Hidalgo County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties H  Hidalgo County

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

County Courthouse
Hidalgo County Courthouse County Clerk's Office 100 N. Closner P O Box 58 Edinburg, TX 78540 Phone: (956) 318-2100

County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, probate, court and land records; Distric Clerk has divorce records

Hidalgo County has had four county seats: Edinburgh, Hidalgo, Hidalgo, Chapin (Edinburg). In 1852, the town of La Habitacion was renamed Edinburgh and became the county seat. Later, the name of the town was changed to Hidalgo. After a severe flood in 1886, the town was moved two miles north. Later, Edinburgh was moved away from the Rio Grande River - the present site and town of Hidalgo. In 1908, the town of Chapin became the county seat. In 1911, the town's name was changed to Edinburg.

The last county courthouse in Hidalgo is still standing. Built in 1886, the building was once two story with a cupola; after a fire in the early 1900s, the building was repaired and rebuilt as one story.

The 1908 Courthouse at Edinburg served the county for nearly 50 years. It was torn down in 1954, after the opening of the current modern structure.

History
Spanish mission and settlements were established by 1750 and Anglo-American settlements by 1883.

Parent County
1852--Hidalgo County was created 24 January 1852 from Cameron and Starr Counties. County seat: Edinburg

The county was named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, (1753-1811). Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the priest known as the "father of Mexican independence," was born on May 8, 1753, at his father's hacienda near Guanajuato, Mexico.

Record Loss
1886--Flood destroyed the town of Hidalgo, which at that time was the county seat. Presumably, the courthouse was also destroyed or heavily damaged.

Places / Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog

Populated Places
Towns and Cities: Alamo | Alton | Donna | Edcouch | Edinburg | Elsa | Granjeno | Hidalgo | La Joya | La Villa | | Mercedes | Mission | Palmhurst | Palmview | Penitas | Pharr |  | San Juan | Sullivan City | Weslaco

Neighboring Counties
Brooks • Cameron • Kenedy • Starr • Willacy

African American

 * Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1870(images) - FamilySearch
 * Texas African American Griots ~  USGenWeb
 * AfriGeneas ~  African Ancestored Genealogy
 * Texas African American Genealogy ~  Access Genealogy

Additional Cemetery Sources

 * Hidalgo County Cemeteries ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Hidalgo County Cemeteries ~  TXGenWeb
 * Tombstone Transcription Project ~ Partial transcription of cemetery tombstones ~ USGenWeb
 * Texas Historic Cemeteries ~ Partial indexes to historic cemeteries
 * African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries
 * Cemetery Junction ~  Links to cemetery transcriptions
 * Some cemeteries for Hidalgo County, Texas are found at Gloria Mayfield's website

Church

 * Texas Christian Church Directory~ ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in Texas

Land

 * Land Survey Abstract Indicies ~  USGenWeb Archives Project

Local Histories

 * The Centennial Celebration of the Organization of Hidalgo County in Texas, 1952, by the Hidalgo County Centennial Corporation
 * The Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, 1954, by J. Lee and Lillian J. Stambaugh.
 * Hidalgo County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.
 * Texas Museums ~  List of all museums in Texas  ~  Hidden Ancestors

Maps

 * Historical Maps ~  From the Republic to the Turn of the Century  ~  Hidden Ancestors
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site

Military

 * Confederate Pension Applications ~ Texas State Library and Archives Commission
 * Civil War Pension Applications ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Confederate Census Applications USGenWeb Archives
 * Union Texas Volunteers 1st Regiment Hidalgo County TXGenWeb site
 * 1890 Veterans Schedule Census for Hidalgo County Hidalgo County TXGenWeb site
 * Hidalgo County World War II Casualties (Four pages of names, be sure to click "next" at the bottom of the page to reach the name you are looking for). Access Genealogy website
 * Hidalgo County Korean War Casualties ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Military Resources ~ Links to research Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * Fallen Heroes ~  Partial Index of casualties from Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * Honoring Our Veterans ~ Partial index of veterans from Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 - FamilySearch
 * Texas, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 - FamilySearch

Newspapers

 * Home Town News -  Texas Newspaper Index with links
 * Newslink -  Texas Newspaper List (sorted by publication frequency)
 * The Olden Times  -   Historic Texas News Online

Obituaries

 * Obituary Resources ~ Links to research and locate obituaries ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * 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 Project ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * Obituary Daily Times ~ Citations to over 15,000,000 obituaries including interactive search function

Probate

 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records ~  Ancestry.com  (subscription)
 * Texas, Probate Records, 1800-1990 (images) - FamilySearch

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


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

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * Texas Marriage Records 1966 - 2005  ~  Hidden Ancestors
 * Texas County Marriage Records, 1837-1977 - FamilySearch. Index to a variety of marriage records (registers, licenses, intentions to marry, etc.) from select counties in Texas.
 * 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


 * 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.
 * Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
 * 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

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Divorce

 * Texas Divorce Records 1968 - 2005   ~  Hidden Ancestors
 * USGenWeb Census Project ~ Texas 1850 - 1930

Libraries
Alamo Public Library 416 N Tower Rd Alamo, TX 78516 Phone: (956) 787-6160 Website

Donna Public Library 301 S Main St Donna, TX 78537 Phone: (956) 464-2221 Website

Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library 1906 S Closner Blvd Edinburg, TX 78539 Phone: (956) 383-6246 Website

Elsa Public Library 711 N Hidalgo St Elsa, TX 78543 Phone: (956) 262-3061 Website

Hidalgo Public Library 710 E Texano Dr Hidalgo, TX 78557 Phone: (956) 843-2093 Website

La Joya Municipal Library 925 S Leo Ave La Joya, TX 78560 Phone: (956) 581-4533 Website

McAllen Memorial Library 601 N Main St McAllen, TX 78501 Phone: (956) 688-3300 Website

Mercedes Memorial Library 434 S Ohio St Mercedes, TX 78570 Phone: (956) 565-2371

Pharr Memorial Library 121 E Cherokee Ave Pharr, TX 78577 Phone: (956) 787-3966 Website

Speer Memorial Library 801 E 12th St Mission, TX 78572 Phone: (956) 580-8750 Website

San Juan Public Library 1010 S Standard Ave San Juan, TX 78589 Phone: (956) 702-0926 Website

Weslaco Public Library 525 S Kansas Ave Weslaco, TX 78596 Phone: (956) 968-4533 Website

Family History Centers

 * McAllen Texas Family History Center
 * Mercedes Texas Family History Center

Museums
Museum of South Texas History 121 E McIntyre Edinburg, TX Phone: (956) 383-6911 Fax: (956) 381-8518 website

Donna Hooks Fletcher Museum 129 S. 8th Donna, Texas 78537 Phone: (956) 464-9989 website Wed-Friday 10:00am - 1:00pm, Sat 10:00am - 3:00pm

Web Sites

 * Hidalgo County Archives USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Hidalgo County TXGenWeb Site
 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.
 * Hidden Ancestors Information on Texas genealogy research as well as genealogy research in general.
 * USGenWeb Texas Archives Vital statistics, maps, obituaries, Bible records, tombstone transcriptions and many other records