Digitized version of the Victoria Advocate newspaper. This database is currently only available to on-campus users. Other users can contact askregionalhistory@uhv.edu for assistance.
Digital version covers 1848-current (1 year delay) and provides keyword search function.
While active, the photo morgue was in regular use by newspaper staff members who created yearly handwritten indexes. These indexes have been transcribed and are available for online searching. The index covers photographs taken between 1950 and 1984.
The VRHC has a collection of different historical newspapers on microfilm.
See the list of these titles below.
For inquiries on specific years, please contact the VRHC staff.
The Victoria Advocate newspaper was founded in 1846, which makes it Texas' second oldest newspaper. The first issue of the Advocate was printed on May 8, 1846. An extra edition was published that day to inform citizens of the battle of Palo Alto, the first battle in the Mexican American War.
The first publishers were Thomas Sterne and John David Logan. Later editors and publishers included Sam Addison White, Victor Marion Rose, Frank R. Pridham, Edward Daniel Linn, John L. Bartow, Louis Nicholas Hofer, and James McDonald. In 1901, after 55 years and nine owners, George H. French other the paper and operated it for 41 years. Moris Roberts purchase the paper in 1942. The McHaney family continues to publish the Victoria Advocate and other Texas city newspapers.
A written history, The Victoria Advocate: a history of Texas' second oldest continuous newspaper, 1846-1888 by Geraldine Talley, available.
The VRHC is proud to be the repository of the extant bound copies of the Victoria Advocate. In addition, the Advocate is available to researchers in microfilm, which has also been digitized and available online for full text search.
VRHC also is the repository of the Advocates photo morgue. The morgue collection consists of black and white 4" x 5" negatives taken by Advocate staff photographers from 1950 to 1984. Recently, 35-millimeter slides from 1985-2000 were placed with VRHC. While active, the photo morgue was in regular use by newspaper staff members who created yearly handwritten indexes. These indexes have been transcribed and are available for online searching.