The Larry McNeill Research Fellowship in Texas Legal History was established in 2019 by the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society in honor of Larry McNeill, a past president of the Society and of the Texas State Historical Association. The $2,500 annual award, administered by the Texas State Historical Association, recognizes Mr. McNeill’s commitment to fostering academic and grassroots research in Texas legal history.

Competition for the fellowship is open to any applicant pursuing a topic in Texas legal history, including judges, justices, lawyers, higher education students, and academic and grassroots historians. The award is made at the Texas State Historical Association’s Annual Meeting each spring. For application information, see the TSHA’s Awards and Fellowships page at https://tshaonline.org/awards-and-fellowships/2562.

This project will produce a hybrid documentary reader/collected volume on the history of slavery in Spanish and Mexican Texas. Importantly, it will utilize and translate Spanish-language documents from the Texas General Land Office that were previously in the historic archives of Bexar. These documents have not been widely accessible and will shed more light on the complex legal questions surrounding slavery and the colonization of Texas.