Zavala County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Zavala 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 Lorenzo de Zavala, Mexican politician, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, and first vice president of the Republic of Texas. The County is located in the south-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Zavala County Courthouse Crystal City, Texas 78839 Phone: 830.374.2331 County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, probtate and court records from 1884, land and military records; District Clerk has divorce records

County Clerk

200 E. Uvalde Street Ste. 7 Crystal City 78839 Phone: 830-374-2331

District Clerk

P.O. Box 704 Crystal City 78839 Phone: 803-374-3456

History
The first permanent settlements occurred in the late 1860's. Zavala County was attached for judicial purposes to Uvalde, Maverick and Frio counties before it was separately organized. Zavala county was misspelled "Zavalla" when the county was created in 1858; the spelling error was not corrected by the Texas Legislature until 1929.

Parent County
1858--Zavala County was created 1 February 1858 from Maverick and Uvalde Counties.
 * County seat: Crystal City

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:

Neighboring Counties
Dimmit •  Frio  •  Kinney  •  La Salle  •  Maverick  •  Medina  •  Uvalde

African American

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

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

Additional Cemetery Sources


 * Zavala County Cemetery Index
 * Loma Vista Cemetery Listing
 * Vivion Cemetery Listing
 * Texas Historic Cemeteries
 * African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries
 * Texas Escapes Listing of Texas cemeteries with transcriptions and lots of pictures.

Census

 * 1860 Zavala County Census
 * 1870 Zavala County Census
 * 1880 Zavala County Census
 * 1900 Zavala County Census
 * 1910 Zavala County Census

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

Land

 * Zavala County Land Grant Index

Local Histories

 * Historical Notes on Zavala County, 1986, by Ernest Holdsworth, Zavala County Historical Commission.
 * Now and Then in Zavala County, 1985, by the Zavala County Historical Commission.
 * Zavala County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.
 * Texas Museums ~  List of all museums in Texas  ~  Hidden Ancestors

Maps

 * Historical Maps ~  From the Republic to the Turn of the Century  ~  Hidden Ancestors
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military

 * 1838 - 1900 Texas Muster Roll Index Cards 1838-1900 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * Military Resources ~ Links to research Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * Fallen Heroes; ~ Partial Index of casualties from Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * Honoring Our Veterans ~ Partial index of veterans from Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom ~ Hidden Ancestors

Mexican-American War

 * 1845 - 1848 US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War 1845-1848 at Ancestry.com — index $

Civil War

 * 1861 - 1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * Confederate Pension Applications ~ Texas State Library and Archives Commission
 * Zavala County Confederate Pension Claims

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Home Town News -  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

 * Obituary Resources ~ Links to research and locate obituaries ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * USGenWeb Archives Obituary Project ~  Texas
 * Afrigeneas ~ African American death notices, obituaries and funeral programs compiled by users from current newspapers and historical sources
 * Obituary Depot ~ Texas Newspaper Citations
 * Obituary Project ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * Obituary Daily Times ~ Citations to over 15,000,000 obituaries including interactive search function

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)

Taxation

 * 1846-1910 Texas, County Tax Rolls 1846-1910 at Findmypast ($) — index and images

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1903 - 1935 (images and index) - FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903 - 1997 (index only) - FamilySearch - 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.com — index $
 * 1837-1965 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1837-1973 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1837-1977 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1837-1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index 1837-1977 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1966-2005 Texas Marriage Records 1966 - 2005  -  Hidden Ancestors
 * 1966 - 2010 - FamilySearch record collection - How to Use this Collection
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1890-1976 Name index and images of statewide death certificates, 1890-1976. The name index has been created by Family Search and is tied to images of the Texas death certificates. Few certificates are available prior to 1903.
 * 1903-1973 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1903 - 2000 (index) - FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1964-1998 Texas Death Index 1964 to 1998 [no images] Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.
 * 1977-1986 at FamilySearch.org — index

Divorce

 * 1968-2005 Texas Divorce Records 1968 - 2005   -  Hidden Ancestors
 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project Texas 1850 - 1930
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Societies and Libraries
Western Texas Genealogical Association 1918 23rd St. Snyder 79549 Facebook

Southwest Texas Genealogical Society PO Box 295 Uvalde, Texas 78802 Website

FamilySearch Centers

 * Del Rio Texas Family History Center
 * Eagle Pass Texas Family History Center
 * Uvalde Texas Family History Center


 * New Braunfels Public LIbrary - West Side Community Center - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Zavala County TXGenWeb
 * 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.