Herschell R. Spears wrote: >My Maternal Great Grandfather, James Henry Ray, was shot and killed >by a neighbor in Blossom, Lamar County, Texas sometime in the year >1900. The name of the neighbor, according to family history, was >Gossett (probably John Gossett). > >There was a fire in the county seat, Paris, Texas, in the year 1916. >All records pertinent to this case were destroyed. <snip> As I mentioned before, I know next to nothing about Texas records, but I just checked two versions of the Handybook for Genealogists and Redbook, and none of them mention a significant record loss in Lamar Co., TX. While there are no death records before 1903, and it is entirely possible there are no remaining criminal records, these references indicate that marriage, probate, civil court, and land records exist from 1843. I'd sure be checking probate, civil court, and land records for any possible clues. Unless I lived nearby in Texas, my first step would be to check the online FHLC at www.familysearch.com to see what might be on microfilm that I could order for a very small fee at a local Family History Center). Often, when there were courthouse fires/floods, many records were saved. There are persistent rumors, for example, that two court house fires in Harrison Co., MO destroyed all records, and that could not be farther from the truth. Though some records were lost, there are many, many types of records that were saved and still exist back to the founding of the county in the late 1840s. County clerks are not hired to do genealogy, so they may not always be willing to go dust them off in the basement (or attic) unless you're there in person to look (or you pay or beg a local person they know to look at them for you). Connie clsheets1@prodigy.net