2016 TxSGS Awards: Family History Books by Non-Professionals

The Texas State Genealogical Society (TxSGS) is proud to host a robust awards program each year, with the winners announced at our annual banquet. This year’s awards banquet was held at our 2016 Family History Conference in Dallas on Saturday, October 29, 2016. Bill Buckner, our TxSGS Awards Chair, oversees the annual awards program and emceed the awards ceremony.

About the Award

Category I of the Writing Awards, Books by Non-Professionals, in the subset of family histories, which includes lineages of families or memories in narrative form.

These books should be written, compiled or edited by an individual who is not a professional genealogist. Entries must contain at least 51 pages, and be hard, soft or spiral bound, and published in 2015 or 2016. Books will be rated for each of six criteria: quality of binding, design, organization of topics, readability/overall usefulness, indexing, and adherence to current genealogical standards including numbering system and citation of sources.

Award Recipients

Thank you to all who participated, and congratulations to the following winners!

First Place ($200)

Rufus and Lily: The letters, lives, and lineages of Rufus Blandford and Lillian Burkhardt, Volumes 1 & 2 (2015), by Karen Claridge Walker.

Comments from the judges: “Excellent research”; “Nice family history”; “Very professional appearance”.

Book jacket for Rufus and Lily, Volume 1
Volume 1.
Book jacket for Rufus and Lily, Volume 2
Volume 2.

Second Place ($100)

Renegade Texas Confederate & Union Surgeon Dr. William R. Robinson (2016), by Duane Helweg.

Book jacket for Renegade

Third Place ($50)

Adam Poe, Evangelist & Faithful Servant (2015), by Melissa A. Stangeland.

Book jacket for Adam Poe

Thank you also to our volunteer judges!


Bill Buckner, TxSGS Awards Chair, contributed to this post.

Colleen Greene

2 thoughts on “2016 TxSGS Awards: Family History Books by Non-Professionals”

  1. How would someone purchase the third place winner, Adam Poe, Evangelist & Faithful Servant? Is there a website?

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