Grayson County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties G  Grayson County

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



County Courthouse
Grayson County Courthouse

The Grayson County Courthouse &amp; Official Flag

History


The first courthouse was constructed in 1847 and torn down in 1858, the story passed down is that some men were drunk and made a bet on how many eggs were in a goose's nest under the building; so they tore it down to find out!

This old photograph had this statement attched; "I, J.P. Loving, do hereby certify that the above photogrpah is a true picture of the first court house built in the present town of Sherman, Texas, and that it was customary for juries trying cases in said court house to retire to the shade of the old Pecan tree, then standing on the public square to consider their verdict" signed Jesse P. Loving.

The pecan tree he mentioned was used as a bank of sorts. People would hang their saddlebags and other personal property on or under the old pecan tree and they knew everything would be safe on their reurn. Even bags of gold were left there undisturbed. No one is ever known to have violated the sanctity of this 'bank'.

Grayson County is located at the top of Texas and is home to the famed Preston Road. This road was a major pioneer road, crossing the Red River into Texas. Just to the east of the Preston Road was the Shawnee Trail, the first cattle drive road in Texas. This cattle trail crossed the Red River in a natural rock formed cattle shute and herds passed through the Indian Nations in Oklahoma to reach the railheads in Kansas.

The Butterfield Overland Mail route also passed through Grayson county, this land was a vital link for pioneers entering the West.

Above is an Old Bois d' Arc Tree in a field of Indian Blanket Flowers. This area of Texas is a rich land, beautiful with rolling hills, prairie grasses; native pecan, oak, hackberry, elms, black walnut, chinaberry, blackjack, and more, and of course our famous Bois d'arc trees forrest the land.

Bois d'arc trees were a cash crop in the 1800's, used as a windbreak and a living livestock fence, this tree originated in Grayson County and its neighbor to the east, Fannin County, Texas and is one of the few trees left in the world that is prehistoric. It was ironic for the American Soldiers from Texas to have to break through the Bois d'arch hedges of France and Germany in WWI &amp; WWII. Every one of the trees that impeded our tanks and troups, came from 'back home'. This tree is called by many names, hedgeapple, horseapple, Texas orange, Osage Orange, ironwood and other names. It was of course named for its main historical use, 'Wood of the Bow'. Bows made of Bois d'arc wood were found anciently deep in South America. The Natives traded the bows and the wood far and wide.

Grayson County is home to the two Americans' to receive France's highest honor, the French Legion of Honor. Dwight D. Eisenhour, who was born in Denison, Grayson County and Thomas V. Munson, who saved Europe's grape &amp; wine industy by his research and development of using grafts of our Texas native grapevine stock to save them from extinction.

Lake Texoma, one of largest reservoirs in the United States was a project envolving placing a large dam just North of Denison,Texas in the 1940's and is a very popular vacation spot today. It is the home of two wildlife habitats. This lake ended most of the flooding from the Red River.

Grayson County is a beautiful place to live.


 * Read about early Grayson County, Texas
 * Read More about Grayson County, Texas
 * Articles about Grayson County History

Parent County was Fannin County - Grayson County was formed May 17, 1846

County seat: Sherman



Grayson County Frontier Village in Denison, Texas is a place where Grayson County history is brought to life. It also houses a database of Katy Railroad Workers and has a research center in the museum building. They are glad to help patrons with their genealogical search.


 * Read More about Frontier Village

Record Loss


1930 Fire--The Third Grayson County courthouse was burned by a mob on May 9, 1930. However ALL of the vital records, land records, and most court records were saved from this fire. The courthouse had records in fire proof rooms and storage areas.

Populated Places
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog



Sherman is the county seat, other towns and communities alphabetically; Bells (formerly called Bailey Junction, Gospel Ridge, Bellsplain and Belvue); Collinsville (previously called Springville and Toadsuck); Denison; Dorchester; Gordonville; Gunter; Howe (first called Summit); Luella; Pottsboro; Sadler, Southmayd; Tioga; Tom Bean; Van Alstyne; Whitesboro (previous names-City of Divide, The Wolfe Path; White Settlement; White Colony);  and Whitewright. Visit My Grayson County Town Page

Small Communities and Archaic Place Names
Ambrose, Basin Springs, Bethel, Blackmon Chapel; Blanks Community; Bliss; Cannon; Carpenters Bluff; Cedar Mills; Center; Choctaw; Desert; Devoignes; Dixie; Dripping Springs; Elmont; Ellsworth; Enterprise; Farmington; Fink; Friendship; Gage; Georgetown; Hackberry; Hagerman; Hayhurst; Highway; Ida; Jamison (Jameson); Kentuckytown; Knollwood; Locust;Macomb; Mantua; Marilee; Nance Prairie; Needle Ridge (Christian Chapel Community); Norton; Oak Grove; Oxford Community; Pilot Grove; Pink Hill; Plainview; Preston; Quillen; Red Branch; Red River City; Rock Creek; Rose Hill; Sanborn; Sandusky; Sedalia (also called Yakima); Smith Oaks; South Gale; Sperry; Warner Junction; Washita Bend; Waterloo; Whitemound; Whiterock; ; and Woodlake (also called Tanyard Springs). I'm sure I'll find more!

Neighboring Counties
Bryan County, Oklahoma •  Collin  •  Cooke  •  Denton  •  Fannin  •  Marshall County, Oklahoma

Resources

 * Grayson County,Texas ~ TXGenWeb- maps, biographical and historical data, cemeteries, obituaries, articles and all kinds of useful information.
 * Grayson County, Texas - Official County Website
 * Online books about Grayson County, Texas
 * The Handbook of Texas Online - Searchable
 * Biographical Souvenir of Texas - 1889

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

This is the most complete collection of Grayson County, TX cemetery information on the web is on the Grayson County TXGenWeb.

Additional Cemetery Sources


Grayson County's beautiful rolling green hills hold more than 200 cemeteries.


 * Google Map of Grayson County Cemeteries.

Churches

 * Grayson County Churches, Photographs, Historical Markers, Links Books ~ onlne!
 * Many Grayson County Books are online and complete!

Schools

 * Grayson County School Page
 * Austin College is in Grayson County!

Historical Markers

 * Grayson County Historical Markers
 * Official State of Texas Historical Marker Atlas ~ Search form.

Railroads

 * Railroads were very important to Grayson County !

Court

 * All About Grayson County Official Records
 * Official Grayson County Clerk's Genealogy Page

Land

 * Land Records are kept in the Grayson County Clerk's Office.
 * Very early records made during the Republic of Texas are found in Fannin County's Courthouse and in the Texas State Archives.
 * 1908 Grayson County, Texas Plat Book This book has biographcial sketches as well as detailed maps with land owners. It even shows the location of individual houses around the countryside. Some cemetery locations are visible in this book.

Local Histories

 * A history of Grayson County, Texas / Mattie Davis Lucas (Mrs. W. H. Lucas) and Mita Holsapple Hall (Mrs. H. E. Hall) 1936
 * An Illustated History of Grayson County, Texas, by Graham Landrum, 1960- Included in this book is a "pioneer index" that covers people from the 1830's to 1870.
 * History of Grayson County, Texas ( 2 Vols 1979 &amp; 1981) by Grayson County Frontier Village
 * Ancestors and Decendants of Grayson County, Texas - by the Grayson County Genealogical Society 1980
 * A Biographical Souvenir of Texas, 1889 This book contains biographical sketches of families written by themselves. It contains a lot of Grayson County people.
 * Glimpses of Grayson County From the Early Days, 1894
 * Black Friday ~ May 15, 1896 ~ The Sherman Cyclone
 * Denison, The Texas-Gateway, Busy, Progressive City with Golden Opportunities, 1908
 * Grayson County, Texas Plat Book, 1908 ( Includes biographical sketches and all land owners)
 * Online Books about Grayson County and Grayson County people.
 * The Old Settlers Association of Grayson Co. Vol 1.1879-1899
 * The Old Settlers Association of Grayson Co. Vol 2.1898-1944
 * The Old Settlers Association of Grayson Co. Vol 3.1911-1925
 * The Old Settlers Association of Grayson Co. Vol 4.1926-1960
 * Sherman Texas Indelible Photographs 1890
 * Grayson County, Texas in the Depression and War : 1929 - 1946 by David Park
 * A HISTORY OF TEXAS AND TEXANS by Frank W.  Johnson

City Directories:

Sherman - Denison City Directory 1876

Morrison &amp; Formby's General Directory of the City of Sherman 1887-1888

Sherman - Denison City Directory 1893- 1894

Maloney's Denison - Sherman City Directory, 1898 - 1888

Maloney's Denison - Sherman City Directory, 1899 - 1900

Morrison &amp; Formby's Sherman City Directory, 1887 - 1888

R.L. Polk Co.'s Sherman City Directory, 1910 - 1911

R.L. Polk Co.'s Sherman City Directory, 1912 - 1913

R.L. Polk Co.'s Sherman City Directory, 1918

R.L. Polk Co.'s Sherman City Directory, 1923

R.L. Polk Co.'s Sherman City Directory, 1925

Worley's Sherman City Directory, 1935

History and Business Guide of Sherman &amp; Grayson County, 1940

Worley's Sherman City Directory, 1947-8

History and Business Guide of Sherman &amp; Grayson County,1948

Grayson County Rural Directory 1973

Maps of Grayson County



 * 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 Texas Genweb site
 * Maps of Grayson County &amp; Texas
 * Map of 1897 Grayson County, Texas with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)

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 $
 * Historical Research Center - Hillsboro, Tx., has one of the worlds best Confederate Research &amp; Civil War collections.
 * Grayson County Military history is a proud one.Useful links and information.
 * Perrin Air Force Base was located in Grayson County. View various webpages about it, in the link listed for military history above.
 * Men &amp; Women in World War II from Grayson County, Texas

Newspapers

 * All about Grayson County, Newspapers

Probate

 * All Probate records, insanity hearings and guardianship records are in the County Clerk's Office. Email the clerk's office for details about the record you are requesting.

Taxation

 * Tax Rolls are available through interlibrary loan and also through any FHC near you 1846-1910.Many of them are online, here is a page of links.
 * Tax records are kept in the County Clerks Office with more recent records in the Tax Assessors Office.
 * City of Denison (Land) Tax records are being placed online. this is an ongoing project by the Denison, Texas Genealogical Society's Online Document Project

Vital Records

 * Tips and advice on Grayson County, Texas Records
 * County Clerks Office

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 (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
 * 1814 - 1909 and 1966 - 2011 Texas Marriage Collection 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1837 - 1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index 1837-1977 at Ancestry.com — index $

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * Death Records 1964-1998Texas, Death Index, 1964-1998 (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Texas Deaths and Burials 1903 - 1973 (index) -  FamilySearch
 * 1977 - 1986 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903 - 1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Divorce

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

Societies and Libraries
Sherman Public Library Local History &amp; Genealogy Dept. 421 N. Travis P.O. Box 1106 Sherman, TX 75090-0190 [ Grayson County Genealogical Society  -  No Longer Meets  421 N. Travis Sherman 7509  Denison Public Library Historical &amp; Genealogical Society 300 W. Gandy St. Denison, TX 75020 genealogy inc grayson county


 * Martha Jefferson Randolph Chapter NSDAR

Web Sites

 * Grayson County,Texas ~ TXGenWeb web site. Has maps, biographical and historical data, online books, cemeteries, obituaries, articles and all kinds of useful information.
 * Inventory of county records, Grayson County Courthouse, Sherman, Texas