Texas, Matagorda County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Texas Matagorda County

What is in the Collection?
The collection consista of records from Matagorda County in Bay City, Texas. It includes District Court, Divorce, and Naturalization Records. This collection is being published as images become available.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
You may find any of the following:


 * Name of Petitioner
 * Name of Court
 * Date and place of Birth
 * Occupation
 * Where Petitioner emigrated from
 * Date of Emigration
 * Full name of spouse
 * Sometimes date of marriage
 * Spouse' Birthplace
 * Place of Residence
 * Names of children, children's birth dates and birth places
 * Date of Naturalization
 * Date of Arrival
 * Names of Witnesses
 * Date Signed

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * The approximate date and type of event.
 * The name of the primary individual or individuals

Compare the information on the image to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several images before you find your ancestor.

‘’’ View images in this collection by visiting the [URL Browse Page] then:‘’’ ⇒Select the Record Category ⇒Select the Record Type, Volume or Case No., Year Range

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the age to calculate a birth date and to find other records such as birth, christening, census, land and death records.
 * Use the information to find additional family members. Witnesses or bondsmen were usually relatives.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Texas, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Texas Archives and Libraries.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection citation:

Image citation:

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