Historical presentation on tap

The life story of former Lampasas County Sheriff and Lampasas City Marshal Nelson O. Reynolds is now told in a biography by noted authors Chuck Parsons and Donaly E. Brice.

These two historians will be the featured speakers at the Lampasas County Historical Commission's meeting set Monday at the county courthouse beginning at 3:30 p.m.

The public is invited.

Reynolds, a Civil War veteran and Texas Ranger in the 1870s, served as Lampasas County sheriff from 1886-90. He also operated saloons in Lampasas and served as city marshal.

His experiences as a Texas Ranger were filled with excitement, having scouted after marauding Indians and hunting fugitives from justice.

He was involved in Mason County's "Hoo Doo War" in 1875 and brought an end to the Horrell- Higgins feud of Lampasas County in 1877.

Parsons is a retired high school principal, having worked in Minnesota and Wisconsin schools before moving to Texas to continue his research and writing about Texas outlaws, lawmen and gunfighters.

Beside the Reynolds biography, Parsons has authored his first full-length biography of John B. Armstrong, noted Texas Ranger and rancher, as well as a biography of Ranger Leander H. McNelly.

Brice is a research specialist at the Texas State Archives and Library and is well known as a professional researcher and speaker on topics dealing with Texas history.

His books include "The Great Comanche Raid," and with the late Barry A. Crouch, "Cullen Montgomery Baker: Reconstruction Desperado." Brice's current study of the Texas State Police is to be released in 2009 from the University of Texas Press.