Fort Bend County, Texas Genealogy

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

Texas Online Genealogy Records

Description
The county was named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Fort Bend County Courthouse 301 Jackson St; PO Box 520 Richmond, TX 77469 Phone: 281.341.8685

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage and land records from 1838, probate records from 1836 and court records from 1876

County Clerk

301 Jackson St. Richmond 77469 Phone: 281-341-8652 Fax: 281-341-8669

District Clerk

301 Jackson St. Richmond 77469 Phone: 281-633-7632

Parent County
1837--Fort Bend County was created 29 December 1837 from Austin, Brazoria, and Harris Counties.
 * County seat: Richmond

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

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. ±Former community annexed by Missouri City. †Former community annexed by Sugar Land.

Neighboring Counties
Austin •  Brazoria  •  Harris  •  Waller  •  Wharton

African American

 * African American Griots ~ USGenWeb
 * AfriGeneas ~ African Ancestored Genealogy
 * Texas African American Genealogy~ Access Genealogy
 * 1865 - 1870 (images) - How to Use this Collection

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

Additional Cemetery Sources


 * African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries
 * Cemetery Junction ~  Links to cemetery transcriptions
 * Houston, Texas, Historic Hollywood Cemetery Records, 1895-2008 at Ancestry - index & images, ($).''

Census

 * 1850 Census Index by Surname ~ USGenWeb
 * 1850 Census Pages ~ USGenWeb
 * 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project Texas

Church
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Texas Christian Church Directory~ ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in Texas
 * FamilySearch Places

Land

 * Land Survey Abstract Indicies ~ USGenWeb

Local Histories

 * History of Fort Bend County,containing biographical sketches of many noted characters, 1904, by Andrew Jackson Sowell.
 * The Book of Fort Bend County, 1926, compiled by S. A. McMillan.
 * The History of Fort Bend County, 1822-1861, 1939 by Jim L. Bridges.
 * Wharton's History of Fort Bend County, 1939, by Clarence Wharton.
 * Fort Bend County Sesquicentennial, 1822-1972, 1972, by the Fort Bend County Sesquicentennial Association.
 * The Jay Bird Democratic Association of Fort Bend County, 1979, by Pauline Yelderman.
 * Fort Bend County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.

Maps

 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military

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

Mexican-American War

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

Civil War

 * 1861 - 1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * Civil War Indigent Families List ~ USGenWeb
 * Confederate Pension Applications ~ USGenWeb

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * w3newspapers -  Texas Newspaper Index with links
 * Newslink -  Texas Newspaper List (sorted by publication frequency)
 * The Olden Times  -   Historic Texas News Online
 * Texas Digital Newspaper Program at The Portal to Texas History

Obituaries

 * Fort Bend County Obituary Database searchable, online database of Fort Bend County related obituaries, from the Fort Bend County Libraries.
 * USGenWeb Archives Obituary Project ~  Texas
 * Afrigeneas ~ African American death notices, obituaries and funeral programs compiled by users from current newspapers and historical sources
 * Obituary Depot ~ Texas Newspaper Citations
 * Obituary Daily Times ~ Citations to over 15,000,000 obituaries (Ancestry)

Probate
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1800–1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1800–2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records ~ Ancestry.com (subscription)

Taxation

 * 1846-1910 Texas, County Tax Rolls 1846-1910 at Findmypast ($) — index and images

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1903 - 1935 (images and index) - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903 - 1997 (index only) - How to Use this Collection
 * 1926-1995 Texas Births, 1926 - 1995 at MyHeritage ($) — index

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 — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1837 - 1973 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1837 - 1977 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1837-1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1857-1965 Texas, U.S., Select County Marriage Records at Ancestry.com — index & images, ($)
 * 1966 - 2010 - FamilySearch record collection - How to Use this Collection
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1890-1976 with images - How to Use this Collection 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 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1903 - 2000 (index) - How to Use this Collection
 * 1964 - 1998 (no images) - How to Use this Collection Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.
 * 1977 - 1986 — index - How to Use this Collection

Divorce

 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1968 - 2010 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces at [http://home.ancestry.com/ Ancestry.com — index $

Societies and Libraries
Sugar Land Historical Society 302 Oyster Creek Sugar Land 77478-3225 Website

Ft. Bend County Genealogical Society PO Box 274 Richmond 77469 Website

George Memorial Library (has extensive genealogy and history department on the second floor) 1001 Golfview Dr Richmond, TX 77469 Telephone Number: 281-342-4455 website


 * Society Hill ~  Links and addresses to Texas genealogical and historical societies

FamilySearch Centers

 * Bear Creek Texas West FamilySearch Center
 * Friendswood Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Houston Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Katy Texas FamilySearch Center
 * League City Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Melbourne Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Pasadena Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Pine Trails Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Richmond Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Shadowdale Texas FamilySearch Center


 * Houston Public Library Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research - an affiliate library
 * Lawrence County Public Library - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Fort Bend County Archives ~  USGenWeb
 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.
 * USGenWeb Texas Archives Vital statistics, maps, obituaries, Bible records, tombstone transcriptions and many other records.
 * The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.
 * Fort Bend County Libraries
 * Oral Histories