Bell County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties B  Bell County

County Courthouse
Bell County Courthouse 550 E 2nd Street PO Box 480 Belton, TX 76513 Phone: 254.933.5174 County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage, probate and land records from 1850, military records and school census; Clerk District Court has divorce records from 1850, court and naturalization records

Quick History
Settled, abandoned and resettled several times due to Indian troubles.

Parent County
22 January 1850: Bell County was created from Milam County.

The county was named for Peter H. Bell, (1812-1898). Peter Hansborough Bell, governor of Texas, was born on May 12, 1812, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. He engaged in business in Petersburg until he left Virginia to fight for the independence of Texas.

Record Loss
1891--The treasurer's office of the Bell County Courthouse caught fire, March 15, 1891. Probably arson. No record loss.

Cities
Bartlett | Belton | Copperas Cove | Harker Heights | Killeen | Little River-Academy | Morgan's Point Resort | Nolanville | Temple | Troy

Towns
Holland | Rogers

Village
Salado

Military
Fort Hood

Unincorporated Communties
Cyclone | Ding Dong | Heidenheimer | Pendleton | White Hall

Neighboring Counties
Burnet | Coryell | Falls | Lampasas | McLennan | Milam | Williamson

Cemeteries

 * Moffat Cemetery, Temple BillionGraves
 * St. Joseph Cemetery, Burlington BillionGraves

Maps

 * Belton 1881 Panoramic Map from the Amon Carter Museum.
 * Hometown Locator map
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site

Vital Records

 * Texas Death Index 1964 to 1998 [no images] Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.
 * 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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

 * The Bell County TXGenWeb Project, a member of The TXGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Bell County.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Bell County. (Backup site)
 * Family History Library Catalog for Bell County.