Accessed Sun Nov 23 12:18:51 CST 2008]
