Hi,

Thank you for that information. I had actually found that criminal record before, but not that much info. I believe this Lewis Gardner was living in Smith County, Texas. I think I found him on the 1880 Census and his race was black, so it's definitely not the same.

Do you know of any criminal records in the Beaumont area, Houston County, Johnson County, and the Brownsville area?

I've only done research on the internet, and I hear searching through microfilm newspapers is very difficult.