Bluebonnet Country Genealogy

In 1901, the Bluebonnet,, was selected as the state flower of Texas. Actually there are five state flowers, including at least four other species of bluebonnet: L. havardii, L. concinnus, L. perennis, and L. plattensis. In March, 1971, the legislation was amended to include L. texensis and “any other variety of bluebonnet not heretofore recorded”.

First Lady Ladybird Johnson pushed for the Highway Beautification Act of 1965, which sought to beautify the nation’s highway system by limiting advertising and by planting roadside areas. All across Texas, wildflowers were planted along major thoroughfares, and that practice continues today.

Bluebonnets bloom in March and April, turning the vastness of Texas bright with color. Some years the show is less intense, due to drought or the encroachment of man, but they always survive and return for another year.

Texas Bluebonnets are survivors.

Perhaps the first glimpse of Texas that my ancestors saw upon their arrival here were Bluebonnets. As they arrived from Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee, the wildflowers welcomed them. As they began to build their homes and work the land, the Bluebonnets quietly watched. And when times were bad, when the crops failed and the young ones died of disease, still the Bluebonnets were there. And when good times returned, so the Bluebonnets. As the years went by and the elderly departed, sorrow was tempered by the beauty of the Bluebonnets thriving nearby.

Like the Texas Bluebonnet, my ancestors were survivors.

Whenever I see Bluebonnets and other wildflowers as I go about my life, I am reminded of those who came before me. Bluebonnet Country Genealogy is dedicated to my ancestors…and to the Lupinus texensis.

PLEASE BEAR WITH ME...Many place details contain obvious errors, created when I moved my database to RootsMagic. I am going through the database and correcting these errors as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience!