On This Day: November 15

1905: My paternal grandparents, Jasper Jackson Spurlock and Mamie Olive Martindale, were married, probably in Cushing, Nacogdoches County, Texas. [Source: Spurlock, Mamie Olive (Martindale), Scrapbook, ca 1950-1970; privately held by Cheryl Anne (Chaney) Beaver, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Lone Grove, Oklahoma. 2010. Photocopy in possession of Denise Spurlock.]

For several years I have been searching for additional documentation of this marriage. I have searched the Nacogdoches County marriage records on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and the original marriage book at the Nacogdoches County Courthouse. Both the bride and groom indexes indicate the marriage record is on page 463 as seen on the following images (near the bottom of each page):

Nacogdoches County, Texas, Marriage Book I,
Groom Index; FHL microfilm 1003584.

Nacogdoches County, Texas, Marriage Book I,
Reverse Index (Brides); FHL microfilm 1003584.

However, page 463 contains the marriage records of two other couples:

Nacogdoches County, Texas, Marriage Book I, 463; FHL microfilm 1003584.

I have searched both the microfilm and the marriage book page-by-page and could not locate the Spurlock-Martindale record. The only scenario I can come up with to explain the missing record is the document was loose and inserted at page 463 in accordance with the date of the marriage, and, when the marriage book was microfilmed, the certificate was removed and misplaced.

I also have a copy of an undated marriage announcement clipped from an unknown newspaper. On a recent visit to the Dallas Public Library, I searched microfilmed copies of the Nacogdoches, Texas, Daily Sentinel, for the period from November 15 to December 1, 1905, and did not find the original. Following is a copy of the article: 

Someday I hope to find either the marriage record or the newspaper in which the announcement appeared. Or perhaps some other documentation will surface to corroborate the information I have.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock