My Grandfather Worked at this Courthouse in Baylor County, Texas

My grandfather worked in this courthouse from about 1911 to 1915 while serving two terms as tax assessor. [1] A few years later the courthouse was remodeled.[2] 

See the planned changes for the courthouse and why they were making some of the changes at Courthouse to be Remodeled.[3]

There is a good Baylor County Banner article about the courthouse remodel published on 2 August 1917. It is not online but, you can see my 2012 transcription here.[5] 

The tall man on the right is my grandfather, Redic E. Bryan. The photo may have
been taken in 1911 as a long carriage Oliver typewriter was purchased for the county at a cost of $160 in June 1911. [6]

I purchased the photo of the Courthouse on eBay around 2001. I am sure that it was copied from a postcard. I know that it was taken before the remodeling in 1917 and the name on the horse or maybe donkey is Waller. According to the Baylor County Banner issue dated 9 September 1915, Mrs. W. R. Waller was in the "photographic business."[7]

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2022 

    1. "Tax Assessors of Baylor County," The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 5 September 1929, Golden Jubilee Number, no page or issue number; database and images, The Portal to Texas History (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth429414/m1/30/zoom/? : accessed 15 January 2022). 

    2. "Courthouse to be Remodeled," The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 12 October 1916, p.2, col. 3; database and images, The Portal to Texas History (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth429865/m1/2/zoom/? : accessed 15 January 2022). 

    3. Ibid.

    4. "The New Courthouse, Cut Shows How the Baylor County Temple of Justice Looks After Finished," microfilm, The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 2 August 1917,  p.1. Microfilm accessed April 2012 from the privately-held collection of D.B. Quinn.

    5. Diana Bryan Quinn "Family Photos: The Courthouse in Seymour" blog entry, 11 April 2012, Moments in Time: A Genealogy Blog (https://momentsintimeagenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/family-photos-courthouse-in-seymour.htmll: accessed 28 December 2021).

    6. Redic E. Bryan, photograph, ca. 1911; digital image, from the privately held photo collection of D.B. Quinn, 2022. Also, Tax assessor, R. E. Bryan, purchased a long carriage typewriter, The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 9 June 1911,  p.5, col. 2; database and images, The Portal to Texas History (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth429359/m1/6/zoom/? : accessed 15 January 2022). 

    7. C. L. Downing has gone into partnership with Mrs. Waller who is in the photographic business, The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 9 September 1915,  p.3, col. 2; database and images, The Portal to Texas History (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth429451/m1/3/zoom/? : accessed 15 January 2022). 

Clippings from The Baylor County Banner - Seymour, Texas - March 8, 1923

My grandparents, Redic E. Bryan and Myrtie Hairston, and my great-grandparent's, Phillip A. Hairston and Lodema Criswell, moved to Baylor County in 1905. My father, Whit Criswell Bryan, was born in Seymour in 1920. He was the youngest of seven children born to Redic and Myrtie. Redic and Myrtie died in the 1920s and my father moved, along with his sisters, to Borger, Texas. 

In April 2019, I visited the Texas State Library and Archives to read Baylor County Banner issues that could not be found online or on microfilm. I photographed articles with information about my father's family who lived in Seymour. While sorting through my family finds, I realized I had photos of articles that might interest others looking for family. I have pictures of numerous articles from 1923 and a few from other years. I will post as time allows. 

Thank you to Matt Gwinn at the Baylor County Banner for giving me permission to post these clippings.  

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2020

Sources

Harrison, O. C. The Baylor County Banner. (Seymour, TX.), Vol. 27*, No. 24. 8 Mar 1923. Print. Accessed 15 April 2019. 

*Note that January and February issues were part of Vol. 28. This and all March and April issues were printed as Vol. 27. In May, it goes back to Vol. 28.