Henderson County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Henderson 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 James Pinckney Henderson, the first Attorney General of the Republic of Texas, and Secretary of State for the republic. He later served as the first Governor of Texas. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Henderson County Courthouse 100 East Tyler Street Suite 107 Athens, Texas 75751 Phone: 903.675.6140 County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage records from 1880, probate records from 1860, court records from 1910 and land records from 1846

County Clerk

P.O. Box 632 Athens 75751 Phone: 903-675-6115 Fax: 903-675-6105

District Clerk

County Courthouse Athens 75751 Phone: 903-675-6115

History
1837--The first permanent settlements were established in 1837.

Parent County
1846--Henderson County was created 27 April 1846 from Houston and Nacogdoches Counties.
 * County seat: Athens

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
Anderson •  Cherokee  •  Ellis  •  Freestone  •  Kaufman  •  Navarro  •  Smith  •  Van Zandt

Church
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Local Histories

 * A Memorial and Biographical History of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon Counties, Texas, 1883. Digital book on line from the Portal to Texas History.

Maps

 * 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
Online Records
 * 1861 - 1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 at FamilySearch — index


 * 1st Battalion, Arkansas Cavalry (Stirman's) (Confederate), Company I

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Athens Review Newspaper
 * Texas Digital Newspaper Program at The Portal to Texas History

Probate
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1800 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * 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

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1840 - 1981 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 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
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 - 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 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

 * 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 1903-1982 at Ancestry — index and images $
 * 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

Divorce

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

Societies and Libraries
Henderson County Historical Commission 207 N. Prairieville St. Athens, Texas Website

Henderson County Historical Society PO Box 1412 Athens 7575 Website

FamilySearch Centers

 * Athens Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Corsicana Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Tyler Texas FamilySearch Center


 * Ennis Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Lancaster Veterans Memorial Library - an affiliate library
 * Tyler Public Library - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Henderson County, Texas TXGenWeb
 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county
 * The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.