Sterling County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Sterling 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 W. S. Sterling, an early settler in the area. The County is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Sterling County Courthouse 615 4th Street P/O. Box 55 Sterling City, TX 76951-0055 Phone: 325-378-5191

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage records from 1913, divorce, probate, court and land records from 1891

County and District Clerk

P.O. Box 55 Sterling City 76951 Phone: 325-378-5191 Sterling County has had three courthouses. The first courthouse was built in 1891, the second in 1905 and the current courthouse, built in 1938.

Inventory of county records, Sterling County Courthouse, Sterling City, Texas, 1979. Describes the records of the Commissioner's Court, County Clerk, County Court, District Clerk, Justice of the Peace, Sheriff, Tax Assessor-Collector, Treasurer, and County School Superintendent. Also provides a list of Sterling County records and an index. Digital book online from The Portal to Texas History.

Parent County
1891--Sterling County was created 4 March 1891 fromTom Green County.
 * County seat: Sterling City

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

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
Coke •  Glasscock  •  Howard  •  Mitchell  •  Reagan  •  Tom Green  •  Irion

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
 * Texas Historic Cemeteries
 * African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries
 * Texas Escapes Listing of Texas cemeteries with transcriptions and lots of pictures.

Census

 * 1900 ~ partial transcription ~ TXGenWeb
 * 1920 ~ partial transcription ~ TXGenWeb

Church

 * Texas Christian Church Directory~ ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in Texas

Local Histories

 * Sterling County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.
 * 1976 Milling around Sterling County, edited by Beverly Daniels.
 * Texas Museums ~ List of all museums in Texas ~ Hidden Ancestors

Maps

 * 1895 US Atlas ~ Sterling County
 * 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 1838-1900 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

Mexican-American War

 * 1845 - 1848 - US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War 1845-1848 at Ancestry.com — 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

 * Home Town News -  Texas Newspaper Index with links
 * Newslink -  Texas Newspaper List (sorted by publication frequency)
 * The Olden Times  -   Historic Texas News Online

Obituaries

 * Sterling County Obituaries ~ partial listing  ~  TXGenWeb
 * 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 including interactive search function

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1800 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1800 – 2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records 1800-2000 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, 1903-1935 (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903-1997 Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 (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 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 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 1837-1977 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1891-1920 Sterling County, Texas, Marriages…Book 1 and 2, 1891-1920, published by the San Angelo Genealogical and Historical Society, 1995, 31 pages including an index plus a list of ministers and a list of unclaimed marriage licenses. Available from the San Angelo Genealogical and Historical Society
 * 1966-2005 Texas Marriage Records 1966 - 2005  -  Hidden Ancestors
 * 1966-2010 Texas, Marriages, 1966-2010  -  FamilySearch record collection

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1890-1976 Texas Death Records 1890 – 1976 [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.
 * 1903-2000 Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
 * 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

 * 1968-2005 Texas Divorce Records 1968 - 2005     Hidden Ancestors
 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project Texas 1850 - 1930

Societies and Libraries
Sterling County Public Library 301 Main Sterling City, TX 76951 Telephone Number: 325-378-2212


 * Society Hill ~  Links and addresses to Texas genealogical and historical societies

Websites

 * Sterling 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.
 * FamilySearch Catalog — The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.