Callahan County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Callahan 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 James Hughes Callahan, an American soldier in the Texas Revolution. The County is located in the north-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage, probate, and land records from 1877; District Clerk has divorce and court records

County Clerk

100 W 4th St. Suite 104 Baird 79504-5300 Phone: 325-854-1217

District Clerk

100 W. 4th St. Suite 300 Baird 79504-5396 Phone: 325-854-1800 Callahan County Website

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

Places / Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog



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:

Neighboring Counties
Brown •  Coleman  •  Eastland  •  Shackelford  •  Taylor  •  Jones  •  Stephens

Resources

 * Look-Up Volunteer for Callahan County~Callahan County, TXGenWeb
 * Other Callahan County Resouces~Useful resources of Callahan County~Callahan County, TXGenWeb

African American

 * 1865 - 1870 https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1989155 Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1870](images) - FamilySearch

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

Church

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

Land

 * Callahan County General Index of Deeds Callahan County Homepage
 * Texas Land Grants Database Search from the Texas General Land Office

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1906 - 1989  — index and images

Local Histories

 * Early Days in Callahan County, 1966, by Brutus Clay Christman.
 * I Remember Callahan, 1986 Callahan County Historical Commission. Order from: Georgia Yawn, Chairman 100 West 4th Street, Suite 100 Baird, Texas 79504 Name index to I Remember Callahan from the Callahan County Homepage.
 * Belle Plain, Texas: The Ghost Town in Callahan, 1972 by Thomas Robert Havins
 * Cottonwood's My Home: Recipes, Memories, History, 2007, Cottonwood Historical Association. Also, Supplement to Cottonwood's My Home, and Cottonwood's My Home: Vol. 2. Cottonwood History, Family Histories, Recipes, Old Photographs.
 * Cross Plains Remembered : Photos, Memories &amp; A Little Bit of Everything Else, 2011, Cross Plains Remembered, Volume 2, 2012 and Cross Plains Remembered, Volume 3, 2012 by the Barbarian Festival Committee. 352 pages each. Available at the Cross Plains Library.
 * Footsteps of Approaching Thousands, a History of the Early Days of Cross Plains, 2011 by Ann Beeler. Available from the Cross Plains Library.
 * Crossties to Callahan: The Family of Alfred Dayton Williams, 1981, by J. D. Williams.
 * The Hills of Home, 1949 by John Berry. Story of the author's growing up in Clyde, Texas.
 * Nubbin Ridge: My Boyhood on a Texas Farm, 1960 by Lewis Nordyke. Story of Nordyke's growing up in the Cottonwood/Turkey Creek area in the 1910s-1920s.
 * 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 TXGenWeb site

Military

 * Cross Plains Veterans Memorial website Listing of all of the 3000+ veterans from Cross Plains and the surrounding area, from Civil War through Afghanistan, whose names are on the memorial. Photographs of the stone tablets, photographs, obituaries and information on of many of the veterans.
 * 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
 * 1835 - 1836 Texas Muster Rolls and Military Records for 1835 &amp; 1836 Complete List ~ TXGenWeb
 * 1838 - 1900 Texas Muster Roll Index Cards 1838-1900 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * Confederate Pension Applications ~ Texas State Library and Archives Commission


 * 6th Regiment, Missouri Infantry (Union), Company E

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Baird Banner
 * Clyde Journal P O Box 979117 So. 1st St. Clyde, Texas 79510 325-893-4244
 * Cross Plains Review P O Box 519116 S.E. 1st St. Cross Plains, Texas 76443 254-725-6111
 * Back Issues of the Cross Plains Review, 1911-1975, and the Baird-Callahan County Star, 1888-1935, are available for viewing on microfilm at the Cross Plains Library.
 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has digitized Abilene newspapers that may include residents from Callahan County.
 * Wikipedia has a list of online newspaper archives for Texas.

Obituaries

 * Obituaries of Callahan County ~ Partial listing of Obituaries For Callahan County ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * 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 (Ancestry)

Probate
Online Probate Records


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

Vital Records

 * Vital Records of Callahan County ~Birth, Death, Marriage, and Divorce Records for Callahan County

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1840 - 1981  at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903 - 1935 Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903 - 1997 Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 (index)- FamilySearch

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.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 $
 * 1877 - 1965 Callahan County Marriages Index 1877-1965 from the Callahan County Homepage
 * 1966 - 2005 Texas Marriage Records 1966 - 2005 Hidden Ancestors
 * Marriage Records of Callahan County ~Partial list of Marriages of Callahan County~Hidden Ancestors
 * 1966 - 2010 Texas, Marriages, 1966-2010 FamilySearch record collection

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1890 - 1976 Texas Death Records 1890 – 1976 [with images] Name index and images of statewide death certificates, 1890-1976.
 * 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 Texas Death Index 1964 to 1998 [no images]
 * 1977 - 1986  at FamilySearch.org — index

Divorce

 * 1850 - 1930 USGenWeb Census Project Texas; 1850 - 1930
 * 1968 - 2005 Texas Divorce Records1968 - 2005 Hidden Ancestors
 * 1968 - 2010  at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968 - 2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $

Societies and Libraries

 * Callahan County Historical Commission


 * Cottonwood Historical Association P. O. Box 704 Cross Plains, TX 76443


 * Cross Plains Area Genealogy Society


 * Callahan County Public Library &amp; Pioneer Museum Courthouse, 100 W 4th B1 Baird, TX 79504-5305 325-854-1718


 * Clyde Public Library 121 Oak St. Clyde, TX 75910 325-893-5315


 * Cross Plains Public Library 149 N Main St. P.O. Box 333 Cross Plains, TX 76443 254-725-7722 Hours: Monday, Wednesday &amp; Thursday 1 p.m.- 5 p.m.; Tuesday 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Closed Friday

Websites

 * Callahan County, AHGP Site
 * Callahan County, TXGenWeb
 * Callahan County Homepage
 * CottonwoodTexas.com History, genealogy and local information about the Cottonwood community; Surname list.
 * CrossPlains.com
 * The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.