Cherokee County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Cherokee 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 the Cherokee, who lived in the area before being expelled in 1839. The County is located in the east area of the state.

County Courthouse
Cherokee County Courthouse County Clerk has birth and death from 1903, marriage, probate and land records, probate and land records from 1846, court and divorce records County Clerk

P.O. Drawer 420 Rusk 75785 Phone: 903-683-2350 Fax: 903-683-2393 District Clerk

P.O. Drawer C Rusk 75785 Phone: 903-683-4533 Fax: 903-683-2971

Parent County
1846--Cherokee County was created 11 April 1846 from Nacogdoches County.
 * County seat: Rusk

The county was named for the Indian tribe.

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:

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

Neighboring Counties
Anderson •  Angelina  •  Henderson  •  Houston  •  Nacogdoches  •  Rusk  •  Smith

Resources

 * Look-Up Volunteers~Cherokee County, TXGenWeb

African American

 * 1865 - 1870 (images) - How to Use this Collection

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


 * African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries

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

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1906 - 1989  — index and images

Maps

 * 1914 Map of Angelina, Gregg, Harrison, Cherokee, Houston, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith &amp; Trinity at www.rootsweb.com
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site.
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military

 * An album of Cherokee County, Texas, men and women who served in World War II, The Korean Conflict, or Viet Nam Jacksonville, Texas : Cherokee County Genealogical Society (Texas), 1994 FS Library 976.4183 M2a
 * Military Records of Cherokee County ~ incomplete list ~ Cherokee County, TXGenWeb
 * Military Resources ~ Links to research Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom

Texas Revolution

 * 1835 - 1836 Texas Muster Rolls and Military Records for 1835 &amp; 1836 Complete List ~ TXGenWeb

Mexican-American War

 * 1845 - 1848 US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War 1845-1848 at Ancestry — 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 — index and images $
 * 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  (Ancestry)

Probate
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1800 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1800 – 2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records 1800-2000 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records ~  Ancestry.com  (subscription)
 * Texas Land Title Abstracts ~ 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 (images and index) - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903 - 1997 (index only) - How to Use this Collection
 * 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 - 2011Texas Marriage Collection 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry — index $
 * 1837 - 1965 — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1837 - 1973 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1837 - 1977 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1837 - 1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index 1837-1977 at Ancestry — index $
 * 1884 - 1890 Marriage records of Cherokee County, Texas, 1884-1890 (Volume 2) book online at Archive.org
 * 1966 - 2010 - FamilySearch record collection - How to Use this Collection
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1890-1976 with images - How to Use this Collection 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 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903 - 1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry — index and images $
 * 1903 - 2000 (index) - How to Use this Collection
 * 1964 - 1998 (no images) - How to Use this Collection
 * 1977 - 1986 — index - How to Use this Collection

Divorce

 * 1968 - 2010 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1968 - 2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry — index $
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Societies and Libraries
Comanche County Genealogical Society Comanche County Historical Museum 402 Moorman Road Comanche, TX website

Singletary Memorial Library 207 E 6th St Rusk, TX 75785 Telephone Number: 903-683-5916 website

Jacksonville Public Library 502 S Jackson St Jacksonville, TX 75766 Telephone Number: 903-586-7664 website

Rube Sessions Memorial Library 298 Rusk Ave Wells, TX 75976 Telephone Number: 936-867-4757 website

FamilySearch Centers

 * Cherokee County, Texas
 * Corsicana Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Longview Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Lufkin Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Tyler Texas FamilySearch Center


 * Ennis Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Lancaster Veterans Memorial Library - an affiliate library
 * Tyler Public Library - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Cherokee County TXGenWeb site
 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.
 * The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.