Charles William Ramsdell Jr.
b. 5 April 1909, d. 29 August 1973
- Father: Charles William Ramsdell b. 4 April 1877, d. 3 July 1942
- Mother: Susan Griffith b. 13 July 1882, d. 25 August 1964
- Charles William Ramsdell Jr. was born on 5 April 1909 in Austin, Travis County, Texas.
- Charles William Ramsdell and Susan Griffith appeared in the US federal census of 15 April 1910 in Austin, Travis County, Texas. Other members of the household included Charles William Ramsdell Jr., Mary Alice Ramsdell.
- Charles William Ramsdell and Susan Griffith appeared in the US federal census of 1 January 1920 in Austin, Travis County, Texas. Other members of the household included Charles William Ramsdell Jr., Mary Alice Ramsdell.
- Charles William Ramsdell and Susan Griffith appeared in the US federal census of 1 April 1930 in Austin, Travis County, Texas, at 215 East 26th Street. Other members of the household included Charles William Ramsdell Jr., Mary Alice Ramsdell.
- He married Josephine Miller Bramlette on 13 June 1933 in Uruapan, Michoacan, Mexico.
- Charles William Ramsdell Jr. died on 29 August 1973 at age 64 in Greenville, Pitt County, North Carolina.
- He was interred at Mission Burial Park, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas.
- The following appeared on 30 August 1973 in the San Antonio Express: Charles Ramsdell, 64, prominent Texas writer and historian who was a long-time resident of San Antonio, died Wednesday in Greenville, N.C., where he had been living with his son in recent years.
It was in the Alamo library that Ramsdell wrote the book for which he is best known, "San Antonio, A Historical and Pictorial Guide," published by the University of Texas Press in 1959.
An updated HemisFair edition of the book was released by the UT Press in 1968.
"His 'San Antonio' book was so good that the rest of us stay away from writing about San Antonio because he did such a good job," said former Bexar County archivist Richard Santos Wednesday on learning of his friend's death.
Ramsdell came from a pioneer Texas family. He was the great-grandson of Mrs. Almaron (Susanna) Dickinson, who with her baby was the only survivor of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836.
Until his health began failing in recent years, he had worked on a book about Mrs. Dickinson as well as a book about Texas history. Much of his historic research was done in the Alamo library.
Ransdell was a translator and newspaperman as well as an author. In the late 1960s, the University of California Press published his translation of "Mexico in a Nutshell" by the late Alfonso Reyes, highly acclaimed Mexican political journalist.
He was a staff member of the former San Antonio Express Sunday Magazine. He also published widely in scholarly magazines, university journals and other literary publications as well as in national magazines, including the old Saturday Evening Post and American Heritage.
His most recent articles appeared in the Texas Observer and in San Antonio magazine.
Ramsdell will be buried in the Alamo City beside his wife, whose name, he said in his "San Antonio" book, "would be on the title page, next to the author's, where it belongs" if her death had not preceded its publication.
Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday in Mission Burial Park under the direction of Roy Akers Funeral Chapels.
He is survived by a son, Dr. Michael Ramsdell of Greenville, N.C., a sister and a grandson. .
- Last Edited: 13 Sep 2012