Texas Colonial Records

Online Records

 * 1703-1957- Parish registers. Catholic Church. San Fernando Cathedral (San Antonio, Texas)
 * 1731-1860- Parish registers. Catholic Church. San Fernando Cathedral Missions (San Antonio, Texas), Catholic Church. Purisima Concepcion Mission (San Antonio, Texas), Catholic Church. San Jose Mission (San Antonio, Texas), Catholic Church. San Antonio de Valero Mission (San Antonio, Texas). Images only.
 * 1792-1803- Bautismos. Catholic Church. San Antonio de la Ysleta (Ysleta, Texas). Images only.
 * 1717-1836- Bexar Archives Online. Contains records of the Province of Texas and the Mexican State of Coahuila y Texas.

History
European settlement in Texas by both the French and the Spanish began in the late 17th century, although no permanent settlements were made until the Spaniards founded San Antonio in 1718. During the 18th century, more Spanish missions were built and many native tribes converted to Christianity. When the United States made the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803, some American authorities claimed that Texas (New Spain) was part of the purchase. In 1819, a border was agreed upon between Louisiana and Texas. In 1821, following the Mexican War for Independence, Texas became part of Mexico in the state of Coahuila y Tejas. In 1832, Texans began revolts against the Mexican government, and the Republic of Texas was formed in 1836. Attempts to annex Texas to the United States were attempted beginning in 1837, but the annexation did not occur until 1845.

Civil Records

 * El Paso Census, 1684 by J. Richard Salazar. (Albuquerque: The Author, 1992).
 * 1692 Population Census of El Paso by J. Richard Salazar. (Albuquerque: The Author, 1992).
 * Guide to the Microfilm Edition of the Bexar Archives by Chester Valls Kielman. 3 Vols. (Austin: University of Texas, 1967-1981).
 * Athanase de Mazieeres and the Louisiana-Texas Frontier, 1768-1780: Documents Published for the First Time, from the Original Spanish and French Manuscripts, Chiefly in the Archives of Mexico and Spain by Athanase De Mezieeres. (1914. Reprint. New York: Kraus Reprint, 1970).
 * Guide to Spanish and Mexican Land Grants in South Texas by Garry Mauro. (Austin: Texas General Land Office, 1988).
 * The Public Lands of Texas, 1519-1970 by Thomas Lloyd Miller. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1972).
 * Index to Spanish and Mexican Land Grants in Texas by Virginia Taylor. (Austin: Lone Star Press, 1974).

Other

 * The San Antonio Missions and Their System of Land Tenure by Felix D. Almaraz, Jr. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1989).
 * ''History of the North Mexican States and Texas, 1531-1889) by Hubert Howe Bancroft. (1889. Reprint. New York: Arno Press, 1967).
 * Spanish Texas, 1519-1821 by Donald E. Chipman. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1992).

Ecclesiastical Records

 * Index to the Marriage Investigations of the Diocese of Guadalajara Pertaining to the Former Provinces of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Nuevo Santander, and Texas by Raul J. Guerra, Nadine M. Vasquez, and Baldomero Vela. (Edinburg, TX: The Authors, 1989).
 * The Alamo Chain of Missions: A History of San Antonio's Five Old Missions by Marion Alphonse Habig. (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1968).