Membership Page

Membership Information

Join ETHA

Memorial Resolutions

Kenneth Franklin Neighbors

WHEREAS Kenneth Franklin Neighbours, who was born on September 21, 1915, to Eben and Edna Neighbours in Fannin County, Texas, and departed this life on March 27, 2002, in Wichita Falls, Texas, was a long time member of and participant in the East Texas Historical Association; and

WHEREAS, Ken Neighbours was educated at Southern Methodist University where he received his B.A. and M.A. degrees, and at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his Ph.D. in history, and then practiced and taught this discipline at Allen Academy for several years before taking a position at Midwestern University (now Midwestern State University) in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1955, where he remained until his retirement in 1981, after which he continued teaching occasional courses at Cisco College and North Texas State University for several years; and

WHEREAS, Ken Neighbours was a Life Member of the Texas State Historical Association and a Fellow of that Association, was active in the West Texas Historical Association, Western History Association, American Historical Association, Organization of American History, Southern Historical Association, and the New Mexico Historical Association as well as the East Texas Historical Association, and served as president and on the board of directors of the West Texas Historical Association, Fort Belknap Society, Fort Belknap Genealogical Society, and the Fort Belknap Archives, Inc.; and

WHEREAS, Ken Neighbours was actively interested in preserving Fort Belknap and its history, and was the main force behind the founding of the Fort Belknap Genealogical Society and the Fort Belknap Archives, Inc., and provided the leadership that led to the construction of a building to house the historical documents relating to the history of Young County and its environs; and

WHEREAS, Ken Neighbours was a meticulous researcher, field investigator, and writer, whose research took him to every major repository in the United States, including The Nettie Lee Benson Library at the University of Texas, The Bancroft Library at the University of California, the Beinecke Library at Yale University, the National A rchives and the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., as well as to archives in Mexico City and throughout Mexico, and archives in England, Germany, and France; and

WHEREAS, Ken Neighbours supplemented his archival research with superb fieldwork which provided the basis for his projects on Texas forts, trails, Indians, and Major Robert S. Neighbors, and resulted in his service as a researcher and witness for the United States Government in the Indian Land claims cases of the 1960s; and

WHEREAS, Ken Neighbours was the author of four books and numerous articles, and at the time of his death was in the process of editing and annotating memoirs he compiled during his service in the Pacific Theater during World War II; and

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the membership of the East Texas Historical Association laments the passing of this friend and colleague on March 27, 2002 extends its sympathy to his family and friends; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be spread upon the minutes of the Annual Meeting and another presented as is appropriate to the family of Ken Neighbours, that they may know of the esteem and affection in which he is yet held by all.

APPROVED THIS TWENTY-FIRST DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2002.

Cary Wintz, Chair, Resolutions, 2001-2002

Kenneth E. Hendrickson, President, 2001-2002

Archie P. McDonald, Executive Director