Houston County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Houston 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 Sam Houston, a president of the Republic of Texas and Governor of Texas. The County is located in the east-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Houston County Court House PO Box 370; Crockett, TX 75835 Phone:936.544.3255

County Clerk has birth, marriage, and death record from 1903, probate court and land records from 1882; District Clerk has divorce record from 1920; County History Commission has burial records, family &amp; local histories

County Clerk

401 East Houston Ave, 1st Floor P.O. Box 370 Crockett 75835 Phone: 936-544-3255 ext. 240

District Clerk

P.O. Box 1186 Crockett 75835 Phone: 936-544-3255

History
1690--San Francisco de los Tejas, the first Spanish mission in East Texas, was founded in 1690 and abandoned in 1693.

Parent County
1837--Houston County was created 12 June 1837 from Nacogdoches County.
 * County seat: Crockett

Record Loss
1865, 1882 Many county records were destroyed in courthouse fires in February 1865 and November 1882.

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
Anderson •  Angelina  •  Cherokee  •  Leon  •  Madison  •  Trinity  •  Walker

African American

 * 1865 - 1870 (images) - How to Use this Collection
 * African American Griots ~ USGenWeb
 * AfriGeneas ~ African Ancestored Genealogy
 * Texas African American Genealogy ~ Access Genealogy

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Sources


 * Houston County Cemetery and Tombstone Transcriptions USGenWeb Cemetery Photographs
 * Texas Cemeteries ~  Texas Escapes

Church
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Local Histories

 * The History of Houston County, Texas, 1943 by Armistead Albert Aldrich.
 * 1687-1979 History of Houston County, Texas, 1687–1979, 1979) by the Houston County Historical Commission.
 * Houston County in the Civil War, 1981 by Thomas Nelms Mainer.
 * The First Settlers of Houston County, Texas, 1983, by Gifford E. White.
 * Houston County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.

Maps

 * www.rootsweb.com
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site.
 * 1914 Map of Angelina, Gregg, Harrison, Cherokee, Houston, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith &amp; Trinity at
 * 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

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Houston County Courier
 * Texas Digital Newspaper Program at The Portal to Texas History

Probate
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1800 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1800 – 2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records at Ancestry.com — index and images $

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 (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 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry — 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 1837-1977 at Ancestry — index $
 * 1966 - 2010 - FamilySearch record collection - How to Use this Collection
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 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 1903-1982 at Ancestry - 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 - 2010 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Societies and Libraries
Houston Polish Gen. Society 3606 Maroneal Houston 77025 Website

Houston Genealogical Forum PO Box 271466 Houston 77277-1466 Website

Houston Historical Commission Website

FamilySearch Centers

 * Cleveland Texas FamilySearch Center
 * College Station Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Conroe Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Fallbrook Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Fred Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Houston Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Jasper Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Kingwood Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Lufkin Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Melbourne Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Rockdale Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Shadowdale Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Waco Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Woodville Texas FamilySearch Center


 * Carnegie History Center - an affiliate library
 * Houston Public Library Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research - an affiliate library
 * Huntsville Texas Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Montgomery County Memorial Library - an affiliate library
 * Waco-McLennan County Library - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Houston County, TXGenWeb
 * TXGenWeb project May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county
 * Houston County Archives ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.