Brewster County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Brewster 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 Colonel Henry Percy Brewster, a Secretary of War for the Republic of Texas. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth, probate, military, and court records from 1900, marriage records from 1887, death records from 1903 and land records from 1800: District Court has divorce records

County Clerk

P.O. Box 119 Alpine 79831 Phone: 432-837-3366

District Clerk

P.O. Box 1024 Alpine 79831 Phone: 432-837-6216 Brewster 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
Jeff Davis •  Pecos  •  Presidio  •  Terrell

Resources

 * Look-Up Volunteers of Brewster County ~ Brewster County, TXGenWeb

African American

 * 1865 - 1870 (images) - FamilySearch - 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

Census

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

Church
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Churches of Brewster County Complete list of churches~Brewster County, TXGenWeb
 * Texas Christian Church Directory~ Church Angel
 * Catholic Parishes in Texas
 * FamilySearch Places

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1906 - 1989  — index and images

Local Histories

 * Mirages, Mysteries and Reality: Brewster County, Texas, the Big Bend of the Rio Grande, 1972, by Clifford B. Casey.
 * A Most Singular Country: A History of Occupation in the Big Bend, 1990, by Arthur R. Gomez.
 * Brewster County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.

Maps

 * 1920 Brewster County Texas General Land Office map, online from The Portal to Texas History
 * 1939 Brewster County Texas General Land Office map, online from The Portal to Texas History
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

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
Online Newspapers
 * Alpine Avalanche Newspaper, serving Big Bend and the Davis Mountains since 1891
 * 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

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

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

Vital Records

 * Vital Records of Brewster County ~ Marriage Records 1966-2002, Death Records 1910-2008, Divorce Records 1968-1996, Births 1904-1934

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1840 - 1981  at FamilySearch.org — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903 - 1935 (images and index) - FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903 - 1997 (index only) - FamilySearch - 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 - 2011 Texas Marriage Collection 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry — index $
 * 1837 - 1973 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1837 - 1977 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection — index to a variety of marriage records (registers, licenses, intentions to marry, etc.) from select counties in Texas.
 * 1837 - 1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index 1837-1977 at Ancestry — index $
 * 1837 - 1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index 1837-1977 at Ancestry — index $
 * 1966 - 2010 - FamilySearch record collection - How to Use this Collection
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1903 - 1973 at FamilySearch.org — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903 - 1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry — index and images $
 * 1903 - 2000 (index) - FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1964 - 1998 (no images) - How to Use this Collection
 * 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
Big Bend Genealogical Society PO Box 1251 300 John Rd W Alpine, TX 75830-2032 Website

Brewster County Historical Commission PO Box 1620 Alpine, TX 79831

FamilySearch Centers

 * Del Rio Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Eagle Pass Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Hondo Texas FamilySearch Center
 * San Antonio Texas FamilySearch Center
 * San Antonio Texas La Cantera FamilySearch Center
 * San Antonio Texas North FamilySearch Center
 * San Antonio Texas West FamilySearch Center
 * Stone Oak Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Uvalde Texas FamilySearch Center


 * Alpine Public Library - an affiliate library
 * San Antonio Genealogical and Historical Society - an affiliate library
 * Texas Genealogy Trails - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Brewster County Texas Old Photos Old photographs and postcards of people and places in Alpine and other parts of Brewster County.
 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.