Eastland County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Eastland County Texas ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military 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--Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records (images) - FamilySearch

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

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

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
 * Eastland County Heroes at ancestralheroes.com

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

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 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)

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1903-1935 Texas, Birth Certificates (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903-1997 Texas Birth Index (index) - FamilySearch

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 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1837-1973 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1837-1977 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1837-1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1966-2005 Texas Marriage Records - Hidden Ancestors
 * 1966-2010 Texas, Marriages - FamilySearch record collection

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1890-1976 Texas Death Records [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 Texas Deaths and Burials (index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1903-2000 Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
 * 1964-1998 Texas Death Index [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 ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces at Ancestry.com — index $


 * 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project ~ Texas

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

Ranger Historical Preservation Society PO Box 320 Ranger 76470 website

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

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

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

Websites

 * Eastland County TXGenWeb site. History, cemeteries, business, school information, marriages, maps, family information, etc.
 * 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.