INVENTORY OF COUNTY RECORDS HAYS COUNTY COURTHOUSE San Marcos, Texas Compiled by Merry Kone FitzPatrick and Charles Edward Clayton Southwest Texas State University The Texas County Records Inventory Project North Texas State University Denton, Texas An endorsed project of the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission of Texas and the Texas College Bicentennial Program The Texas County Records Inventory Project is partially financed by grants from Title I, Higher Education Act, 1965, awarded by the Coordinating Board, Texas College and Univer- sity System and from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to the University Center for Community Services, a division of the School of Community Service, North Texas State University. Printed by the Texas State Library Aus tin 1977 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword ..................vii Preface ..........................ix ExplanatoryNotes .....................xi Map of Hays County ....................xiv Introduction ....................... 1 Records of County Offices Commissioners ' Court Proceedings: ...................19 Elections ....................23 Finances ....................23 Reports ......................27 Miscellaneous .................30 County Clerk Property ....................31 Mortgages and Liens ...............36 Tax .......................44 Vital Statistics ................47 Livestock ....................55 Business and Professional ........57 Bonds and Deputations ..............59 Acknowledgments and Fees .....64 Miscellaneous ..................65 Registration .................72 Microfilm ....................73 County Court Civil ......................74 Misdemeanor ...................77 Probate ..............80 Multi-CaseIMulti-Court ........85 Juvenile ....................86 Jury ......................86 Fees and Miscellaneous .............87 District Clerk Civil ......................89 Tax .......................92 Domestic Relations ...............94 iii Felony .....................95 Multi-CaseIMulti-Court .............100 Grand Jury ...................104 Jury ......................105 Finances ....................106 Miscellaneous ..................109 ExOfficio ...................111 District Attorney District Court .................113 County Court ..................114 Insufficient Funds Cases ............114 Grand Jury ...................115 Justice of the Peace Court Records ..................116 FeeBooks ....................125 Vital Statistics ................127 Sheriff Case. ~ Files and Reports .............130 .Dockets and Fees ................132 Tax Assessor-Collector Abstracts and Maps ...............135 Assessments and Tax ...............136 Delinquent Tax .................141 Voter ......................143 Motor Vehicle ..................144 Finances ....................146 Miscellaneous ..................146 Treasurer Finances ....................149 Bonds and Warrants ...............151 Auditor Reports .....................155 Distribation of Funds ..............156 Miscellaneous ..................158 School Superintendent Administration .................160 Personnel ....................162 Students ....................164 Finances ....................165 Miscellaneous ..................169 Listing of Hays County Records ..............170 Index ...........................186 Project Staff .......................201 Inventories Published to Date ...............203 FOREWORD The Texas County Records Inventory Project, headquartered at North Texas State University, Denton, is a county-by-county survey of all records germane to the operations of county government located in county courthouses and other storage facilities. The Project is conducted in cooperation with Texas colleges and uni- versities, county officials, and the Texas State Library. In addition, inventories have been conducted by historical groups, civic organizations, and other interested citizens. This Project is of value for research and records preserva- tion and management. The published inventories are of immediate benefit to researchers. Documentation as to types, nature, and quantity of records enables researchers to locate material hitherto unknown and unused in the archives of county courthouses. At the same time inventories provide information concerning valuable historical records for the Regional Historical Resource Depository (RHRD) program mandated by the Texas Legislature in 1971. The data also provides a basis for informed decisions concerning records management for county officials. Records retention and disposal schedules will. be of great benefit to local governmental officials in exerting control over the overwhelming amount of records multiplying daily in courthouses across the State. The Texas County Records Inventory Project provides an invaluable service to the citizens of the State of Texas. vii PREFACE This inventory of the public records of Hays County was taken by students in the Problems in Historical Research class at Southwest Texas State University during the Spring and Sum- mer semesters of 1976. In compiling the survey, the students were greatly helped and encouraged by the county officials. We wish to express our thanks to the following for their time, patience, and cooperation: County Judge Walter ("Bud") Burnett, County Clerk Lydell Clayton, District Attorney William Rugeley, District Clerk Hazel Duncan, Sheriff Bobby Kinser, Tax Assessor- Collector Ruth Clayton, County Treasurer Judy Brackett, County Auditor Ronald Wilson, County Court-at-Law Judge Charles Ramsay, and Justices of the Peace John C. Williamson, Becky Sierra, James Hoard, James Holt, and Orlena Hehl. We should like further to thank the following students of Southwest Texas State University who did yeoman service not only in compiling the records inventory, but whose delving into dusty, musty records sometimes involved janitorial work as well as re- search: Victoria Breidenbach, Paul Cecil, Sandra Hardey, Alford Hohman, Catherine Hutzler, Albert C. Keller, Antonio Maratheftis, and James Sanderson. A special word of thanks must go to Kelly Yates who did research into modern Hays County history. Finally we would like to express our appreciation to the North Texas State University staff of the County Records Inventory Project for their help and cooperation in compiling the material. Charles Edward Clayton Merry Kone FitzPatrick Southwest Texas State University January 1977 EXPLANATORY NOTES The inventory of Hays County Courthouse records represents an exhaustive listing and description of all records now contained in the various offices and storage facilities of the county. All record entries are divided according to the office having jurisdiction and thereunder by topic. The heading indicates the current and previous titles (punctuation or wording has not been changed unless absolutely necessary for clarity), the dates of inclusion for the record, and the volume (shown by the number and dimensions for bound volumes, unbound documents, boxes, and perma- files; or by the number of cubic feet for narrow file drawers and filing cabinet drawers) . On untitled volumes or files, descriptive titles, enclosed in parentheses, are provided. If a volume or file has been mis- titled, an explanatory title pertaining to the actual contents is added following the actual title and enclosed in parentheses. A brief description of the contents follows: what information the record contains, how it is arranged, and whether it is indexed. The current or most recent description for the various records is used unless otherwjse noted in the record entry, and the arrange- ment is deleted for volumes or files with only one entry recorded therein. Self-indexed record volumes are noted as being indexed in file. Volumes indexed separately are cross-referenced to the appropriate index volume. For the purpose of this inventory, only pure indexes are cross-referenced. A volume that merely references another record will not be noted as an index. The abbreviation SPF indicates that the record is kept on a standard printed form. A further indication follows as to whether this information is handwritten or typed onto the form. Restricted records are closed to the public by law. For these descriptions, the inventory taker has used a blank standard printed form, noting the types of general information contained in these records. Condition of all records in the inventory is good unless otherwise indicated. In cases where there is a cross-reference to another entry, the title of the entry referred to is shown in capitals with the entry number in parentheses. The physical location of the records or files is omitted from the inventory, but eventually a listing of records (including a current title, varying titles, and dates) will be compiled and deposited with the appropriate county officials and at the appropriate regional depository library. This proce- dure will hopefully diminish the chances of theft of valuable county records while providing serious researchers with the means to locate the records necessary for their study. xiii Map of Hays County e Map Courtesy of The Texas Almanac xi v INTRODUCTION Rising from flat Blacklands to the stark but beautiful Hill Country Lyndon Johnson made famous, Hays County (1973 est. popula- tion 33,700) presents a varied terrain. The 650 square-mile region ascends from a 400-foot elevation in the southern portion to 1200 feet in the extreme northern, from prairie lands to the Edwards Plateau along the Balcones fault line. Because of the escarpment, the area