Kerr County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Kerr 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 Joshua D. Brown for his fellow Kentucky native, James Kerr, a congressman of the Republic of Texas. The County is located in the south-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Kerr County Courthouse 700 Main Street Kerrville, TX 78028-5323 Phone: 830.792.2255 County Clerk has birth and death recrods from 1903, marriage, probate, land and court records from 1856; District Clerk has divorce records

County Clerk

700 Main St. Suite 122 Kerrville 78028 Phone: 830-792-2255

District Clerk

County Courthouse Kerrville 78028 Phone: 830-792-2281

Kerr County has had five courthouses and two county seats. When Kerr County was formed in 1856, the town of Brownsborough changed its name to Kerrville and became the county seat. The first Kerr County Courthouse was built in Kerrville in 1856. In 1860 the county seat moved to the town of Comfort where a new courthouse was built in 1861. In 1862, Comfort became a part of the newly formed Kendall County, the county seat was returned to Kerrville, where it has remained. Courthouses were built in Kerrville in 1876, 1886, and in 1926, which is the current courthouse.

Kerr County Government Website

Kerr County; 700 Main St; Kerrville, TX 78028-5323; Ph. 830.792.2255 Details: (Co Clk has b &amp; d rec from 1903, m, pro, land &amp; ct rec from 1856; Dis Clk has div rec)

Parent County
1856--Kerr County was created 26 January 1856 from Bexar County.
 * County seat: Kerrville

Boundary Changes
1862 -- Eastern portion of Kerr County, including the town of Comfort, became part of the newly formed Kendall County.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

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
Bandera •  Edwards  •  Gillespie  •  Kendall  •  Kimble  •  Real

African American

 * 1865-1870 Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records(images) - FamilySearch
 * African American Griots ~ USGenWeb
 * AfriGeneas ~ African Ancestored Genealogy
 * Texas African American Genealogy ~ Access Genealogy

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Sources
 * African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries
 * Texas Escapes Listing of Texas cemeteries with transcriptions and lots of pictures.

Census

 * 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project - Texas 1850-1930
 * 1900 Federal Census ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1910 Federal Census ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1920 Federal Census ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1930 Federal Census ~ USGenWeb Archives Project

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

Local Histories

 * Kerr County, Texas, 1856–1956, by Bob Bennett, (rev. by Clara Watkins Kerr County, Texas, 1856–1976, Hill Country Preservation Society, 1975).
 * Kerr County History from the Handbook of Texas Online
 * Kerr Photos, Stories and More ~ TXGenWeb

Maps

 * 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 — index and images $

Mexican-American War

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

Civil War

 * 1861 - 1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * Confederate Pension Applications ~ Texas State Library and Archives Commission
 * Confederate Pension Applications Index - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Confederate Indigent Families Index - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1890 Union Soldiers Schedule - USGenWeb Archives Project

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 at FamilySearch — index and images

Korean War

 * Korean War Casualties - USGenWeb Archives Project

Newspapers

 * w3newspapers -  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

 * Kerr County Obituaries
 * USGenWeb Archives Obituary Project Texas
 * Afrigeneas - African American death notices, obituaries and funeral programs compiled by users from current newspapers and historical sources
 * 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 1800-2000 at Ancestry — index and images $
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records - Ancestry.com (subscription)

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


 * 1903-1935 Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903-1997 Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 (index) - FamilySearch
 * 1926-1995 Texas Births, 1926 - 1995 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Marriage

 * 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 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 — index $
 * 1966-2010  at FamilySearch
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1890-1976 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.
 * 1903-1973 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry — index and images $
 * 1903*2000 Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
 * 1964-1998 [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

 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry — index $

Societies and Libraries
Kerrville Genealogical Society 505 Water St. Kerrville 78028 E-mail:[mailto:kerrvillegensoc@gmail.com kerrvillegensoc@gmail.com] Website

Kerr History Center Center has vast resources for family histories 425 Water Street Ingram, Texas 78025 Website

Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library 505 Water St Kerrville, TX 78028 Telephone Number: 830-257-8422 Website

FamilySearch Centers

 * Boerne Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Burnet County Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Fredericksburg Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Kerrville Texas FamilySearch Center


 * Lakehills Area Library - an affiliate library
 * Patrick Heath Public Library - an affiliate library

Websites

 * 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.