Jeff Davis County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Jeff Davis 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 Jefferson Davis, who served as the 23rd United States Secretary of War in the 1850s, and then, during the American Civil War, as President of the Confederate States of America. The County is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Jeff Davis County Courthouse PO Box 398 Fort Davis, TX 79734-0398 Phone: 915.426.3251 County Clerk has death records from 1904, birth records from 1883, divorce records from 1946, marriage, probate, court and land records from 1887

County and District Clerk

P.O. Box 398 Fort Davis 79734 Phone: 432-426-3251

Jeff Davis County has had two courthouses: the first courthouse built in 1880 and the current one built-in 1910-11.

Jeff Davis County Courthouse 101 State Street Fort Davis, Texas 79734

Jeff Davis County Government Website

Parent County

 * 1887--Jeff Davis County was created 15 March 1887 from Presidio County.
 * County seat: Fort Davis

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:

Neighboring Counties
Brewster •  Culberson  •  Hudspeth  •  Pecos  •  Presidio  •  Reeves

African American

 * 1865-1870 Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records(images) - FamilySearch

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

Additional Cemetery Sources
 * Texas Escapes Listing of Texas cemeteries with transcriptions and lots of pictures.
 * African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries

Census

 * 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project Texas
 * 1860 Census Records ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1870 Census Records ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1880 Census Records ~ USGenWeb Archives Project

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

Land

 * Land Survey Abstract Indices of the Original Land Owners of Texas - USGenWeb Archives Project

Local Histories

 * The Story of Fort Davis, Jeff Davis County and the Davis Mountains, 1936, by Barry Scobee.
 * Old Fort Davis, 1947, by Barry Scobee.
 * Jeff Davis County, Texas, 1993, by the Fort Davis Historical Society.

Maps

 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the 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

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 including interactive search function

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 Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903-1997 Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 (index) - FamilySearch
 * 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 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 — index $
 * 1966-2010 at FamilySearch
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1890-1976 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.
 * 1903-1973 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry — index and images $
 * 1903-2000 Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
 * 1964-1998 [no images] Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.
 * 1977-1986 at FamilySearch.org - index

Divorce

 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry — index $

Societies and Libraries
Jeff Davis County Library 100 Memorial Sq Fort Davis, TX 79734 Telephone Number: 432-426-3802 Website

FamilySearch Centers

 * Big Spring Texas FamilySearch Center
 * El Paso Texas Mount Franklin FamilySearch Center
 * Midland Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Mission Trail/Socorro Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Odessa Texas FamilySearch Center
 * San Angelo Texas FamilySearch Center


 * Midland Centennial Public Library - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Jeff Davis County USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Jeff Davis County TXGenWeb
 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.
 * Jeff Davis County Genealogy Trails
 * USGenWeb Texas Archives Vital statistics, maps, obituaries, Bible records, tombstone transcriptions and many other records.