User:RogersBA/Sandbox TX 15

Guide to Bexar County, Texas ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The county was named for Presidio San Antonio de Béxar. The County is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Bexar County Courthouse County Clerk - Gerry Rickhoff 100 Dolorosa, Suite 108 San Antonio, TX 78205 Phone: 210-335-2585  Bexar County Website County Clerk has birth records from 1838, marriage records from 1837, death records from 1903, probate records from 1843, land records from 1700’s, Spanish church records 1737-1859 and Spanish City Council minutes 1815-1820 Register and log in to search digital archives 1837-1963 HISTORICAL RECORDS at this County Clerk website  County Clerk 100 Dolorosa Suite 104 San Antonio 78205 Phone: 210-335-2216

 District Clerk 100 Dolorosa San Antonio 78205 Phone: 210-335-2113

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

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Sources
 * 1893-2007 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * A wiki article describing an online collection is found at: Texas, Bexar, San Antorio, Cemetery Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Census Records

 * 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project — Texas 1850 - 1930


 * See also Using the Census to find other records about ancestors

Church Records

 * Texas Christian Church Directoryat ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in Texas

 List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Directories

 * 1958 San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, City Directory, 1958 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1944-1952 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
 African Amercicans ''
 * 1865-1870 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images only
 * Texas African American Griots at  USGenWeb
 * AfriGeneas American Ancestored Genealogy; select Records then a collection

Local Histories
The villa of San Fernando de Bexar was the first municipality in the Spanish province of Texas in 1731. In 1772 the seat of the government of Spanish Texas moved to Bexar. The original county was divided into 128 additional counties. From the Handbook of Texas Online: The first Europeans to explore the region came with an expedition in 1691 led by Domingo Terán de los Ríos and Fray Damián Massanet, who evidently reached the San Antonio River near where San Juan Capistrano Mission was later founded. Nearby they found a group of Payayas living on the riverbank. The Indians, as Massanet recorded in his diary, called the place Yanaguana; he, however, renamed the site San Antonio de Padua to celebrate the memorial day of St. Anthony, June 13. The next group of Spanish explorers, an expedition led by two Franciscans, fathers Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares and Isidro Félix de Espinosa, and a military officer, Pedro de Aguirre, did not reach the area until April 1709. Much impressed by the setting and the availability of water, they noted that the area might make a promising site for future settlement. In 1714 Louis Juchereau de St. Denis crossed the region on his way to San Juan Bautista. Espinosa again visited the site in 1716 on his way to East Texas with the expedition of Domingo Ramón and this time recommended San Pedro Springs as a mission site. Near that spot, in May 1718, Martín de Alarcón led the expedition that founded San Antonio de Valero Mission and San Antonio de Béxar (or Béjar) Presidio, named for Viceroy Balthasar Manuel de Zúñiga y Guzmán Sotomayor y Sarmiento, second son of the duke of Bexar.


 * History of the Alamo in Bexar County at Bexar County TXGenWeb
 * Historical Markers of Bexar County at Bexar County TXGenWeb
 * Texas Indexes (about 20 counties) at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county
 * Texas Indexes (about 20 counties) at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 1889 &amp;1909 Maps of Bexar County at Bexar County TXGenWeb
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site
 * 1897--Map of 1897 Bexar County, Texas with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * Military Records of Bexar County at Bexar County TXGenWeb

 Mexican-American War
 * 1845-1848 US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War 1845-1848 at Ancestry — index ($)

 Civil War  Online Records
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images at partner site
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images at partner site
 * 1838-1900 Texas Muster Roll Index Cards 1838-1900 at Ancestry — index and images ($)

 World War I
 * 1917-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1906-1989 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Newspapers
Wikipedia has a list of online newspaper archives for Texas. Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has San Antonio newspapers from the late 1800's that covered local news on Bexar County residents.
 * Texas Digital Newspaper Program at The Portal to Texas History

Obituaries

 * Obituaries of Bexar County, Texas at Partial Listing of Obituaries from Bexar County ~ Bexar County, TXGenWeb
 * USGenWeb Archives Obituary Project at  Texas
 * Afrigeneas at African American death notices, obituaries and funeral programs compiled by users from current newspapers and historical sources
 * Obituary Daily Times at Citations to over 15,000,000 obituaries including interactive search function ( ancestry)

Probate Records

 * 1800-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images only
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills RecordsAncestry.com ($)
 * 1800-2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records 1800-2000 at Ancestry.com — index and images ($)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records

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

Vital Records

 * Records of Bexar County, Texas at Bexar County TXGenWeb

Birth

 * 1840-1981 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1903-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1903-1997 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 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 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1837-1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1837-1973 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1837-1977 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1837-1965 Texas, U.S., Select County Marriage Records at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1966-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage — index ($)

Death

 * 1890-1976 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1903-1973 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1903-2000 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1964-1998 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1977-1986 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Divorce

 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage — index ($)

FamilySearch Centers

 * Hill Country Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Hondo Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Kerrville Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Kyle Texas FamilySearch Center
 * San Antonio Texas East FamilySearch Center
 * San Antonio Texas FamilySearch Center
 * San Antonio Texas La Cantera FamilySearch Center
 * San Antonio Texas North FamilySearch Center
 * San Antonio Texas West FamilySearch Center
 * Seguin Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Stone Oak Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Leon Valley Public Library - an affiliate library
 * San Antonio Genealogical and Historical Society - an affiliate library

Libraries
San Antonio Genealogical and Historical Society 911 Melissa Dr San Antonio, Tx 78213 Website Los Bexareños Genealogical And Historical Society PO Box 1935 San Antonio, TX 78297 Website

 Public Libraries
 * Leon Valley Public Library 6425 Evers Rd Leon Valley, TX 78238 Phone: (210) 684-0720 Website
 * San Antonio Public Library 600 Soledad St San Antonio, TX 78205 Phone: (210) 207-2500 Website
 * Universal City Public Library 100 Northview Dr Universal City, TX 78148 Phone: (210) 659-7048 Website
 * Converse Public Library 601 S Seguin Rd Converse, TX 78109 Phone: (210) 659-4160 Website

 Societies Daughters of the Republic of Texas LibraryWebsite San Antonio Genealogical and Historical Society 911 Melissa Drive San Antonio, TX 78213 Phone: (210) 342-5242Website

Websites

 * Bexar County TXGenWeb
 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.
 * USGenWeb Archives Project. Name indexes and other information.
 * Cyndi's List Bexar County
 * USGenWeb Texas Counties
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.