Dallas County, Texas Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Dallas County Courthouse 500 Main Street Dallas, TX 75202 Phone: 214.653.7131

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage records from 1846, probate, court and land records; District Court has divorce

County Clerk

509 Main Street, Ste. 200 Dallas 75202 Phone: 214-653-7099 Fax: 214-653-7176

District Clerk

600 Commerce Street Dallas 75202 Phone: 214-653-7301

History
Dallas County, Texas is located in northeastern Texas and includes the city of Dallas and a number of other smaller communities. It was founded in the mid-1800s, and has been known for its fashion, ranching and farming marketplaces.

Parent County
1846--Dallas County was created 30 March 1846 from Robertson and Nacogdoches Counties.
 * County seat: Dallas

Record Loss
1880--Courthouse interior destroyed by fire. Courthouse was rebuilt adding a third story to the building.

1890--Courthouse destroyed by fire on 7 February 1890. All records were saved except those of the 44th District Court.

Places/Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog



Populated Places
Addison, Arcadia Park, Audelia, Balch Springs, Bethard, Bethel, Bobwyn, Bouchard, Buckingham, Carrollton, Cedar Hill, Cedarview, Centerville, Cockrell Hill, Cole, Combine, Coppell, Dallas, Dalrock, De Soto, Duck Creek, Duncanville, Eagle Ford, Estelle, Farmers Branch, Florence Hill, Fruitdale, Garland, Gifford, Glen Heights, Grand Prairie, Grapevine, Gribble, Highland Park, Hutchins, Irving, Kenwood, Kingswood, Kleberg, Lakeland Heights, Lakeview, Lancaster, Lawson, Ledbetter Hills, Lewisville, Liberty Grove, Meaders, Mesquite, Naaman, New Hope, Oak Cliff, Oldham, Ovilla, Patrick, Pleasant Grove, Pleasant Run, Pleasant Valley, Prestonwood, Rawlins, Red Bird Addition, Reinhardt, Richardson, River Oaks, Rose Hill, Rowlett, Rylie, Sachse, Sargent, Scyene, Seagoville, Shady Grove, Shamrock, Shiloh, Sowers, Sunnyvale, Trinity Mills, Tripp, University Park, Urbandale, Village, Westwood Park, White Rock, Wilmer, Woodland Hills, Wylie, Zacha Junction

Neighboring Counties
Collin •  Denton  •  Ellis  •  Kaufman  •  Rockwall  •  Tarrant

African American

 * 1865-1870 Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records (images) - FamilySearch

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


 * Map to Dallas County Cemeteries Dallas Genealogical Society

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Dallas

Lutheran

 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Dallas County, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Court
Dallas County was organized in 1846.The first court established for civil matters was the 14th District Court. Additional courts have been established: 14th, 44th, 68th, 95th, 101st, 116th, 134th, 160th, 162nd, 191st, 192nd, 193rd, and 298th. Records for the first five civil courts have been microfilmed


 * 14th District Court Record: Minute Book A (1846-1855)

Directories

 * Fold3.com ($) has Dallas City Directories 1878-1923 (8 yrs. missing) available online.

Land Records
Land records have been microfilmed and are only available on the second floor of the Records Building, 501 Main Street in downtown Dallas.

The following land records are available in the Genealogy Section of the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library.


 * Dallas County Deeds – 1846–1899, Grantor and Grantee Index - 112 rolls microfilm
 * Texas General Land Office – Abstracts of all original land titles comprising Texas land titles to Aug 31, 1845 - 8 rolls microfilm and 76 microfiche
 * Abstracts of original titles of record in the General Land Office, Texas General Land Office ( 333.3 T355A)
 * "A Cross File of Grantors and Grantees of Town Property of Dallas 1846–1856," abstracted in the DGS publication The Quarterly (March 1966)

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1906-1989 — index and images

Local Histories

 * History of Dallas County, Texas: From 1837 to 1887, 1887, by John Henry Brown. Digitized book online at archive.org.
 * Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County, Texas, published 1892, online at The Portal To Texas History. Digitized book online at archive.org: Volume 1  Volume 2

Maps



 * 1897 Map of 1897 Dallas County, Texas with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)
 * 1900 Sam Street's 1900 Dallas County Map (Texas State Library and Archives)
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site.
 * Dallas County Maps from Texas General Land Office

Military

 * 1838 - 1900 - Texas Muster Roll Index Cards 1838-1900 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Mexican-American War

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

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * Confederate Pension Applications ~ Texas State Library and Archives Commission


 * 1st Battalion, Arkansas Cavalry (Stirman's) (Confederate), COMPANY I

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * The Dallas Morning News
 * Genealogy Bank -  Read years of old copies of the Dallas Morning News online (subscription service).

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1800–1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1800–2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1846-1906 Probate packets have been indexed from 1846 - 1906. The index and packets are available through the Family History Library and Family History Centers, with films beginning with 1266753.

Taxation

 * Dallas County Tax Rolls, 1846-1896 are available through the Family History Library and Family History Centers on films 2282008-2282009 and 2282160-2282163.
 * Dallas County Tax Lists from 1846 are also available online at www.FamilySearch.org. Some of the documents are difficult to read due to dark documents and faded ink.
 * 1846-1847: Courtesy of Dallas Genealogical Society

Births
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1903-1935 Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 at FamilySearch - images and index
 * 1903-1997 Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 at FamilySearch - index

Marriages
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * Application for Copy of Marriage Record. Copies of marriage records can be obtained from the County Clerk's office. Instructions, plus the form to use, are on the County's web site, but not easily located.  Click on this title link and scroll down to the bottom of the page.
 * Dallas County Marriage Record Alphabetical Index, 1846-1963, is available on microfilm in the Genealogy Section of the Dallas Public Library.
 * Marriage Book O is available on the Dallas Genealogical Society Web site. 
 * 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 Texas, Marriage Collection, 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1837-1973 Texas Marriages, 1837-1973 - FamilySearch record collection
 * 1837-1977 Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977 at FamilySearch - index
 * 1837-1977 Texas, Select County Marriage Index, 1837-1977 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1966-2010 Texas Marriages, 1966-2010 - FamilySearch record collection

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1890-1976 (FamilySearch) - The name index was created by FamilySearch and is tied to images of the Texas death certificates. Few certificates are available prior to 1903 and in many counties prior to 1910. Fold3.com also has Texas Deaths, 1890-1976 ($) available online.
 * 1903-1973 Texas Deaths and Burials 1903-1973 (index)  -  FamilySearch
 * 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1903-2000 Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
 * 1964-1998 (FamilySearch) - Index to Texas statewide death certificates covering 4 million deaths since 1964.
 * 1977-1986 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * Dallas County Mortality Schedules for 1850, 1860 and 1870 are available on the Dallas Genealogical Society Website.

Divorces
Online Divorce Indexes and Records


 * 1837-1841 Texas divorces were originally handled by the Texas Congress from 1837 to 1841. District courts began to handle divorces in 1841.  Abstracts of the 14th District Court (Dallas County) Minute Book A are available on the Dallas Genealogical Society Web site.
 * 1846–1905 Divorces, Dallas County, TX, 1846–1905, abstracted by Jim Monaghan (929.37642 M734D), is also available at the Dallas Public Library.
 * 1968-2005 Texas Divorce Records 1968-2005 (index) - Hidden Ancestors
 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorce Index, 1968-2011 available online from Ancestry.com ($). The Dallas Public Library has a library account to Ancestry.com which may be searched for free in the 8th floor Genealogy Department of the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library. The Dallas Public Library also has the divorce index on microfiche.
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * Dallas County District Court Civil Case Papers have been microfilmed. They are available on the 7th floor Texas/Dallas History Dept. of the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library. Microfilm are through 1940.  For information contact Genealogy@dallascityhall.com.
 * Dallas County District Court Clerk has a case information system accessible at the following web address:

http://www.dallascounty.org/applications/english/record-search/rec-search_intro.php

Un-redacted copies of Family court records may be obtained at the District Clerk’s Records Department:

George Allen Courts Building

600 Commerce Street

Basement - West

Dallas, TX 75202
 * Divorce cases are also available on microfilm through interlibrary loan from the Texas State Library and Archives or through a local family history center. These are in order by case number, but there is an index. Check the TSL information for a description.

Societies and Libraries
Dallas Historical Society PO Box 150038 Dallas 75315

Dallas Genealogical Society PO Box 12648 Dallas 75225-0648

Dallas County East Genealogical Society 7637 Mary Dan Drive Dallas, Texas 75217 Website

Dallas Jewish Historical Society 7900 Northaven Road Dallas TX 75230 Website

Duncanville Genealogical Society PO Box 381147 Duncanville TX 75138

Grand Prairie Genealogical Society PO Box 532026 Grand Prairie, Texas 75053 Website

The Grand Prairie Genealogical Society covers parts of the City in two counties. About 2/3 of Grand Prairie are in Dallas County with the remaining 1/3 in Tarrant County. However, this is based on modern boundaries. Before WW II (when Grand Prairie boomed due to, among other things, moving a major avaition plant from Connecticut to Texas) all of Grand Prairie was in Dallas County. As far as I know, GP is not one of the cities in Dallas County that was allowed to record its own vital events.

Hispanic Organization for Genealogy and Research  PO Box 497891 Garland TX 75049-7891

Irving Genealogical Society PO Box 170881 Irving TX 75017-0881

Lancaster Genealogical Society 220 Main Street, Lancaster Texas 75146 Website

Mesquite Genealogical Society PO Box 850165 Mesquite TX 75185-0165


 * Dallas Historical Society
 * Dallas County Pioneer Association
 * Bridwell Library at Southern Methodist University
 * Dallas Public Library, Genealogy Section
 * Dallas Public Library, Texas/Dallas History

Family History Centers

 * Dallas Texas Family History Center (Duncanville)
 * Dallas Texas East Family History Center
 * Lewisville Texas Family History Center
 * Richardson Texas Family History Center

Websites

 * USGenWeb
 * US GenWeb Archives
 * Jim Wheat's Dallas County, Texas Archives
 * The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.