Description and Discovery
The calendar of the Bexar Archives is a chronological list that describes each document found in the General Manuscript Series (beginning with Roll 8). Each entry in the calendar provides a document title, date, author, and place the document originated from and indicates the frame on which the document can be found in the microfilm edition of the collection. The calendar remains a crucial tool for access to the Bexar Archives Online as it provides the source information that is parsed into metadata records.
The full calendar covering microfilm rolls 1–167 is available for download here: Bexar_Archives_Calendar_Rolls001-167.pdf (142MB). Segmented versions of the calendar are available below.
The calendar uses a three-column layout for displaying document information. The first column contains date information. The second contains descriptive information including a document title, name or place information, and a brief summary of the document content. The title is derived from various elements like the document type (see Glossary of Abbreviations), the document date, and the length of the document. The third column indicates the microfilm frame number.
The Bexar Archives Online modeled the calendar descriptive information into a contemporary descriptive metadata schema. The transformation into individual metadata records, where one record represents one object, allows a user to conduct a refined and granular search over the collection.
The calendar of the Bexar Archives introduced a set of abbreviations to help classify the form of each document. Bexar Archives Online has adopted this identification system for the titles of each document. The abbreviations should be interpreted as follows:
A.D.S. = Autographed Document Signed (document written and signed by the same person)
A.L.S. = Autographed Letter Signed (letter written and signed by the same person)
C. = A simple copy of another document
C.C. = Certified Copy
Df. = Draft
D.C. = Document Copied (signed by a notary or receptory judge)
D.S. = Document Signed (written by one person, signed by another)
E. = Expediente (a document containing sub-documents, ranging from a simple letter with an attached reply to a long set of proceedings)
F. = Fragment
L.S. = Letter Signed (written by one person, signed by another)
N.S. = Note Signed