Early Life and Family
Garner was born near the village of Detroit in Red River County in eastern Texas, to John Nance Garner, III, and his wife, the former Sarah Jane Guest. Garner attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, for one semester before dropping out and returning home. He was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He eventually studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1890, and began practice in Uvalde, Uvalde County, Texas.
In 1893, Garner entered politics, running for County Judge of Uvalde County. (Although the County Judge in Texas is now primarily the chief administrative officer of a County, comparable to the Mayor of a City, the office is a judicial position and the County Judge sits in small civil cases, misdemeanor criminal cases, and probate cases.) At that time, Democrats entirely dominated politics in Texas, and the Democratic nomination for an office was tantamount to election. Thus the Democratic primary election was the real election, with the general election being a formality.
Garner was opposed in the County Judge primary by a woman - Mariette Rheiner, a rancher's daughter. They married a week after meeting. They had one child, Josiah Charles Nance Garner.
Garner was elected County Judge, and served until 1896.
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