Juan D. Vargas (groom) and Gabriela Fuentes (bride) married in 1920 in Paris Texas. He was 17 years her senior. She was 21 when she married him and he 38.
They were wed at Our Lady Victory Catholic Church. Here is some history on the church which is still in existence:
The first Catholic Mass in Paris is believed to have been celebrated in 1863, in the home of Dr. Birmingham, on what is now 6th Street S.E. The celebrant of that first service was Father Thomas Hennessay, a circuit rider priest. Other early services were held on Clarksville Street at the home of George Thebo. The home had a private chapel which served as headquarters for priests before the first church building was erected.
Initially, Paris was a mission. The first Catholic Church was built in 1880 on Pine Bluff Street, on a lot donated by Mr. Huddle. The church was named Our Lady of Victory, which came from the naval battle of Lepanto (in the Mediterranean), on October 7, 1571, in which the Christians defeated the Turks. The victory was attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as many people had prayed the rosary during the battle.
The first church was a small frame building. The property was later sold, and the little church was moved by wagon to a property on Clarksville Street donated by N. English. This early church was destroyed by fire on August 31, 1897 and rebuilt. In 1888, the Thebo family donated a bell to the church.
On August 14, 1907, the cornerstone was laid for a new church. On November 15, 1908 the Most Reverend E. J. Dunne, Bishop of Dallas, dedicated the new church. This church was located on Clarksville Street on the lot east of the old St. Joseph’s Hospital and the site of the present hospital. Additionally, there was a parochial school, Notre Dame Academy, taught by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. A second fire later destroyed much of Paris, Texas on March 21, 1916, but miraculously spared the church and the hospital. The 1911 school had eight teachers and included both elementary and high school grades. In 1932, because of the Great Depression, the high school portion of the school was discontinued.