Thelma Laura Pugh-Lindholm
George West, Live Oak County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A fourth-generation Texan, Thelma Pugh-Lindholm descended from Irish emigrants Thomas and Margaret (McCann) Pugh, who purchased from Empresarios McMullen and McGloin in 1835 a Mexican league and labor of land across the Nueces River from present-day George West. Born in 1898 to grandson Charles and Lucy (Crawford) Pugh, Thelma grew up on the original Pugh homestead. First educated at home, Thelma then lived with her mother’s parents to attend school in Oakville. Grandfather Crawford sparked a love in Thelma for Live Oak County and Texas History. Later living with an aunt, Thelma graduated from Three Rivers High School. She acquired a teaching certificate then a baccalaureate and master’s degree with her thesis on the history of Oakville from Texas College of Arts and Industries (Texas A&J) in Kingsville. She continued studies at the University of Texas and Texas A&M. Thelma remained faithful to the memory of Sgt. Major John E.E. Lindholm, a veteran of WWI, missing after a post-war assignment. Their daughter, Emelia Lucille Lindholm, died at the age of 10 from diphtheria. She and her mother (deceased 1992) are buried in Gussettville Cemetery. Thelma Lindholm taught on ranches and in George West ISD for 47 years. A devout catholic, she taught catechism and tutored many toward general education diplomas and U.S. Citizenship. In addition, Thelma wrote more than 20 Live Oak County historical narratives for official Texas historical markers. During the 1980s Texas Sesquicentennial, she chaired the Live Oak County Historical Commission. She anthologized more than 655 memoirs and wrote the county chapter for The History of the People of Live Oak County, Texas. Thelma Laura Pugh-Lindholm is commemorated as “the mother of live oak county history.” (2017)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in 1898 to a fourth-generation Texas ranching family, Thelma Pugh-Lindholm grew up on the original Pugh homestead across the Nueces from George West and turned a childhood love of local history into a lifelong vocation. She earned advanced degrees, taught in ranch schools and George West ISD for 47 years, and tutored many neighbors toward diplomas and U.S. citizenship. She also wrote more than twenty of Live Oak County's official historical marker narratives and chaired its historical commission, earning the title "the mother of Live Oak County history."
Why it matters
Her life shows how a single dedicated teacher and local historian can preserve a community's memory, ensuring that the ordinary settlers and events of rural Texas were not forgotten.
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Related people
- · Thelma Laura Pugh-Lindholm
- · John E.E. Lindholm
Themes & tags
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