El Paso County Historical Society receives Morehead photos, furniture
The El Paso County Historical Modern society obtained a donation that involved a prosperity of documents, maps, images and far more from a descendant of one particular of the city’s founding people.
Jo Mapel, whose late husband’s grandmother, Lemire “Queeny” Nebeker, was a member of the Morehead relatives, traveled to the Sun Town recently to provide the donation, which she gained on Nebeker’s death.
“I constantly experienced an interest in family members historical past,” Mapel stated. “Once we married, I took an fascination in his (Jameson Miller Mapel) family members history.”
In accordance to Mapel, who went to Austin Substantial School but now lives in Belton, Texas, the items had been remaining for her in an previous trunk following Nebeker’s dying, as she was the only family members member who confirmed an rigorous curiosity in the family’s historical past.
“I felt like it was a sacred trust,” Mapel explained. “I felt very strongly (that these items) need to be cared for appropriately.”
Mapel mentioned that some of the documents and pics, which consist of land patents for Fort Bliss and early images of El Paso, have “never witnessed the mild of day.”
Right after getting an inventory of the things and scanning the files that had been not much too huge or way too fragile, Mapel reached out to previous historical society President Fred Evans about donating the items.
Mapel mentioned that Evans had beforehand reviewed building an 1800s-period bedroom at the historic society, so, along with the treasure trove of early documents, photographs and family members albums, she donated the Morehead family’s bed room suite, which she experienced identified as her own for the earlier 40 years.
“It’s sort of like providing your small children away,” Mapel stated of the donation.
On the early morning of April 23, Mapel gave a presentation that detailed the wealth of the objects getting donated, which now will be permanently housed at the historic society’s headquarters at 603 W. Yandell Drive, and gave attendees insight on the historical past of these early El Paso households
The tale of the Morehead spouse and children, which converges with the Nebeker, Morris, Bassett, Newman and Miller households, all early movers and shakers in El Paso, is complicated and Mapel said it took her decades to connect the dots.
“I’ve realized a lot,” Mapel explained.
The files, maps and pics are all however in “pristine” ailment, Mapel said.
“They are fantastic,” Mapel explained. “These are irreplaceable they’re priceless.”
Evans praised the donation, which involved pictures with hand-created notes that “don’t exist elsewhere” and offer a “cultural sense of those people periods.”
“We’re quite grateful, really honored to have these things,” Evans mentioned. “There’s a whole lot of vital things in this article.”
Researcher Trish Extended contributed to this report.
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