Bell County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Bell County Texas ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Texas Online Genealogy Records

Description
The county was named for Peter Hansborough Bell, the third governor of Texas. The County is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage, probate and land records from 1850, military records and school census; Clerk District Court has divorce records from 1850, court and naturalization records

County Clerk

P.O. Box 480 Belton 76513 Phone: 254-933-5165 Fax: 254-933-5176

District Clerk

P.O. Box 909 Belton 76513 Phone: 254-933-5190 Fax: 254-933-5199 Bell County Website

Quick History
Settled, abandoned and resettled several times due to Indian troubles.

Parent County
22 January 1850: Bell County was created from Milam County.

The county was named for Peter H. Bell, (1812-1898). Peter Hansborough Bell, governor of Texas, was born on May 12, 1812, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. He engaged in business in Petersburg until he left Virginia to fight for the independence of Texas.

Record Loss
1891--The treasurer's office of the Bell County Courthouse caught fire, March 15, 1891. Probably arson. No record loss.

Places/Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog



Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

Neighboring Counties
Burnet •  Coryell  •  Falls  •  Lampasas  •  McLennan  •  Milam  •  Williamson

African American

 * 1865-1970 Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records(images) - FamilySearch
 * Texas African American Griots ~  USGenWeb
 * AfriGeneas ~  African Ancestored Genealogy

Cemeteries
Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information.

Census

 * 1860 Bell County Census - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1870 Bell County Census - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1880 Bell County Census - USGenWeb Archives Project

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1906-1989-- — index and images

Local Histories

 * Bell County Bibliography -  TXGenWeb
 * Bell County Photographs - TXGenWeb
 * Surnames - TXGenWeb
 * Historical Timeline - Wikipedia

Maps

 * Texas Land Survey Maps for (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * 1881- Belton Panoramic Map from the Amon Carter Museum.
 * Bell County Maps
 * Hometown Locator map
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site

Military

 * Military in Bell County - USGenWeb Archives Project

Mexican-American War

 * 1845-1848 US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War at Ancestry.com — index $

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1838-1900 Texas Muster Roll Index Cards at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * Bell County Rangers and Confederate Vet Muster List - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Confederate Pension Applications - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Confederate Indigent Families - USGenWeb Archives Project

World War I

 * 1917-1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
Off-line Newspaper Information Online Newspapers Online Newspaper Abstracts Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1800 – 2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records 1800-2000 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1800 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1840 - 1981 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903 - 1935 Texas, Birth Certificates (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903 - 1997 Texas Birth Index (index) - FamilySearch

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * 1802 - 2010 - Texas, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1814 - 1909 and 1966-2011 - Texas Marriage Collection at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1837 - 1965 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1837 - 1973 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1837 - 1977 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1837 - 1977 - Texas Select County Marriage Index at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1966 - 2005 - Texas Marriage Records ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * 1966 - 2010 - Texas, Marriages - FamilySearch record collection

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1890 - 1976 Texas Death Records [with images] Name index and images of statewide death certificates, 1890-1976. The name index has been created by FamilySearch and is tied to images of the Texas death certificates. Few certificates are available prior to 1903
 * 1903 - 1973 Texas Deaths and Burials (index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903 - 1973 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903 - 1982 Texas Death Certificates at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1903 - 2000 Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
 * 1964 - 1998 Texas Death Index [no images] Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.
 * 1977 - 1986 at FamilySearch.org — index

Divorce

 * 1968 - 2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968 - 2011 Texas Divorces at Ancestry.com — index $

Societies and Libraries
East Bell County Genealogical Society 3219 Meadow Oaks Drive c/o PO Box 75 Temple, TX 76503-0075 website

West Bell Genealogical Society Killeen Public Library 205 East Church Street Killeen, Texas website

Lena Armstrong Public Library (City of Belton) http://www.ci.belton.tx.us/index.aspx?nid=71 kkroll@ci.belton.tx.us 301 E. 1st Avenue Belton, Texas 76513 [ MAP ] (254) 933-5830 (254) 933-5831 fax

Harker Heights Public Library http://www.ci.harker-heights.tx.us/default.aspx?name=lib.welcome 400 Indian Trail Harker Heights, TX 76548 [ MAP ] 254-953-5491

Killeen Family History Library (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) 1410 S 2nd St Killeen, Bell, TX 76541 [ MAP ] Phone: 254-526-2918

Killeen Public Library http://www.ci.killeen.tx.us/index.php?section=71 205 E. Church Ave Killeen, Texas 76541 [ MAP ] (254) 501-8990

Temple Public Library http://www.youseemore.com/TemplePL/default.asp 100 West Adams Ave Temple TX 76501 [ MAP ] Circulation Desk: (254) 298-5556 Reference Desk: (254) 298-5702

Temple College Hubert M. Dawson Library library@templejc.edu http://www.templejc.edu/library/library.html 2600 South First Street Temple, Texas 76504 [ MAP ] (254) 298-8426 or (800)460-4636 ext 8426 (Texas only)

University of Mary Hardin Baylor Townsend Memorial Library 900 College St Belton, TX 76513 [ MAP ] http://umhblib.umhb.edu/ library@umhb.edu (254) 295-4637 *


 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Societies
Bell County Historical Commission http://www.bellcountytx.com/Historical/index.htm PO Box 712 Belton TX 76513-0712 (254) 933-5917 hist.comm@co.bell.tx.us Office is in the restored Bell County Courthouse (Belton)

Central Texas Genealogical Society http://ctgs.org/ West Waco Library and Genealogy Center 5301 Bosque Blvd Suite 275 Waco, Texas 76710 [ MAP ] Email: ctgs@ctgs.org

Bell County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 1493 Temple, TX 76503-1493 Meeting Location: Temple Public Library (McLane Room)

Salado Historical Society http://www.saladohistoricalsociety.com/ Salado Historical Society PO Box 251 Salado, Texas, 76571

Sons of the American Revolution Heart of Texas Chapter Heart of Texas Chapter

Sons of Confederate Veterans Major Robert M. White Camp #1250 http://www.scvtemple.com Location: Cotton Patch Cafe, Temple Mall

Websites

 * The Bell County TXGenWeb Project, a member of The TXGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Bell County.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Bell County. (Backup site)
 * FamilySearch Catalog for Bell County. The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications)  This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.