Taylor County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Taylor County Texas ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
Taylor County Courthouse 300 Oak Street Abilene, TX 79602 Phone: 325-674-1202 County Clerk has marriage, probate and land records

County Clerk

300 Oak St. Ste. 100 Abilene 79602 Phone: 325-674-1205 Fax: 325-674-1279

District Clerk

300 Oak St. Ste. 400 Abilene 79602 Phone: 325-674-1316 Fax: 325-674-1307

Taylor County has had two county seats: Buffalo Gap 1878-1883 and Abilene 1883-present.

Parent County
1858--Taylor County was created 1 February 1858 from Bexar and Travis Counties.
 * County seat: Abilene

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Taylor County boundary changes.

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
Callahan •  Coleman  •  Fisher  •  Jones  •  Nolan  •  Runnels  •  Shackelford

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


 * Abilene City Cemetery (City of Abilene Cemetery, Municipal Cemetery) Cemetery Database. Also includes: I. O. O. F. Cemetery, Masonic Cemetery, Cedar Hill Cemetery, Cedar Hill Flats Cemetery. Search by space or occupant.
 * 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.

Church

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

Local Histories

 * A History of Rural Taylor County, 1980, by Juanita Daniel Zachry.
 * Taylor County Timeline ~  TXGenWeb
 * Taylor County, Texas History from the Handbook of Texas Online
 * Texas Museums ~  List of all museums in Texas  ~  Hidden Ancestors

Maps

 * Texas Land Survey Maps for (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * 1883 Abilene Panoramic Map from the Amon Carter Museum.
 * Historical Maps ~ From the Republic to the Turn of the Century ~ Hidden Ancestors

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
 * Taylor County CSA Pensions ~ USGenWeb Archives
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors
 * Confederate Indigent Families List
 * Terrys Texas Rangers, 8th Texas Calvary

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has Abilene newspapers from the early 1900's that covered local news on residents from Taylor County.
 * Wikipedia has a list of online newspaper archives for Texas.
 * Abilene Reporter News
 * The Merkel Mail 912 North 1st Street Merkel, TX 79536 Phone: 325-928-5712 [[Image:]]325-928-5712 
 * The Buffalo Gap RoundUp
 * Home Town News -  Texas Newspaper Index with links
 * Newslink -  Texas Newspaper List (sorted by publication frequency)
 * The Olden Times  -   Historic Texas News Online

Obituaries

 * 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 $
 * 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 Family Search 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
 * USGenWeb Census Project

Societies and Libraries
Scarborough Library of Genealogy History and Biography of South and Southwest c/o McMurray College Library McMurray Station, Abilene, TX 79605 Website

Taylor Heritage Society PO Box 385 Taylor 76574

Abilene Public Library 202 Cedar St Abilene, TX 79601 Telephone Number: 325-676-6328 Website

Merkel Public Library 100 Kent St Merkel, TX 79536 Telephone Number: 325-928-5054


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

Family History Centers

 * Abilene Texas Family History Center

Websites

 * Taylor County TXGenWeb
 * Taylor County Archives ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 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.
 * — The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.