Harris County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties H  Harris County

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

County Courthouse
Harris County Courthouse 1001 Preston 4th Floor Houston, TX 77251-1525 Phone: 713.755.6405 County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage and land records from 1836, probate records form late 1800’s, court  records from 1920’s and immirgration records 1880-1890; District Clerk has divorce records

Parent County
1836--Harris County was created 17 March 1836 from Old Mexican Municipality. County seat: Houston

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Harris County border changes.

Populated Places
Baytown | Bellaire | Bunker Hill Village | Deer Park | El Lago | Fairbanks | Galena Park | Hedwig Village | Hilshire Village | Houston | Humble | Hunters Creek Village | Jacinto City | Jersey Village | Katy (partly in Fort Bend and Waller Counties) | La Porte | Morgans Point | Nassau Bay | Pasadena | Piney Point Village | Seabrook | Shore Acres | South Houston | Southside Place | Spring Valley Village | Taylor Lake Village | Tomball | Webster | West University Place

Neighboring Counties
Brazoria •  Chambers  •  Fort Bend  •  Galveston  •  Liberty  •  Montgomery  •  Waller

Additional Cemetery Sources

 * At Rest: A Historical Directory of Harris County, Texas Cemeteries (1822-2001) Including Burial Customs and Other Interesting Facts, With a Listing of Past and Present Communities, Funeral Homes and Monument Companies, by Trevia Wooster Beverly, Houston: Tejas Publications &amp; Research, c. 1995; 2001.
 * Glenwood Cemetery established in 1871 by the Houston Cemetery Company
 * Washington Cemetery established in 1887 by the Deutsche Gesellschaft von Houston
 * Houston &amp; Texas Death Records Webpage: Containts Indexes to:
 * Fogle West Funeral Home
 * Alief Cemetery, Houston
 * Crosby Cemetery, Barrett One of two cemeteries on FM 1942, the other is just north of this one.
 * Earthman Resthaven Cemetery, Houston
 * Ehrhardt Cemetery, Houston
 * Evergreen Cemetery, Crosby
 * Houston National Cemetery, Houston
 * Hufsmith Cemetery (also known as Bogs Cemetery), Tomball
 * Olivewood Cemetery, Houston
 * Sacred Heart Cemetery, Barrett One of the cemeteries on FM 1942 described above.
 * Saint John Cemetery, Cypress
 * Willow Creek Cemetery, Tomball
 * de Zavalla Cemetery, Channelview

Court

 * Harris County District Clerk

Education

 * Rice University Yearbooks: 1916-1935

Local Histories

 * Houston Public Library/Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research

Maps



 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site
 * Map of 1897 Harris County, Texas with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)

Newspapers

 * Houston Chronicle Newspaper
 * Kingwood Observer Obituary Index 1993-2008
 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Texas newspapers including Galveston from the early 1800's.

Vital Records

 * Harris County Clerk Searchable Indexes http://www.cclerk.hctx.net/applications/websearch/

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


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

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977 ~ FamilySearch records collection 
 * Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973  ~  FamilySearch record collection
 * Texas, Marriages, 1966-2010  ~  FamilySearch record collection

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * (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.
 * (FamilySearch) - Index to Texas statewide death certificates covering 4 million deaths since 1964.

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Divorce

 * Texas Divorce Records 1968 - 2005 (index) -  Hidden Ancestors

Societies and Libraries

 * Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research 5300 Caroline Houston, Texas Part of the Houston Public Library system it is on its own two full city block complex with multiple buildings. One of the nations' "top ten," and the "jewel" in Houston's genealogy crown.
 * Baytown Historical Preservation Association PO Box 1244 Baytown TX 77522-1244. Living History Museum Complex at the Republic of Texas Plaza 5117 North Main St.
 * Humble Area Genealogical Society Following ancestral footsteps in and around Atascocita, Crosby, Huffman, Kingwood, New Caney, Porter, Splendora, and Humble, Texas.
 * Chaparral Genealogical Society 310 North Live Oak P.O. Box 606, Tomball, TX. 77377-0606 281-516-7417 Library Hours: Mon.- Wed. 10-2 Sat. 10-2 Closed 4th Sat. of every month.
 * Atascocita-Kingwood Genealogical Society

Family History Centers

 * Baytown Texas Family History Center
 * Clear Lake Texas Family History Center (Houston)
 * Houston Texas Family History Center
 * Houston Texas North Family History Center
 * Katy Texas Family History Center
 * Kingwood Texas Family History Center
 * Klein Texas Family History Center
 * Pasadena Texas Family History Center
 * Pine Trails Texas Family History Center (Houston)
 * Shadowdale Texas Family History Center (Houston)
 * Tomball Texas Family History Center

Websites

 * Harris County Family History and Genealogy, a part of the TXGenWeb and USGenWeb projects.
 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county