Texas Probate Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Texas

What is in the Collection?
This collection contains images of probate records from seventy-five different counties in the state of Texas. The content and time period of these records vary by county. In Johnson County you will need to find the desired name in the index, which will be located in the column called “Estate”. Then go to the far right area of each page and get the volume and page number for the corresponding probate document. The specific name of the probate document will be listed in the column called “Orders” or “Proceedings”.

The page numbers in the index can be hard to read because they are in the book gutter (the area of the pages near the inner binding), and there is a dark shadow that obscures or partially obscures that information. When this happens, use the “invert” icon on the image viewer in FamilySearch, which changes the image from positive appearing to negative appearing. This usually helps make the page number readable.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Probate records include petitions, inventories, accounts, decrees, and other court documents. Information found in entries includes:


 * Name of testator or deceased
 * Names of heirs such as spouse, children, and other relatives or friends
 * Name of executor, administrator, or guardian
 * Names of witnesses
 * Residence of testator
 * Document and recording dates (Used to approximate event dates i.e. A will was usually written near time of death.)

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know at least one of the following:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate date of death or probate.
 * The place of residence.
 * The names of family members who may be named in the probate record.

Compare the information on the image to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several images before you find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page then: ⇒Select the “County” category ⇒Select the “Volume Title and Year” category

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use a Probate record to identify adoptions, guardians, heirs and relatives.
 * Use a will to approximate a death date, then find a death certificate.
 * Use the information in the probate record to substitute for civil birth and death records for earlier years.
 * Use the information to locate census, christenings, marriage and land records.
 * Use the occupations to find employment or military records.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Texas, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Texas Archives and Libraries.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection citation:

Image citation: Top of Page