Chambers County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties C  Chambers County

Adopted by Chambers County, TXGenWeb

Billy &amp; Carla Karbowski Clifton

County Courthouse
Chambers County has had two county seats and four courthouses. Waller, the first county seat (1858-1908), was home to two courthouses. The first was built in 1854 and destroyed by arson in 1875. A schoolhouse, built in 1869 served as a courthouse until the second Chambers County Courthouse was completed in 1886. This courthouse was used until 1908, when the county seat was moved to Anahuac. The building was later torn down in 1948.

The county's third courthouse was built in Anahuac in 1912. This courthouse burned in 1935, and was replaced in 1936 with the current courthouse, a modern limetone and cement building.

Chambers County Courthouse Heather H. Hawthorne - County Clerk 404 Washington Ave P. O. Box 728 Anahuac, Texas 77514 (409) 267- 2418 (409) 267-8315 FAX Chambers County Government website

History
The first permanent settlement began in 1821 when the Spanish established a fortress at Anahuac and allowed American colonists to enter.

Parent County
1858--Chambers County was created 12 February 1858 from Jefferson and Liberty Counties. County seat: Anahuac

The county was named for Thomas Jefferson Chambers, (1802-1865), a lawyer and land speculator, was born in Orange County, Virginia, on April 13, 1802, the youngest of twenty children of Thomas Chambers and the ninth of his second wife, Mary (Gore).

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Chambers County border changes.

Record Loss
1875--Chambers County Courthouse in Wallisville and most, if not all, county records were destroyed by fire on December 2, 1875.

1935--Chambers County Courthouse in Anahuac destroyed by fire on April 28, 1935. All records were saved.

Populated Places
Anahuac | Baytown (mostly in Harris County) | Beach City | Cove | Hankamer | Monroe City | Mont Belview | Oak Island | Old River-Winfree | Seabreeze | Smith Point | Stowell | Turtle Bayou | Wallisville | Winnie

Neighboring Counties

 * Galveston
 * Harris
 * Jefferson
 * Liberty

Local Histories

 * Chambers County: A Pictorial History, 1988 by Margaret S. Henson and Kevin Ladd.
 * Chambers County History from the Handbook of Texas Online

Maps
Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site

Newspapers
Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Galveston newspapers from the early 1800's.

Vital Records

 * Texas Death Index 1964 to 1998 [no images] Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.
 * Texas Death Records 1890 – 1976 [with images] 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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

 * TXGenWeb Project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.