Leon County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties L  Leon County

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

County Courthouse
Leon County Courthouse PO Box 98 Centerville, TX 75833-0098 Phone: 903.536.2352 County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage records from 1885, probate records from 1846, court and land records

County Clerk

P.O. Box 98 Centerville 75833 Phone: 903-536-2352

District Clerk

P.O. Box 39 Centerville 75833 Phone: 903-536-2227

The original Courthouse and County Seat was at Leona. It was organized July 13, 1846. The first court was held at the home of Moses Campbell and then a log courthouse was built. After a heated battle, which included the killing of one man and the wounding of another, the County Seat was moved to Centerville in October 1850.

History
Named for: This county was named for Martin de Leon, a native of Tamaulipas, Mexico who was born in 1765.

Parent County
1846--Leon County was created 17 March 1846 from Robertson County. County seat: Centerville

Record Loss
1885--A fire on the night of November 9, 1885 destroyed the courthouse. After the ashes and debris were cleared away, it was found that the brick remained in good condition and that the brick and two large safes left standing could be refurbished. Many records were lost and I do not know what the contents of the safes were. Most of the records for the county were destroyed.

Places / Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog



Populated Places

 * Buffalo, located near the Freestone County line, is the largest community in Leon Co.
 * Centerville, the County Seat
 * Hilltop Lakes
 * Jewett
 * Malvern
 * Marquez
 * Middleton
 * Normangee
 * Nineveh
 * Oakwood
 * Red Branch

Neighboring Counties
Anderson •  Brazos  •  Freestone  •  Houston  •  Limestone  •  Madison  •  Robertson

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


 * Brushy Cemetery, Marques BillionGraves
 * Leon Co. Cemetery Index

Local Histories

 * A Memorial and Biographical History of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon Counties, Texas, 1883. Digital book on line from the Portal to Texas History.

Maps



 * Texas Land Survey Maps for (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site.

Military

 * 1838 - 1900 Texas Muster Roll Index Cards 1838-1900 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1845 - 1848 US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War 1845-1848 at Ancestry.com — index $

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 Texas, Births and Christenings, 1840-1981 - FamilySearch
 * 1903-1935 Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903-1997 Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 (index) - FamilySearch

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 Texas Marriage Collection 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1895-1910 Marriage Records Brides 1895-1910 and various years indexed by brides - Leon County.
 * 1895-1910 Marriage Records Grooms 1895-1910 and various years indexed by grooms - Leon County.
 * 1837-1973 Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973 - FamilySearch record collection
 * 1837-1977 Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977 FamilySearch records collection.
 * 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 Texas Death Records 1890 – 1976 [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 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1964-1998 Texas Death Index 1964 to 1998 [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

 * 1968-2005 Texas Divorce Records1968-2005 (index) - Hidden Ancestors
 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $

Societies and Libraries
Leon Co. Genealogical Society P.O. Box 400 Centerville, TX 75833 903-536-2710 Hours of operation: 1PM to 4PM Monday through Friday

Web Sites

 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county