Texas Court Records

Online resources

 * Texas, Court of Criminal Appeal Indexes, 1892-1947 ($)
 * Texas, Convict and Conduct Registers, 1875-1945 ($)
 * Texas, Memorials and Petitions, 1834-1929, ($), index
 * Black Sheep Ancestors Texas
 * 1858-1955 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1841-1985 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1879-2012 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Major Texas courts that kept records of genealogical value were established as follows:


 * Commissioners courts are county-wide courts that have kept records of taxes, juries, county financial affairs, and police matters. These files often include records of other courts, such as county courts. The FamilySearch Library has commissioners courts records for some Texas counties. From Bexar County, for example, the library has the county commissioners' minutes from 1837 to 1909.
 * District courts have county-wide jurisdiction over divorces, felonies, misdemeanors, probate appeals, and civil suits, as well as adoptions since 1931. The FamilySearch Library has district court records for half of the Texas counties, often dating to the early 1900s. From Bexar County, for example, the library has microfilm copies of San Antonio court minutes from 1837 to 1911. The original records are in the various county courthouses.
 * County courts have been established in each county and have jurisdiction over major criminal cases, civil matters, and some naturalizations. A judge oversees matters and a county clerk keeps the records. The FamilySearch Library has microfilm copies of county court records from many counties of Texas. From Galveston County, for example, county court minutes are available from 1867 to 1908.

Laws
Early Texas statutes can be found at the Portal to Texas History through the University of North Texas.

Websites

 * Texas.gov