Chambers County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties C  Chambers County

Guide to Chambers County Texas genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
Chambers County Courthouse 404 Washington Anahuac, TX 77514 Phone: 409.267.8309 County Clerk has birth records from 1903, death records from 1908, marriage, probate court and land records from 1875 and divorce records from 1910

History
The first permanent settlement began in 1821 when the Spanish established a fortress at Anahuac and allowed American colonists to enter.

Parent County
1858--Chambers County was created 12 February 1858 from Jefferson and Liberty Counties. County seat: Anahuac

The county was named for Thomas Jefferson Chambers, (1802-1865), a lawyer and land speculator, was born in Orange County, Virginia, on April 13, 1802, the youngest of twenty children of Thomas Chambers and the ninth of his second wife, Mary (Gore).

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Chambers County border changes.

Record Loss
1875--Chambers County Courthouse in Wallisville and most, if not all, county records were destroyed by fire on December 2, 1875.

1935--Chambers County Courthouse in Anahuac destroyed by fire on April 28, 1935. All records were saved.

Populated Places
Anahuac | Baytown (mostly in Harris County) | Beach City | Cove | Hankamer | Monroe City | Mont Belview | Oak Island | Old River-Winfree | Seabreeze | Smith Point | Stowell | Turtle Bayou | Wallisville | Winnie

Neighboring Counties
Galveston • Harris • Jefferson • Liberty

African American

 * 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

 * Chambers County Cemetery List from the Chambers County TXGenWeb site
 * Anachuac Cemetery -   USGenWeb Archives Project.
 * Chambers County Cemeteries -  Interment.net
 * Chambers County Cemetery Index - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * FindAGrave - transcriptions and photographs of Chambers County cemeteries

Census
1840 Cove Census -  TXGenWeb

Court

 * Petition of Settlers -  TXGenWeb

Local Histories

 * Chambers County Families- index of names -  TXGenWeb
 * Chambers County: A Pictorial History, 1988 by Margaret S. Henson and Kevin Ladd.
 * Chambers County History from the Handbook of Texas Online
 * Chambers County Bibliography - TXGenWeb

Maps
Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site

Military

 * Republic of Texas Militia 1842 -  TXGenWeb
 * Chambers County in the Confederancy - TXGenWeb
 * Confederate Pension Applications Index -  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Confederate Indigent Families - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 - FamilySearch
 * Texas, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 - FamilySearch

Newspapers

 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Galveston newspapers from the early 1800's.

Probate

 * Texas, Probate Records, 1800-1990 (images) - FamilySearch

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * Chambers County Births -  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 (index)- FamilySearch

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * Texas County Marriage Records, 1837-1977 - FamilySearch. Index to a variety of marriage records (registers, licenses, intentions to marry, etc.) from select counties in Texas.
 * Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977 ~ FamilySearch records collection''
 * Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973  ~  FamilySearch record collection
 * Texas, Marriages, 1966-2010  ~  FamilySearch record collection

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 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
 * Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
 * Death Index 1964 to 1998 [no images] Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Divorce

 * Chambers County Divorces - USGenWeb Archives Project

Web Sites

 * Chambers County TXGenWeb site
 * TXGenWeb Project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.