Hale County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Hale 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 Lt. John C. Hale, a hero of the Battle of San Jacinto. The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has marriage and land records from 1888 and probate records from 1889; District Clerk has divorce and court records

County Clerk

500 Broadway #140 Plainview 79072 Phone: 806-291-5261

District Clerk

500 Broadway #200 Plainview 79072 Phone: 806-291-5226

History
1883--The first settlers arrived in March 1883.

Parent County
1876--Hale County was created 21 August 1876 from Bexar Land District.
 * County seat: Plainview

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

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

Neighboring Counties
Castro •  Crosby  •  Floyd  •  Hockley  •  Lamb  •  Lubbock  •  Swisher

African American

 * 1865 - 1870 (images) - How to Use this Collection

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Sources

Hale County Cemetery Records Database by the Hi-Plains Genealogical Society has 37,000+ records. About one-third refer maiden names to associated married names. It can be searched by name or date. Information includes name variations, birth, death, and marriage dates; spouse's and parents’ names; military service; funeral home, the name of the cemetery with location within the cemetery, notes and obituary.


 * African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries

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

Land

 * Original Land Owners of Texas Hale County  ~  USGenWeb Archives Project

Maps

 * Texas Counties Map 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 — index and images $

Mexican-American War

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

Civil War

 * 1861 - 1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * Confederate Pension Applications ~ Texas State Library and Archives Commission
 * Confederate Pension Applications Index ~ USGenWeb Archives Project

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

 * USGenWeb Archives Obituary Project ~  Texas
 * Afrigeneas ~ African American death notices, obituaries and funeral programs compiled by users from current newspapers and historical sources
 * Obituary Daily Times ~ Citations to over 15,000,000 obituaries

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)

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

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 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry — 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 1837-1977 at Ancestry — index $
 * 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 1903-1982 at Ancestry — 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

 * 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project Texas 1850 - 1930
 * 1968 - 2010 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry — index $
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Societies and Libraries
Hi-Plains Genealogical Society Unger Memorial Library 825 Austin Street Plainview, TX 79072-7235 Telephone Number: 806-296-1148 E-mail:[mailto:umllibrarian@suddenlinkmail.com umllibrarian@suddenlinkmail.com] John Sigwald, Librarian, Unger Memorial Library Website

Abernathy Public Library 811 Avenue D Abernathy, TX 79311 Telephone Number: 806-298-4138 Website

Hale Center Public Library Inc 609 Main St Hale Center, TX 79041 Telephone Number: 806-839-2055 Website

Petersburg Public Library 1614 Main St Petersburg, TX 79250 Telephone Number: 806-667-3657 Website

Unger Memorial Library 825 Austin St Plainview, TX 79072 Telephone Number: 806-296-1148 Website

FamilySearch Centers

 * Amarillo Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Childress Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Clovis New Mexico FamilySearch Center
 * Lubbock Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Tucumcari New Mexico FamilySearch Center


 * Amarillo Public Library - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Hale County Archives ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Hale County~ TXGenWeb
 * 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.