Gaines County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Gaines 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 Gaines, a merchant who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence and was born in Culpeper County, Virginia in 1779. The County is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Gaines County Courthouse P. O. Box 847 101 South Main Seminole, Texas 79360-4342 Phone: 915.758.4003 County Clerk has birth, death and court records from 1903, marriage and probate records from 1848 and land records from 1843

County Clerk 

Physical Address: 101 South Main St Seminole, Texas 79360 Phone: (432) 758-5411

Mailing Address: 101 South Main, Room 206 Seminole, Texas 79360 Phone: 432-758-4003 Fax: 432-758-1442

District Clerk

Physical & Mailing Address: 101 South Main, Room 311 Seminole, Texas 79360 Phone: 432-758-4013 Fax: 432-758-4036 Gaines County Government Website Details: (Co Clk has b, m, d, bur, pro &amp; ct rec from 1905 &amp; land rec)

Parent County
1876--Gaines County was created 21 August 1876 from Bexar Land District.
 * County seat: Seminole

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
Andrews •  Dawson  •  Lea County, New Mexico  •  Martin Terry  •  Yoakum

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

Churches

 * Ashmore Baptist Church - Loop
 * Loop Baptist Church - Loop
 * Loop Church of Christ - Loop
 * Apostolic Assembly - Seagraves
 * Church of Christ - Seagraves
 * Church of the Nazarene - Seagraves
 * First Assembly of God - Seagraves
 * First Baptist Church - Seagraves
 * First United Methodist Church - Seagraves
 * Mt. Olive Baptist Church - Seagraves
 * St. Paul's Catholic Church - Seagraves
 * Sendero Pathway Assembly of God - Seagraves
 * Temple Baptist Chruch - Seagraves
 * Templo Bautista Getsemani - Segraves
 * Agape Church - Seminole
 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - Seminole
 * Family Harvest Church - Seminole
 * Fifth Street Church of Christ - Seminole
 * First Assembly of God - Seminole
 * First Baptist Church of Seminole - Seminole
 * First Methodist Church - Seminole
 * First Presbyterian Church - Seminole
 * First United Methodist Church - Seminole
 * German Church of God - Seminole
 * Gospel Mennonite Church - Seminole
 * Sommerfeld Mennonite Church - Seminole
 * South Seminole Baptist Church - Seminole
 * St. James Catholic Church - Seminole
 * West Side Church of Christ - Seminole

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Funeral Homes

 * Boyer Funeral Home - Seminole
 * Connally Funeral Home - Seagraves
 * Head Family Funeral Home - Seagraves
 * Mark A. Jones Funeral Home - Seagraves
 * Ratliff Funeral Home - Seminole
 * Singleton Funeral Home - Seminole

Maps

 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb 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

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * World War I Draft Registrations (A-L) - Gaines County, TXGenWeb site
 * World War I Draft Registrations (M-Z) - Gaines County, TXGenWeb site

World War II

 * World War II Enlistment Records - Gaines County, TXGenWeb site

Korean War

 * Korean War Dead - Gaines County, TXGenWeb site

Newspapers

 * Seminole Sentinel
 * Texas Digital Newspaper Program at The Portal to Texas History

These newspapers are not in Gaines County but contain news about its residents:


 * The Brownfield News
 * Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

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


 * 1840 - 1981 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903 - 1935 (images and index) - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903 - 1997 (index only) - How to Use this Collection
 * 1905-1933 Gaines County Births - Gaines County, TXGenWeb site
 * 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 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 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 at Ancestry — index and images $
 * 1910-1974 Gaines County Deaths - Gaines County, TXGenWeb site
 * 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

 * 1968-1978 Gaines County Divorces - Gaines County, TXGenWeb site
 * 1968 - 2010 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces at Ancestry — index $
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Societies and Libraries
Permian Basin Genealogical Society 311 W. 4th Odessa, Texas Website

Texas State Genealogical Society Website

FamilySearch Centers

 * Big Spring Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Hobbs New Mexico FamilySearch Center
 * Seminole Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Snyder Texas FamilySearch Center

Websites

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