Book Review
by Joan Rash Pappa

Early Marriages of Bandera County, Texas 1856-1891
Researchers working on South Texas will be delighted with Mary Elizabeth Farmer Ganey's Early Marriages of Bandera County, Texas 1856 – 1891. Mrs. Ganey has written a short history of Bandera County and included a picture of the first courthouse which shared a building with a General Store on the 1st floor and the Masonic Lodge on
the 2nd floor.

Included in the book is The History of Bandera Pass, Bandera County, Texas and the Historic Battle of Bandera Pass as compiled and written by Elenora Dugosh Goodley.
She covers the period from 1739 through 1850 with information that could be very helpful to the researcher.

Mrs. Ganey was very fortunate in obtaining access to pictures of the Bandera County Sheriffs from 1856 to 1904. She had included photocopies of these men who served during those early years.

In the Bandera Courthouse there are many original marriage certificates that remain unclaimed by the happy couples. Maybe the couples didn't know they were supposed to return to the courthouse to receive their certificate of marriage, maybe the return
trip was too far for them to travel again or maybe they just didn't think it was important.
Whatever the reason, Mrs. Ganey has compiled two lists of all the certificates that remain at the courthouse. One list is alphabetical by the groom's name and the other is alphabetical by the bride's name. In some cases there were handwritten notes included
with the certificates giving permission for the marriages. These notes were photocopies and included in the book.

In addition to the list of unclaimed marriage certificates, the book includes Early
Marriages, Book A – 1856-1881 and Early Marriages, Book 1 – 1880-1891. Each of
these has been arranged alphabetically by groom and by bride.

The book is well organized and should be an asset to anyone researching in the Bandera area. It was published by the Organization for the Preservation of Historical and Genealogical Records (OPHGR). Orders should be sent to OPHGR, PO Box 1551, Canton, TX 75103. The price is $25.00, including shipping and handling.

 

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