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Books About Gaines County Texas People and Places
Favorite Books about a Gaines County Texas People, Places and  Events. Here's our top picks for books about Seminole, Seagraves and Loop Texas.

 

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From Guns to GavelsFrom Guns to Gavels: How Justice Grew Up in the Outlaw West

Tracing the struggles of incipient criminal justice in the Southwest through an engaging progression of outlaws and lawmen, plus a host of colorful frontier trial lawyers and judges, Neal reveals how law and society matured together.

On April 1, 1923, Tom Ross and Milt Good catch T&SCRA inspectors Dave Allison and H. L. Roberson unaware in the lobby of the Gaines Hotel in Seminole, Texas, and kill Both. Roberson's wife, Martha, grabs a gun and wings both of the assassins and they flee the scene . .  . . .Read more Look inside

God's WoundsGod's Wounds: Hermeneutic of the Christian Symbol of Divine Suffering, Volume Two: Evil and Divine Suffering

by Jeff B. Pool

"On March 9, 1975, I received ordination into a Christian ministry from the church in which I had held a membership as a teenager in Seminole, Texas . . . " Read more Look inside . . . for more like this please see Texas Church History

Nickel Dreams: My Life

Country music star Tanya Tucker, sometimes called "the Female Elvis", was born on October 10, 1958 in Seminole, Texas. In Nickel Dreams Tanya chronicles her rise to the top of country music fame, and tells her story about her struggle up from poverty . . . Read more

PASCAGOULA-THE CLOSEST ENCOUNTER: MY STORY

"When I first saw the world it was November 2, 1954 in Seminole Texas. My mother's name is Betty Lou Parker and her father was Ed. Lou Garrard her mother was Ruby Lee Garrard. They lived in the Texas Panhandle..." On October 11th, 1973 nineteen year old Calvin Parker and his friend forty two year old Charles Hickson were spending a frustrating evening fishing on the Pascagoula River in Mississippi. Both men loved to fish but tonight’s fishing trip would turn out to be one they would never forget. In the early evening both men were startled when a strange craft... Read more Look inside

The Adventures of Eddie Fung: Chinatown Kid, Texas Cowboy, Prisoner of War

Eddie Fung has the distinction of being the only Chinese American soldier to be captured by the Japanese during World War II.

"The stopover in Kermit was no more than a week while I waited to be transported to the the ranch I was going to be working near Seminole . . . " Read more Look inside

The Last Comanche Chief: The Life and Times of Quanah Parker

"Although it is not certain how Quanah evaded the soldiers, it is likely that he camped for a while at Lagunas Sabinas, or Cedar Lake, between present-day Brownfield and Seminole, Texas. Lagunas Sabinas had long been a favorite camping site for bands traveling the Comanche war trail . . . " Read more Look inside

Seminole: Some People Never Give Up

by Tina Siemens

In a true story of faith, hope, and perseverance, Rempel’s granddaughter, Tina Siemens, reveals the incredible narrative of an event that captivated the hearts of people around the world. From the parched territory of Mexico to the West Texas town of Seminole, Siemens gives a firsthand account of her family’s difficult migration… and the people who wouldn’t quit. Experience this vivid saga of a man determined to survive, a people who refused to die, and the town that fostered it all . . . Read more Look inside

Crowded in the Middle of Nowhere: Tales of Humor and Healing from Rural America

by Dr. Bo Brock

A collection of humorous and poignant stories from a veterinarian in a small, dusty farming and ranching community in rural West Texas. Dr. Brock gives you an intimate look into his small-town and big-hearted perspective on life, animals, and their owners. His unique perspective and tales of doctoring beloved pets, cantankerous livestock, and occasionally their owners will make you smile, laugh, cry, and . . . Found Inside: "As I mounted the only hill in Gaines County, there was nothing else for the police officer to see except a speeding veterinarian headed for a reindeer delivery . . ."   Read more Look inside

Some Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys: A Collection of Articles and Essays

by John R Erickson

John Richard Erickson is an American cowboy and author, best known for his Hank the Cowdog series of children's novels. This collection is arranged by Place; From Buffalo to Cattle; The Cowboy; Cowboy Tools; Ranch and Rodeo; Animals; and This and That. "The Shermans ranched in Lubbock County for fifteen years, and during that time their family grew to seven children, Mabel being the oldest. But by 1905 Joe Sherman had begun losing cattle to rustlers who were changing his M Cross brand into an MB, and he decided to move his operations to a ranch in Gaines County . . . Read more Look inside

The Case for the UFO - VARO EDITION

In 1957 Morris Jessup was approached by two mysterious Naval officers who informed Jessup that a man, who called himself Carlos Allende, had extensively annotated Jessup’s seminal book "The Case for the UFO" with a bizarre commentary involving time travel, electromagnetic forces, even the teleportation of a battleship." The annotated copy, addressed to Admiral N. Furth, Chief, Office of Naval Research came in a manila envelope postmarked Seminole, Texas . . . " Read more Look inside

. . . See Also Mysterious Texas

Seminole (Images of America)

by Charles George and Linda George

Seminole got its name from former slaves who escaped Southern plantations in the early 1800s and fled to the swamps of Florida. They lived alongside Seminole Indians and later came to be known as Black Seminoles. Renowned for excellent tracking abilities, they eventually served as guides for the Shafter expedition to West Texas in the mid-1870s, which opened the region. In a shallow draw on the prairie, the Black Seminoles discovered water wells dug by the Comanche. The "Seminole Wells" demonstrated the area's livability . . . Read more  . . . for more like this please see Black Texans in History

Mennonites in Texas: The Quiet in the Land

In this photographic tour of two Texas Mennonite communities, separated by almost 450 miles, Laura L. Camden and Susan Gaetz Duarte introduce you to the Beachy Amish Mennonites of Lott, a small community of approximately 160 people in Central Texas, and the very different Mennonites of Seminole, a West Texas farming community of more than five thousand residents and five separate congregations . . . Read more Look inside

The Little Sandals That Could: A Child’s Journey to a New Country

Another wonderful story by Tina Siemens about the Mennonites in Seminole Texas. "Hop into these sandals and go on a great adventure with Tina. She’s only eight, but she can walk forever. Tina will show and tell you where these sandals took her. And you’ll learn a lot about her life, her family, and the journey that brought her to America. Tina even got to meet the President! ..." Read more Look inside or listen

Your Turn: Ways to Celebrate Life Through Storytelling

by Tyra Manning

"Some of the parties were large enough that Mother and Lynette hosted those sit-down dinners in Mother's backyard in Seminole. Seminole was a small West Texas Town. Most everyone knew Mother and Lynette, so word of their catering business traveled fast. Once I asked Mother, "why do you and Lynette work so hard at this? You both have full-time jobs. She grinned and said . . . " Read more Look inside

Where the Water Meets the Sand

by Tyra Manning

In this beautifully written, poignant memoir, Tyra Manning recounts how she was able to persevere in the face of devastating loss. With courage, love, and determination, she overcame her grief and fulfilled promises she made to Larry before he left for Vietnam.

"After she graduated, we moved back to Seminole, where Mother was hired to teach third grade. She built the new house she and Daddy had always wanted ..." Read more Look inside

One Ranger Returns

In One Ranger Returns, Jackson reopens his case files to tell more unforgettable stories, while also giving readers a deeply personal view of what being a Texas Ranger has meant to him and his family .... "My mother was living in Seminole, Texas, working as a waitress, and she said she would try to get us a schnauzer, as she knew some folks who had a bitch that was about to have a litter ..." Read more Look inside

Through Time and the Valley

"When my great-Uncle Bert Sherman of Seminole, Texas, came to manhood, he wanted to be a cowboy, and raised on his father's ranch in Gaines County, he knew what cowboying was all about. He began his career in 1919 when he signed on with Cox and Heard west of Seminole. In the early Twenties he went on several long trail drives ..." Read more Look inside

Prairie Gothic: The Story of a West Texas Family

Erickson tells the story of people in the context of a specific place. This place, instrumental in shaping their lives, is the flatland prairie of northwestern Texas that has gone by various names (High Plains, South Plains, Staked Plains, and Llano Estacado), as well as the rugged country on its eastern boundary, often referred to as the “caprock canyonlands.” ...

Chapter Fourteen: Gaines County . . . Read more

Texas Ranger Captain William L. Wright

William L. Wright (1868-1942) was born to be a Texas Ranger, and hard work made him a great one. Richard B. McCaslin argues that, considering his lineage, it is hard to imagine what else he might have done. "...they could convict anyone but Edwards, who had several witnesses ready to testify that he was in Paducah, Texas, 175 miles from Seagraves, when the bank was robbed..." Read more Look inside

Pieces Of Me: A Collection of Poems

Billy G. Ryan was born in Andrews, Texas and raised in Seminole, Texas. He lives with his family in Lubbock, Texas. A love of books and films has inspired him to write his own stories and poems to share with everyone around the world. Pieces of Me is a collection of poems is the debut title of the American-born writer, Billy Ryan, and is a collection of poems dealing with loss, love, pain, happiness, depression and abandonment . . . Read more Look inside

My Life: from Cotton Patches on the South Plains of Texas to Negotiation Tables in China and North Korea

This book is the account of an ordinary person whose life experiences were atypical. He was the fifth of seven children born into the home of a rural minister and educator.

Found Inside: "I received a telephone call from the superintendent of schools in Loop, Texas sometime in early July. He indicated his district was in need of a high school mathematics and science teacher and had talked to the head o the Education Department at Texas Tech and was given my name ... " Read more Look inside

Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane: Peter Patrick Cromartie and Sarah Sessions Ann Cromartie and John Alexander Anders III

This ambitious work chronicles 250 years of the Cromartie family genealogical history. Included in the index of nearly fifty thousand names are the current generations, and all of those preceding, which trace ancestry to our family patriarch, William Cromartie, who was born in 1731 in Orkney, Scotland, and his second wife, Ruhamah Doane, who was born in 1745. Arriving in America in 1758 . . .

Read more and Look inside for 17 references to people from Gaines County

THE POEMS OF A COWBOY PREACHER

Lee Brock was born in Lamesa, Texas, in October 1923. His parents were cotton farmers on the plains of Texas where he learned about hard work, wind, windmills, horses, cattle and the beauty of nature. In school he learned to express his thoughts about his life in poems. He was saved, baptized, and called to preach in a revival at Seminole, Texas, in 1938 . . . Read more Look inside . . . for more like this please see Texas Church History

The Encyclopedia of Lawmen, Outlaws, and Gunfighters

"Hillary U. Loftis and Milt Good murdered cattle inspectors W. D. Allison and H.L. Robertson on Easter Sunday, April 1, 1923 at Seminole, Texas. The two dead men had planned on meeting with a grand jury the following day . . ." Read more

Best Seller

A humorous tale of love, life, and friendship that is as touching as it is entertaining.

"Ever since their first stop in Seminole, Texas, Don and Tex had been talking about “the Cutter.” They found “The Cutter” at an Allsups gas station, and it was the biggest fountain drink they had ever seen. It almost took two hands to hold the cup, ..." Read more Look inside

Identity and Myth in Sports Documentaries: Critical Essays

Zachary Ingle and David M. Sutera have assembled a collection of essays that show how myth and identity are constructed, perpetuated, or questioned in documentaries ...

"I remember that viewing of Hoop Dreams on that afternoon as one of the formative experiences of my youth. Its tale of African Americans in inner-city Chicago was far removed from my experience living in Loop, Texas . . ." Read more Look inside

Against Returning to  Egypt

by Jeff B. Pool

"As charter members of Fairview Baptist Church near Seminole , Texas , they demonstrated the essential importance of genuine Christian community . Through these memories of my maternal grandparents , I also remember that Baptist ..." Read more . . . for more like this please see Texas Church History

The Shadow Catcher: A U.S. Agent Infiltrates Mexico's Deadly Crime Cartels

"The long return trips carried us by clusters of tiny, tidy houses in planned neighborhoods in towns like Lovington, New Mexico, or Seminole, Texas. I would feel pangs of hope and desire as the developments receded from view. The houses ... " Look inside

Features and Fillers: Texas Journalists on Texas Folklore

Folklorist Jim Harris discovered through writing his own column that newspaper readers were hungry for articles about their past, but they did not want dry historical facts. They wanted lively and personal stories about such topics as the Native Americans who once roamed the plains, settlers who came from the east, the formation of early twentieth-century communities, abandoned school houses, ghost towns, old-fashioned ranch dances, or life in the oil camps. Includes features and folklore from   Floydada, Levelland, Seminole and Lamesa . . . Read more Look inside

Resources:

West Texas History & Memories (Face Book Group)

Early Life in Texas County by County

Books about Texas People and Places

Famous People from Texas County by County

Texas History in the 19th Century (Amazon)

Vintage Texas Photos (eBay #Ad)

Gaines County Unclaimed Estates

Gaines County Unclaimed Estates

These Deceased Residents of Gaines County left a total $20,273 in Unclaimed Money for their heirs. Know the Heirs? Please Share this with your Family and Friends in Gaines County, Seminole and Seagraves Texas and let them know they can collect it from the Texas Comptroller's Office . . . See the list

 
Nearby Counties
Books about Terry County People and Places

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Books about Dawson County People and Places

Books about Dawson County People and PlacesBooks about Lamesa,  Hancock, O'Donnell and Welch

Books About and by Andrews County People

Books About and by Andrews County PeopleBooks About and by Andrews County Texas  People and Places

 

What's your Favorite Book about a Texas County, Town, Person or Place? Here's our best reads list County by County

 

Mysterious TexasTrue Stories of Amazing People and Places in Texcas
 Loneliest, Least Populated Counties in Texas
Texas Cowboy HistoryBooks about Texas People 

County by County