Ward County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Ward 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 Thomas W. Ward, a soldier in the Texas Revolution. The County is located in the west area of the state.

County Courthouse
Ward County Courthouse 400 S Allen Street Monahans, TX 79756 Phone: 915.943.3294 County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, probate, court and land records Clk has from 1892 and military records; District Clerk has divorce records

County Clerk

400 South Allen St.; Ste 101 Monahans 79756 Phone: 915-943-3294 Fax: 915-943-6054

District Clerk

P.O. Box 440 Manahans 79756 Phone: 432-943-2751 Fax: 432-943-3810

History
1881-- Anglo-American settlement started in 1881.

Parent County
1887--Ward County was created 26 February 1887 from Tom Green County.
 * County seat: Monahans

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
Crane •  Ector  •  Loving  •  Pecos  •  Reeves  •  Winkler

African American

 * 1865 - 1870 (images) - How to Use this Collection

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

Additional Cemetery Sources


 * Monahans Cemetery -  photos
 * Tamarisk Cemtery - photos - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Texas Historic Cemeteries ~Preservation Texas
 * African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries
 * Texas Escapes Listing of Texas cemeteries with transcriptions and lots of pictures.

Census

 * 1850-1930''' US Gen Web Census Project Texas

Church
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Texas Christian Church Directory ~ ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in Texas
 * FamilySearch Places

Land

 * Land Survey Abstract Indices of the Original Land Owners of Texas

Local Histories

 * History of Ward County ~  The Handbook of Texas Online

Maps

 * 1895 US Atlas Ward County
 * 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 1838-1900 at Ancestry — index and images $

Mexican-American War

 * 1845 - 1848 US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War 1845-1848 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
 * 1917 - 1918 Draft Registration 1917-1918;- USGenWeb Archives Project

Newspapers

 * w3newspapers -  Texas Newspaper Index with links
 * Newslink -  Texas Newspaper List (sorted by publication frequency)
 * The Olden Times  -   Historic Texas News Online
 * Texas Digital Newspaper Program at The Portal to Texas History

Obituaries

 * USGenWeb Archives Obituary Project ~  Texas
 * Afrigeneas ~ African American death notices, obituaries and funeral programs compiled by users from current newspapers and historical sources
 * Obituary Daily Times ~ Citations to over 15,000,000 obituaries including interactive search function

Probate
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1800 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1800 – 2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records ~ Ancestry.com (subscription)

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
 * 1926-1949 Births 1926-1949 - US Gen Web Archives Project
 * 1950-1995 Births 1950-1995 - US GenWeb Archives Project
 * 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 Family Search 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

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

Societies and Libraries
Ward County Genealogical Society 400 E. 4th St. Monahans 79758 Website

Ward County Library 409 S Dwight St Monahans, TX 79756 Telephone Number: 432-943-3332 Website

FamilySearch Centers

 * Big Spring Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Midland Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Monahans Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Odessa Texas FamilySearch Center
 * San Angelo Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Seminole Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Snyder Texas FamilySearch Center


 * Franklin County Genealogical Society - an affiliate library
 * Hopkins County Genealogical Society Research Library - an affiliate library
 * Midland Centennial Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Tom Green County Library - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Ward County TXGenWeb
 * Ward County Archives - USGenWeb
 * 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.