Eastland County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Eastland 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 William Mosby Eastland, a soldier during the Texas Revolution and the only officer to die as a result of the "Black Bean executions" of the Mier Expedition. The County is located in the north central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Eastland County Courthouse PO Box 110; Eastland, TX 76448 Phone: 254-629-1583

County Clerk has birth and death records 1903-1930 and 1940-1950, marriage records from 1874, land records from 1870, probate records from 1882 and military discharge from 1919; District Court has divorce records from 1903

County Clerk

P.O. Box 110 Eastland 76448 Phone: 254-629-1583 Fax: 254-329-8125 District Clerk 100 West Main St. Suite 206 Eastland 76448 Phone: 254-629-2664

Eastland County Courthouse History

Parent County
1858--Eastland County was created 1 February 1858 from Bosque, Coryell and Travis Counties.


 * County seat: Eastland

Record Loss
1896--Eastland County Courthouse, a three-story stone building, burned on November 29, 1896. The records are believed to have been saved.

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
Brown •  Callahan  •  Comanche  •  Erath  •  Palo Pinto  •  Shackelford  •  Stephens

African American

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

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

Additional Cemetery Sources


 * Eastland County, Texas Cemetery Inscriptions, Vol 1- 3, Compiled by Weldon I. Hudson and Shirley Brittain Cawyer, are available at the Centennial Library in Eastland, and may be on the shelves at other libraries, as well. These books were reprinted in 2005 and may be commercially available.


 * African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries
 * Cemetery Junction ~  Links to cemetery transcriptions

Church

 * Texas Christian Church Directory ~ ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in Texas

List of Churches and Church Parishes


 * FamilySearch Places

Court

 * Texas, Eastland County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records - Wiki Article

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1906-1989 — index and images

Local Histories

 * History of Eastland County, by Mrs. George Langston, (Dallas: Aldridge, 1904). Full text version online at archive.org.
 * History of Eastland County, Texas, by Edwin T. Cox, (San Antonio: Naylor, 1950).
 * Eastland County, Texas: A Historical and Biographical Survey, by Ruby Pearl Ghormley, (Austin: Rupegy, 1969).
 * The History of Eastland County, 1873-1973.
 * History of Eastland County Written in 1922 at historictexas.net


 * Eastland County Museum
 * Texas Museums ~  List of all museums in Texas  ~  Hidden Ancestors

Maps

 * Eastland City Maps from cityofeastland.com
 * 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 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
 * Eastland Cemetery War Memorials

Mexican-American War

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

Civil War
Online Records


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

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Eastland Telegram, Cisco Press, Ranger Times, Gorman Progress and The Rising Star - newspapers. Published twice weekly (except for The Rising Star which is published on Thursdays). Available online by subscription.
 * 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 (Ancestry)

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) - 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 at Ancestry.com — 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 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1966-2005 Texas Marriage Records - 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 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 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1903 - 2000 (index) - How to Use this Collection
 * 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

 * 1968-2005 Texas Divorce Records ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * 1968 - 2010 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index


 * 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project ~ Texas

Societies and Libraries
Eastland County Genealogical Society PO Box 6 609 Marsh St Eastland, TX 76448 website

Ranger Historical Preservation Society PO Box 320 Ranger, TX 76470 website

Centennial Memorial Library 210 S Lamar St Eastland, TX 76448 Telephone Number: 254-629-2281 Website

Cisco Public Library 600 Ave G Cisco, TX 76437 Telephone Number: 254-442-1020

Ranger City Library 718 Pine St Ranger, TX 76470 Telephone Number: 254-647-1880 Website

Charlie Garrett Memorial Library 103 S Fisher Gorman, TX 76454 Telephone Number: 254-734-3301

Society Hill ~  Links and addresses to Texas genealogical and historical societies

Family History Centers

 * Abilene Texas Family History Center
 * Stephenville Texas Family History Center


 * Brownwood Texas Genealogical Library - an affiliate library
 * Comanche Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Cross Plains Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Dublin Public Library - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Eastland County TXGenWeb site. History, cemeteries, business, school information, marriages, maps, family information, etc.
 * [http://familyoldphotos.com/search/node/eastland%20texas

Eastland County Old Photos], old photographs of people and places in Eastland, Ranger, Cisco and other parts of Eastland County, Texas.


 * City of Eastland: eastlandtexas.com and cityofeastland.com websites.
 * 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.