The Gery Witches of San Marcos: A Brief History.
Different sources throughout the years tell a story of two women, a mother and daughter, of French ancestry that settled in Colonial, or New Spain, on the San Marcos river by the name Gery (circa 1682 to 1691).
According to several accounts the mothers name was Genevieve Gery and is thought to be the daughter of Roland J. Gery. Roland was an explorer and settler of New France, and had sailed with René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, helping him to establish the coastal fort of St. Louis as a trading post between New France, and New Spain.
Unfortunately, Fort Saint Louis would suffer a similar fate as that of The Lost Colony of North Carolina. Spanish explorer, Alonso De León discovered Roland and Genevieve while attempting to locate the fort for the purposes of assessing the French presence, establish trade relations and discuss any territorial concerns that France and Spain might have had regarding the new territory.
Although De León considered Roland to be insane and unwilling to speak of Ft. St. Louis' disappearance, he would later credit Roland as an invaluable guide. To this day no one knows what happened to the French outpost only that Roland, and his daughter Genevieve, survived.
Roland and Genevieve traveled with De León, and his men, north on what would become known as the San Antonio trail, or Camino Real. The party established an encampment at the headwaters of a river, which was claimed for Spain, and named after St. Marcus, or San Marcos.
Although the historic record is not clear on this point it is believed that De León stationed a small company of men to protect the Franciscan monks, as well as the Gery family, and charged them with preparing the area for further Spanish settlement. The conquistadors were able to repel repeated raids by native peoples, and according to Franciscan records, successfully established a presidio, and mission somewhere on the banks of the San Marcos rivers headwaters. There is no mention of the Gery's at this time, other than a Franciscan record, referencing a "...Christian widower and his daughter living above the waters in the hills..." (from the original Spanish).
It was around this time that Genevieve became pregnant with Isabelle, and her father died. Church records do not record a marriage, or cause of death, but do record the baptism of Isabelle and burial of Roland. This indicates that Isabelle was born of a Catholic father, and therefore not a bastard, but this cannot be accurately confirmed. Many unconfirmed stories surround the issue of Isabelle’s paternity. Some say her father was a monk, others claim he was a native man, while still others insist that Genevieve was raped by a group of De León's men. More fantastical claims credit Satan as Isabelle’s father. It is likely that we will never know who Isabelle's true father was.
Little is known about the initial settlement that Roland, Genevieve, and Isabelle were a part of. Only one surviving written firsthand account remains, the records that we have of the Gery's and their community were recorded second hand, and years later. It is most commonly believed that the mission and outpost eventually disappeared. The most plausible explanation is that the small garrison, and mission eventually fell to native raids. As with Isabelle's paternity the fall of the first Spanish settlement of San Marcos is rife with speculation and debate. The official historical view is a matter of some disagreement. The general consensus is that De León never left a party at the river, or that if he did they soon perished at the hands of the native tribes. There is also a dispute regarding the Gery's historical veracity. Most scholars believe them to be entirely fictional, or an amalgam of several historical women throughout San Marcos' history.
The problem with the amalgam theory is that is tends to ignore, or trivialize, the churches written account of the Gery's Auto-da-fé. It is highly unlikely that the church would record, by name, a ficticous account. The matter of possible Satan worship would have been considered a vital matter during the Inquisition when accusations of witchcraft, and other heresies were considered with the utmost seriousness, and conviction by church authorities. The Catholic Church would not have wasted resources on a matter that they did not consider to be of the utmost importance. This is underscored by the fact that the church deemed it necessary to send inquisitors to San Marcos during a time when the churches resources were spread thin throughout New Spain, and the very trip was life threatening. Franciscan friar Juan-Philip Xavier de Ortiz is credited with documenting the execution of the Gery's for their sins, and subsequent crimes of blasphemy, heresy, witchcraft, and consorting with the devil. The secular charges leveled against the Gery's were murder, and slandering the Spanish crown.
According to de Ortiz's account the Gery's were escorted from their trial, to the place of execution, and placed on exhibition for the faithful "...so that they, the people, may see the fate which awaits the wicked, Holy Mother Churches power, the justice of the honorable secular authorities of His majesty the king of Spain, and God's never ending mercy, love and forgiveness." de Ortiz describes the women’s gowns, wearing the robes of the Auto-da-fé which bore the symbols of their sins, and subsequent crimes against God. de Ortiz states that the women’s composure was only broken once when Genevieve softly, and mournfully apologized to her daughter. All those who witnessed the proceedings interpreted this as a further admission of guilt. Apparently the Gery's were unrepentant, claiming their innocence to the very end. Their pleas of innocence fell upon deaf ears. The Gery's were stripped naked, and burned while hanged. Their charred, broken remains were not interred on holy ground, and in all likelihood they were buried in an unmarked grave.
Local lore maintains that their burial place is located somewhere around the old Hays county jail, and Eddie Durham Museum. Others claim that the Gery's resting place is located near Durham Park, due to the many claimed sightings of the Gery ghosts over the years.
According to several accounts the mothers name was Genevieve Gery and is thought to be the daughter of Roland J. Gery. Roland was an explorer and settler of New France, and had sailed with René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, helping him to establish the coastal fort of St. Louis as a trading post between New France, and New Spain.
Unfortunately, Fort Saint Louis would suffer a similar fate as that of The Lost Colony of North Carolina. Spanish explorer, Alonso De León discovered Roland and Genevieve while attempting to locate the fort for the purposes of assessing the French presence, establish trade relations and discuss any territorial concerns that France and Spain might have had regarding the new territory.
Although De León considered Roland to be insane and unwilling to speak of Ft. St. Louis' disappearance, he would later credit Roland as an invaluable guide. To this day no one knows what happened to the French outpost only that Roland, and his daughter Genevieve, survived.
Roland and Genevieve traveled with De León, and his men, north on what would become known as the San Antonio trail, or Camino Real. The party established an encampment at the headwaters of a river, which was claimed for Spain, and named after St. Marcus, or San Marcos.
Although the historic record is not clear on this point it is believed that De León stationed a small company of men to protect the Franciscan monks, as well as the Gery family, and charged them with preparing the area for further Spanish settlement. The conquistadors were able to repel repeated raids by native peoples, and according to Franciscan records, successfully established a presidio, and mission somewhere on the banks of the San Marcos rivers headwaters. There is no mention of the Gery's at this time, other than a Franciscan record, referencing a "...Christian widower and his daughter living above the waters in the hills..." (from the original Spanish).
It was around this time that Genevieve became pregnant with Isabelle, and her father died. Church records do not record a marriage, or cause of death, but do record the baptism of Isabelle and burial of Roland. This indicates that Isabelle was born of a Catholic father, and therefore not a bastard, but this cannot be accurately confirmed. Many unconfirmed stories surround the issue of Isabelle’s paternity. Some say her father was a monk, others claim he was a native man, while still others insist that Genevieve was raped by a group of De León's men. More fantastical claims credit Satan as Isabelle’s father. It is likely that we will never know who Isabelle's true father was.
Little is known about the initial settlement that Roland, Genevieve, and Isabelle were a part of. Only one surviving written firsthand account remains, the records that we have of the Gery's and their community were recorded second hand, and years later. It is most commonly believed that the mission and outpost eventually disappeared. The most plausible explanation is that the small garrison, and mission eventually fell to native raids. As with Isabelle's paternity the fall of the first Spanish settlement of San Marcos is rife with speculation and debate. The official historical view is a matter of some disagreement. The general consensus is that De León never left a party at the river, or that if he did they soon perished at the hands of the native tribes. There is also a dispute regarding the Gery's historical veracity. Most scholars believe them to be entirely fictional, or an amalgam of several historical women throughout San Marcos' history.
The problem with the amalgam theory is that is tends to ignore, or trivialize, the churches written account of the Gery's Auto-da-fé. It is highly unlikely that the church would record, by name, a ficticous account. The matter of possible Satan worship would have been considered a vital matter during the Inquisition when accusations of witchcraft, and other heresies were considered with the utmost seriousness, and conviction by church authorities. The Catholic Church would not have wasted resources on a matter that they did not consider to be of the utmost importance. This is underscored by the fact that the church deemed it necessary to send inquisitors to San Marcos during a time when the churches resources were spread thin throughout New Spain, and the very trip was life threatening. Franciscan friar Juan-Philip Xavier de Ortiz is credited with documenting the execution of the Gery's for their sins, and subsequent crimes of blasphemy, heresy, witchcraft, and consorting with the devil. The secular charges leveled against the Gery's were murder, and slandering the Spanish crown.
According to de Ortiz's account the Gery's were escorted from their trial, to the place of execution, and placed on exhibition for the faithful "...so that they, the people, may see the fate which awaits the wicked, Holy Mother Churches power, the justice of the honorable secular authorities of His majesty the king of Spain, and God's never ending mercy, love and forgiveness." de Ortiz describes the women’s gowns, wearing the robes of the Auto-da-fé which bore the symbols of their sins, and subsequent crimes against God. de Ortiz states that the women’s composure was only broken once when Genevieve softly, and mournfully apologized to her daughter. All those who witnessed the proceedings interpreted this as a further admission of guilt. Apparently the Gery's were unrepentant, claiming their innocence to the very end. Their pleas of innocence fell upon deaf ears. The Gery's were stripped naked, and burned while hanged. Their charred, broken remains were not interred on holy ground, and in all likelihood they were buried in an unmarked grave.
Local lore maintains that their burial place is located somewhere around the old Hays county jail, and Eddie Durham Museum. Others claim that the Gery's resting place is located near Durham Park, due to the many claimed sightings of the Gery ghosts over the years.