The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 69, July 1965 - April, 1966 Page: 411

Book Reviews

zona when the Apaches needed attention. Made commander of
the District of New Mexico in 188o, he finally received the pro-
motion to general which he had so long deserved. Unfortunately,
the rest of his life was a tragic anti-climax to a brilliant career.
By the autumn of 1883 when he arrived in San Antonio to
assume comand of the Department of Texas, Mackenzie's phys-
ical and mental condition had deteriorated to the point that his
irrational behavior could not be concealed. Before the end of
the year he was in a New York asylum, and during the spring,
over his pathetic protests, he was retired from the army he had
served so well. Only forty-three, Mackenzie hoped to return to
the plains, but he never recovered. Attended by a faithful sister,
he died on Staten Island on January 9, 1889.
Mackenzie apparently left no private papers, and his reports
were usually brief. Professor Wallace has been indefatigable in
his research, particularly in the mass of War Department records
in the National Archives. The result is an excellent volume which
makes a distinct and welcome contribution to the history of the
frontier. LOWELL H. HARRISON
West Texas State University
Some Early Southeast Texas Families. By Thomas A. Wilson.
Houston (Lone Star Press), 1965. Pp. 174. Illustrations,
notes, index. $6.50.
As the dust jacket points out, this work might appropriately
have been titled "Early Pioneer Families of Newton and Jasper
Counties, Texas," for this is the hsitory of some one hundred and
eighty-five families of these two counties. According to the pub-
lisher, 3,200 people are mentioned in this book and the index
lists some 6o01 families that are referred to in the text. These
biographical sketches, written in the 1930's by Thomas A. Wilson
for the Kirbyville Banner and the Newton News, provide a val-
uable source of historical and genealogical material for an un-
derstanding of this section of deep Southeast Texas.
Wilson's sketches run in length from several lines for some
families to over seven pages for the Woods and eight pages for
the McMahons. Included are sketches of the best known families
in the area-Wingate, Norvell, Downs, Holmes, Stewart, Wilson,
Adams, Woods, McMahon, and many others. Although some of

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