Smith County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Smith 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 James Smith, a general during the Texas Revolution. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Smith County Courthouse 100 N Broadway Avenue Tyler, TX 75702-1018 Phone: 903.535.0630 County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage records from 1848, probate records from 1847, court and land records from 1846

County Clerk

200 East Ferguson Ste. 300 Tyler 75702 Phone: 903-590-4670

District Clerk

100 N. Broadway Rm 204 Tyler 75702 Phone: 903-590-1660

Parent County
1846--Smith County was created 11 April 1846 from Nacogdoches County.
 * County seat: Tyler

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:

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

Neighboring Counties
Cherokee •  Gregg  •  Henderson  •  Rusk  •  Upshur  •  Van Zandt  •  Wood

African American

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

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

Additional Cemetery Sources
 * Smith County Cemetery Photographs ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Smith County Military Grave Markers/Markings ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Confederate Soldiers Buried in Smith County
 * Texas Escapes Listing of Texas cemeteries with transcriptions and pictures.

Census

 * 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project Texas 1850 - 1930

Church
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Presbyterian Beginnings in Smith County ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * St. James Baptist Church History ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Mt. Zion Baptist Church ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Lane's Chapel Methodist Church History and Records ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Texas Christian Church Directory~ ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in Texas
 * FamilySearch Places

City Directories

 * 1972 Smith County 1972 from Historic Map Works
 * 1981 Smith County 1981 from Historic Map Works

Court

 * 1846-1909 Affidavits of Death and Heirship ~ transcription ~ East Texas Genealogical Society for USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1847-1857 Abstract District Court Minutes Smith County ~ book ~ East Texas Genealogical Society

Land

 * Deed/Land Records ~  transcription ~ East Texas Genealogical for USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Original Surveys/Land Patents of Smith County, Texas ~ transcription ~ USGenWeb Archives Project

Local Histories

 * Chronological History of Smith County, 1983 compiled by Donald W. Whisenhut for the Smith County Historical Society
 * A History of Tyler and Smith County, 1948 by Albert Woldert. Read the book on line from The Portal to Texas History.
 * Tyler &amp; Smith County, Texas: An Historical Survey, 1978 by Robert W. Glover. Read the book online from The Portal to Texas History.
 * Historical Atlas of Smith County, 1965
 * A History of Smith County, Texas, North Texas State Teachers College Thesis by William R. Ward, 1944, overview of the history of Smith County. Read the thesis online from The Portal to Texas History.
 * The Bullard Area-Its History and People, 1800–1977 by the Bullard Community Library Commission.
 * Smith County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.
 * Some Biographies of Old Settlers ~  excerpts from publication  ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * A History of Smith County ~  USGenWeb Archives Project

Maps

 * Texas Land Survey Maps for (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * 1853, 1872, 1880, 1905 Smith County Maps: 1853 1872 1880 1905 from the Portal to Texas History.
 * 1877, 1885, 1889, 1898, 1902, 1907, 1912, 1919 City of Tyler, Sanborn Insurance Maps. Scroll down the page until you get to Tyler. There are several sheets to each map.
 * 1903 Smith County Map from Historic Map Works.
 * 1914 Map of Angelina, Gregg, Harrison, Cherokee, Houston, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith &amp; Trinity at www.rootsweb.com
 * 1939 Smith County General Highway Map
 * 1961 Smith County General Highway Map
 * 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 — index and images $

Mexican-American War

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

Civil War

 * 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

 * 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
 * Boomtown, Bridge and Baseball - The Troup Banner, 1928-1939 Troup, Smith County, Texas ~ book ~ Abstracted and Compiled by Judy Womack for East Texas Genealogical Society
 * Obituaries Recorded in Lindale News &amp; Troup Banner, Smith County, Texas ~ book ~ East Texas Genealogical Society
 * Obituaries Recorded in Tyler, Texas Newspapers 1905-1915 ~ book ~ East Texas Genealogical Sociiety

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
 * Obituaries from the Lindale News and the Troup Banner, Smith County, Texas by Lorene West Conaway ~ East Texas Genealogical Society
 * Obituaries from Tyler newspapers, Smith County, Texas, 1905-1915 by Lorene West Conaway and Ruby Renfro Neilson ~ East Texas Genealogical Society

Probate
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1800 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1800 – 2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records 1800-2000 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * Smith County Court Records Inquiry ~ Smith County Judicial Search, then select Civil Records, then select Search by Party at upper left to show critical dates for a specific probate and where the record is stored
 * Smith County Wills and Probate ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records ~ Ancestry.com (subscription)

Schools

 * Tyler, TX High School: 1940 Basketball Team Photo with names of individuals

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


 *  1890 Tax Record Abstract, Smith County, TX ~ East Texas Genealogical Society

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1903 - 1935 - FamilySearch (images and index) - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903 - 1997 - FamilySearch (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 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 $
 * 1846-1899 Marriage Records of Smith County, Texas 1846-1899 - East Texas Genealogical Society
 * 1879-1965 Texas, U.S., Select County Marriage Records at Ancestry.com — index & images ($)
 * 1900-1926 Marriage Records of Smith County, Texas 1900-1926 - East Texas Genealogical Society
 * 1966 - 2010 - FamilySearch - FamilySearch record collection - How to Use this Collection
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1890-1976 - FamilySearch with images - How to Use this Collection 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 — index and images $
 * 1903 - 2000 - FamilySearch (index) - 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

 * 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
Smith County Historical Society 125 South College Ave. Tyler TX 75702 Telephone Number: 903-592-5993 Fax: 903-526-0924 Website East Texas Genealogical Society PO Box 6967 Tyler TX 75711-6967 website Tyler Public Library 201 S College Ave Tyler, TX 75702 Telephone Number: 903-593-7323 Website Whitehouse Community Library 107 Bascom Rd Whitehouse, TX 75791 Telephone Number: 903-839-2949 Website Cameron-J Jarvis Troup Municipal Library 102 S Georgia PO Box 721 Troup, TX 75789 Telephone Number: 903-842-3101 Website Library Catalog Lillie Russell Memorial Library 200 E Hubbard St Lindale, TX 75771 Telephone Number: 903-882-1900 Website Bullard Community Library 211 W Main St Bullard, TX 75757 Telephone Number: 903-894-6125 Website Noonday Community Library 16662 CR 196 Tyler, TX 75703 Telephone Number: 903-939-0540 Facebook

FamilySearch Centers

 * Athens Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Gilmer Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Heath Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Longview Texas FamilySearch Center
 * McKinney Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Richardson Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Tyler Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Richardson Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Wills Point Texas FamilySearch Center


 * Dallas Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Kaufman County Library - an affiliate library
 * Tyler Public Library - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Smith County ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Smith 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.