Texas, Eastland County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes the following types of court records:
 * Naturalization certificates
 * Petitions
 * Declarations of intent
 * Civil proceedings
 * Indexes to Civil proceedings

The early volumes are handwritten in book format. Later records are handwritten or typed on blank pages or pre-printed forms. This collection covers the years 1868 to 1949.

Counties generally begin recording court proceedings as soon as the court is organized. Court records are made as a permanent record of the court proceedings. Naturalization is the process of granting citizenship privileges and responsibilities to foreign-born residents. The counties recorded naturalization procedures in the court records as legal proof of citizenship.

Information that was current at the time the record was made are usually reliable. However, there was always a chance for misinformation. Errors may have occurred because of the informant’s lack of knowledge or because of transcription errors.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Civil and criminal proceedings
 * Names of interested parties
 * Names of jurors
 * Names of witnesses
 * Proceeding dates
 * Name and title of presiding officer

The Declaration of Intent and Naturalization Petitions
 * Name
 * Arrival date
 * Birth date
 * Birthplace
 * Age
 * Race
 * Last foreign residence
 * Current residence
 * Arrival place
 * Names of witnesses
 * Signature of judge or court official

Naturalization proceedings after 1906
 * Marital status
 * Name of spouse
 * Maiden name of wife
 * Birth date of spouse
 * Residence of spouse
 * Date of Declaration of Intent or Naturalization

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * The location or date of the event

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log

What Do I Do Next?
Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Look at the actual image of the record, if you can, to verify the information and to find additional information.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your record
 * Use the age or estimated birth date to find church and vital records such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find land, probate and immigration records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional family members in censuses. Witnesses were usually family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county.

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Texas.
 * Texas Guided Research
 * Texas Record Finder
 * Texas Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Texas Research, 1880-Present

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Civil case records, 1874-1947
 * Civil Court minutes, 1874-1945
 * U.S. District Court. Western District. naturalization record, 1868-1939
 * Birth records, 1903-1956
 * Probate Birth records, 1860-1933
 * Death records, 1903-1983
 * School census, 1928-1967
 * Probate records, 1870-1986
 * Discharges, 1919-1951
 * Deed records, 1853-1944
 * Power of attorney records, 1888-1944
 * Pearl Ghormley. Eastland County, Texas : a historical and biographical survey. Austin, Texas : Rupegy Pub. Co., 1969
 * Gateway to the West : Eastland County history.'' Eastland County Book Committee, 1989
 * Edwin T. Cox History of Eastland County, Texas. San Antonio, Texas : Naylor Co., 1950

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Carolyne Lavinia Langston. History of Eastland County, Texas Dallas : A. D. Aldridge, c1904
 * Mrs. George Langston. History of Eastland County, Texas. Dallas, Texas : A.D. Aldridge & Co., 1904

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.