Bexar County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Bexar County Texas ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. 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
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

History
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.

Parent County
1836--Bexar County was created on 17 March 1836 from Old Mexican Municipality.
 * County seat: San Antonio

Boundary Changes
1834-1931--For animated maps illustrating Texas County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Texas County Boundary Maps" (1834-1931) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
1892--Bexar County Courthouse was damaged during a large fire in downtown San Antonio on 25 February 1892. No records were lost. The offices of the San Antonio Democrat Newspaper were destroyed during the fire.

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
Atascosa • Bandera •  Comal •  Guadalupe •  Kendall  •  Medina  •  Wilson

Resources

 * Local Bexar County Resouces ~ Bexar County TXGenWeb

African American Resources

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

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

Additional Cemetery Sources
 * African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries
 * Cemetery Junction ~  Links to cemetery transcriptions
 * — index and images
 * A wiki article describing an online collection is found at: Texas, Bexar, San Antorio, Cemetery Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Census

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

Church

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

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1944 - 1952 - at FamilySearch —Images

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1906 - 1989 — index and images

Local Histories

 * Museums List of all museums in Texas ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * History of the Alamo in Bexar County ~ Bexar County TXGenWeb
 * Historical Markers of Bexar County ~ Bexar County TXGenWeb
 * Historical Markers of Bexar County ~ Bexar County TXGenWeb

Maps

 * 1889 &amp;1909 Maps of Bexar County ~ Bexar County TXGenWeb *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
 * 1897--Map of 1897 Bexar County, Texas with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)

Military

 * Military Records of Bexar County ~ Bexar County TXGenWeb *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

Mexican-American War

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

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1838 - 1900 Texas Muster Roll Index Cards 1838-1900 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 - at FamilySearch — 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.

Obituaries

 * Obituaries of Bexar County, Texas ~ Partial Listing of Obituaries from Bexar County ~ Bexar County, TXGenWeb
 * 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 ( ancestry)

Probate
Online Probate Records
 * 1800 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills RecordsAncestry.com (subscription)
 * 1800 – 2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records 1800-2000 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Vital Records

 * Records of Bexar County, Texas ~ Bexar County TXGenWeb

Births
Online Birth Indexes and Records
 * 1840 - 1981 Texas, Births and Christenings, 1840-1981 FamilySearch
 * 1903 - 1935 Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903 - 1997 Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 (index)- FamilySearch

Marriages
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.com — index $
 * 1837 - 1965 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1837 - 1973 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1837 - 1977 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1837 - 1977 - Texas Select County Marriage Index 1837-1977 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1966 - 2005 - Texas Marriage Records 1966 - 2005 Hidden Ancestors
 * 1966 - 2010 - Texas, Marriages, 1966-2010 - FamilySearch record collection

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1890 - 1976 (FamilySearch) - The name index was created by FamilySearch and is tied to images of the Texas death certificates.  Fold3.com also has Texas Deaths, 1890-1976 ($) available online.
 * 1903 - 1973 Texas Deaths and Burials 1903 - 1973 index) FamilySearch
 * 1903 - 1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1903 - 2000 Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
 * 1964 - 1998 (FamilySearch)
 * 1977 - 1986 at FamilySearch.org — index

Divorce

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

Societies and 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

 * See also a List of Texas Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies
 * Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library

126 E. Nueva St San Antonio, Texas 78204 Telephone: (210) 225-1071 Materials are in closed stacks.


 * San Antonio Genealogical and Historical Society

Mailing address: 911 Melissa Drive, San Antonio TX 78213. Library address: 911 Melissa Drive, San Antonio, TX 78213 Phone: (210) 342-5242 Website

Family History Centers

 * San Antonio Texas Family History Center
 * San Antonio Texas East Family History Center
 * San Antonio Texas North Family History Center
 * San Antonio Texas West Family History Center
 * Stone Oak Texas Family History Center (San Antonio)

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.
 * The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.
 * Cyndi's List ~ Texas