Gregg County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Gregg 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 John Gregg, a Confederate general killed in action during the American Civil War. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Gregg County Courthouse 101 E Methvin Street Suite 334; Longview, TX 75601 Phone: 903-237-2663

County Clerk has birth, marriage, court and land records from 1873, death records from 1900 and probate records

County Clerk

101 East Methvin Longview, TX 75601 Phone: 903-758-6181

District Clerk

P.O. Box 711 Longview, TX 75606 Phone: 903-237-2663

Gregg County has had three courthouses. The first courthouse, built in part with native sandstone from nearby Methvin Hill, was designed by F. E. Ruffini and completed in 1879. The second courthouse was built of red brick in 1897 on the site of the 1879 courthouse. The current courthouse was built in 1932.

Gregg County Government Website

''Inventory of the County Archives of Texas : Gregg County, 1940. ''Inventory of records housed in the Gregg County Courthouse as of 1937. Describes the records of the County Commissioners Court, County Clerk as Recorder, District Courts, County Court, Justice of the Peace Courts, Criminal District Attorney, Sheriff, Constables, Tax Assessor-Collector, Board of Equalization, County Treasurer, County Auditor, County Board of School Trustees, County School Superintendent, County Surveyor, County Health Officer, and Board of Managers of County Hospital. Digital book online from The Portal to Texas History.

History
1838--Settlement started around 1838.

Parent County
1873--Gregg County was created 12 April 1873 from Rusk and Upshur Counties. The Texas legislature planned to call the new county Roanoke, but during passage of the legislation the name was changed to Gregg, in honor of Confederate war hero John B. Gregg.
 * County seat: Longview

Boundary Changes
1874-- Gregg County was extended southward to take in a portion of northern Rusk County by act of legislature, 30 Apr 1874.

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
Harrison •  Rusk  •  Smith  •  Upshur

African American

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

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

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

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

Land

 * 1977-2011 Gregg County Real Estate Index from the Gregg County Clerk's Office.

Local Histories

 * 1800's-1900's Gregg County History from the Gregg County Government Website.
 * Gregg County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.

Maps

 * 1914 Map of Angelina, Gregg, Harrison, Cherokee, Houston, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith &amp; Trinity at www.rootsweb.com


 * Texas Land Survey Maps for (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * 1887 Gregg County 1887 General Land Office Map from the Portal to Texas History.
 * 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

 * 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

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


 * Gregg County Birth Index from the Gregg County Clerk's Office
 * 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

 * 1802-2010 Texas, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * Gregg County Marriage Index from the Gregg County Clerk's Office
 * 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 Texas Marriage Collection 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 at Ancestry — index $
 * 1873-1876 Gregg County, Texas marriage record 
 * 1873-1965 Texas, U.S., Select County Marriage Records at Ancestry.com — index & images ($)
 * 1873-2017 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1966-2010 - FamilySearch record collection - How to Use this Collection
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1790-1928 Gregg County, Texas cemetery records
 * 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 at Ancestry — index and images $
 * 1903 - 2000 (index) - How to Use this Collection
 * 1964 - 1998 (no images) - How to Use this Collection Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.
 * 1977 - 1986 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * Gregg County Death Index from the Gregg County Clerk's Office

Divorce

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

Census Records

 * 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project ~ Texas

Societies and Libraries
Gregg County Historical and Genealogical Society 214 N. Fredonia St. Longview, Texas 75606-2985 Website

East Texas Genealogical Society PO Box 6967 Tyler, TX 75711 Website

FamilySearch Centers

 * Athens Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Gilmer Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Longview Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Tyler Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Wills Point Texas FamilySearch Center


 * Quitman Texas Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Tyler Public Library - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Gregg County, Texas GenWeb
 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.
 * USGenWeb Texas Archives Vital statistics, maps, obituaries, Bible records, tombstone transcriptions and many other records
 * The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.