Grayson County, Texas Genealogy

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

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County Courthouse
Grayson County Courthouse

County Clerk

100 W. Houston, Suite 17 Sherman 75090 Phone: 903-813-4235 Fax: 903-870-0829

District Clerk

200 S. Crockett, Rm. Ste. 120-A Sherman 75090 Phone: 903-813-4352

History


The first courthouse was constructed in 1847 and torn down in 1858.

This old photograph had this statement attached; "I, J.P. Loving, do hereby certify that the above photograph is a true picture of the first court house built in the present town of Sherman, Texas, and that it was customary for juries trying cases in said court house to retire to the shade of the old Pecan tree, then standing on the public square to consider their verdict" signed Jesse P. Loving.

The pecan tree he mentioned was used as a bank of sorts. People would hang their saddlebags and other personal property on or under the old pecan tree and they knew everything would be safe on their reurn. Even bags of gold were left there undisturbed. No one is ever known to have violated the sanctity of this 'bank'.

Grayson County is located at the top of Texas and is home to the famed Preston Road. This road was a major pioneer road, crossing the Red River into Texas. Just to the east of the Preston Road was the Shawnee Trail, the first cattle drive road in Texas. This cattle trail crossed the Red River in a natural rock formed cattle shute and herds passed through the Indian Nations in Oklahoma to reach the railheads in Kansas.

The Butterfield Overland Mail route also passed through Grayson county, this land was a vital link for pioneers entering the West.

Above is an Old Bois d' Arc Tree in a field of Indian Blanket Flowers. This area of Texas is a rich land, beautiful with rolling hills, prairie grasses; native pecan, oak, hackberry, elms, black walnut, chinaberry, blackjack, and more, and of course our famous Bois d'arc trees forrest the land.

Bois d'arc trees were a cash crop in the 1800's, used as a windbreak and a living livestock fence, this tree originated in Grayson County and its neighbor to the east, Fannin County, Texas and is one of the few trees left in the world that is prehistoric. It was ironic for the American Soldiers from Texas to have to break through the Bois d'arch hedges of France and Germany in WWI and WWII. Every one of the trees that impeded our tanks and troops, came from 'back home'. This tree is called by many names, hedgeapple, horseapple, Texas orange, Osage Orange, ironwood and other names. It was of course named for its main historical use, 'Wood of the Bow'. Bows made of Bois d'arc wood were found anciently deep in South America. The Natives traded the bows and the wood far and wide.

Grayson County is home to the two Americans' to receive France's highest honor, and the French Legion of Honor. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was born in Denison, Grayson County and Thomas V. Munson, who saved Europe's grape and wine industry by his research and development of using grafts of our Texas native grapevine stock to save them from extinction.

Lake Texoma, one of largest reservoirs in the United States was a project involving placing a large dam just North of Denison,Texas in the 1940's and is a very popular vacation spot today. It is the home of two wildlife habitats. This lake ended most of the flooding from the Red River.

Grayson County is a beautiful place to live.


 * Read about early Grayson County, Texas
 * Read More about Grayson County, Texas
 * Articles about Grayson County History

Parent County was Fannin County - Grayson County was formed May 17, 1846

County seat: Sherman



Grayson County Frontier Village in Denison, Texas is a place where Grayson County history is brought to life. It also houses a database of Katy Railroad Workers and has a research center in the museum building. They are glad to help patrons with their genealogical search.


 * Read More about Frontier Village

Record Loss


1930 Fire--The Third Grayson County courthouse was burned by a mob on May 9, 1930. However ALL of the vital records, land records, and most court records were saved from this fire. The courthouse had records in fire proof rooms and storage areas.

Populated Places
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog



Sherman is the county seat, other towns and communities alphabetically; Bells (formerly called Bailey Junction, Gospel Ridge, Bellsplain and Belvue); Collinsville (previously called Springville and Toadsuck); Denison; Dorchester; Gordonville; Gunter; Howe (first called Summit); Luella; Pottsboro; Sadler, Southmayd; Tioga; Tom Bean; Van Alstyne; Whitesboro (previous names-City of Divide, The Wolfe Path; White Settlement; White Colony);  and Whitewright. Visit My Grayson County Town Page

Small Communities and Archaic Place Names
Ambrose, Basin Springs, Bethel, Blackmon Chapel; Blanks Community; Bliss; Cannon; Carpenters Bluff; Cedar Mills; Center; Choctaw; Desert; Devoignes; Dixie; Dripping Springs; Elmont; Ellsworth; Enterprise; Farmington; Fink; Friendship; Gage; Georgetown; Hackberry; Hagerman; Hayhurst; Highway; Ida; Jamison (Jameson); Kentuckytown; Knollwood; Locust;Macomb; Mantua; Marilee; Nance Prairie; Needle Ridge (Christian Chapel Community); Norton; Oak Grove; Oxford Community; Pilot Grove; Pink Hill; Plainview; Preston; Quillen; Red Branch; Red River City; Rock Creek; Rose Hill; Sanborn; Sandusky; Sedalia (also called Yakima); Smith Oaks; South Gale; Sperry; Warner Junction; Washita Bend; Waterloo; Whitemound; Whiterock; and Woodlake (also called Tanyard Springs).

Neighboring Counties
Bryan County, Oklahoma •  Collin  •  Cooke  •  Denton  •  Fannin  •  Marshall County, Oklahoma

Resources

 * Grayson County,Texas ~ TXGenWeb- maps, biographical and historical data, cemeteries, obituaries, articles and all kinds of useful information.
 * Grayson County, Texas - Official County Website
 * Online books about Grayson County, Texas
 * The Handbook of Texas Online - Searchable
 * Biographical Souvenir of Texas - 1889
 * Inventory of county records, Grayson County courthouse, Sherman, Texas

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

Additional Cemetery Sources  Grayson County's beautiful rolling green hills hold more than 200 cemeteries.
 * Google Map of Grayson County Cemeteries

Churches

 * Grayson County Churches, Photographs, Historical Markers, Links Books ~ onlne!
 * St Stephens Episcopal Church, Sherman
 * Many Grayson County Books are online and complete!

Schools

 * Grayson County School Page
 * Austin College is in Grayson County!

Historical Markers

 * Grayson County Historical Markers
 * Official State of Texas Historical Marker Atlas ~ Search form.

Railroads

 * Railroads were very important to Grayson County !

Court

 * All About Grayson County Official Records
 * Official Grayson County Clerk's Genealogy Page

Land

 * Land Records are kept in the Grayson County Clerk's Office.
 * Very early records made during the Republic of Texas are found in Fannin County's Courthouse and in the Texas State Archives.
 * 1908 Grayson County, Texas Plat Book This book has biographcial sketches as well as detailed maps with land owners. It even shows the location of individual houses around the countryside. Some cemetery locations are visible in this book.

Local Histories

 * A history of Grayson County, Texas / Mattie Davis Lucas (Mrs. W. H. Lucas) and Mita Holsapple Hall (Mrs. H. E. Hall) 1936
 * 1830's-1870 An Illustated History of Grayson County, Texas, by Graham Landrum, 1960- Included in this book is a "pioneer index" that covers people from the 1830's to 1870.

City Directories:
 * Ancestors and Decendants of Grayson County, Texas - by the Grayson County Genealogical Society 1980
 * A Biographical Souvenir of Texas, 1889 This book contains biographical sketches of families written by themselves. It contains a lot of Grayson County people.
 * Glimpses of Grayson County From the Early Days, 1894
 * 1896 Black Friday ~ May 15, 1896 ~ The Sherman Cyclone
 * Denison, The Texas-Gateway, Busy, Progressive City with Golden Opportunities, 1908
 * Grayson County, Texas Plat Book, 1908 ( Includes biographical sketches and all land owners)
 * Online Books about Grayson County and Grayson County people.
 * 1879-1899 The Old Settlers Association of Grayson Co. Vol 1.1879-1899
 * 1989-1944 The Old Settlers Association of Grayson Co. Vol 2.1898-1944
 * 1911-1925 The Old Settlers Association of Grayson Co. Vol 3.1911-1925
 * 1926-1960 The Old Settlers Association of Grayson Co. Vol 4.1926-1960
 * Sherman Texas Indelible Photographs 1890
 * 1926-1946 Grayson County, Texas in the Depression and War : 1929 - 1946 by David Park
 * A HISTORY OF TEXAS AND TEXANS by Frank W. Johnson
 * 1979 and 1981 History of Grayson County, Texas ( 2 Vols 1979 &amp;1981) by Grayson County Frontier Village

1976 Sherman - Denison City Directory 1876

1887-1888 Morrison &amp; Formby's General Directory of the City of Sherman 1887-1888

1893-1894 Sherman - Denison City Directory 1893- 1894

1898-1899[http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txgrayso/DenisonSoc/1898DenSherDir/1898-1899-1.html Maloney's Denison - Sherman City Directory, 1898 - 1899

1899-1900 Maloney's Denison - Sherman City Directory, 1899 - 1900

1887-1888 Morrison &amp;Formby's Sherman City Directory, 1887 - 1888

1910-1911 R.L. Polk Co.'s Sherman City Directory, 1910 - 1911

1912-1913 R.L. Polk Co.'s Sherman City Directory, 1912 - 1913

1918 R.L. Polk Co.'s Sherman City Directory, 1918

1923 R.L. Polk Co.'s Sherman City Directory, 1923

1925 R.L. Polk Co.'s Sherman City Directory, 1925

1935 Worley's Sherman City Directory, 1935

1940 History and Business Guide of Sherman &amp; Grayson County, 1940

1947-1948 Worley's Sherman City Directory, 1947-8

1948 History and Business Guide of Sherman &amp; Grayson County,1948

1973 Grayson County Rural Directory 1973

Maps



 * Texas Land Survey Maps for (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site
 * Maps of Grayson County &amp;Texas
 * 1897 Map of 1897 Grayson County, Texas with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)

Military

 * Grayson County Military history is a proud one.Useful links and information.
 * Perrin Air Force Base was located in Grayson County. View various webpages about it, in the link listed for military history above.
 * 1838 - 1900 Texas Muster Roll Index Cards at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Mexican-American War

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

Civil War

 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * Historical Research Center - Hillsboro, Tx., has one of the worlds best Confederate Research &amp; Civil War collections.

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * Men &amp; Women in World War II from Grayson County, Texas

Newspapers

 * All about Grayson County, Newspapers

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1800–1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1800–2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records at Ancestry.com — index and images $


 * All Probate records, insanity hearings and guardianship records are in the County Clerk's Office. Email the clerk's office for details about the record you are requesting.

Taxation

 * Tax Rolls are available through interlibrary loan and also through any FHC near you 1846-1910.Many of them are online, here is a page of links.
 * Tax records are kept in the County Clerks Office with more recent records in the Tax Assessors Office.
 * City of Denison (Land) Tax records are being placed online. this is an ongoing project by the Denison, Texas Genealogical Society's Online Document Project

Vital Records

 * Tips and advice on Grayson County, Texas Records
 * County Clerks Office

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1840-1981 Texas, Births and Christenings - FamilySearch
 * 1903-1935 Texas, Birth Certificates (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903-1997 Texas Birth Index (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 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1837-1973 Texas, Marriages - FamilySearch record collection
 * 1837-1977 Texas, County Marriage Index - FamilySearch records collection 
 * 1837-1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1966-2010 Texas, Marriages - FamilySearch record collection

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1903-1973 Texas Deaths and Burials (index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1964-1998 Death Records Texas, Death Index, 1964-1998 (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * 1977-1986 at FamilySearch.org — index

Divorce

 * 1968-2005 Texas Divorce Records (index) ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces at Ancestry.com — index $

Societies and Libraries
Sherman Public Library 421 N. Travis PO Box 1106 Sherman, TX 75090-0190 [ Website

Grayson County Genealogical Society 421 N. Travis Sherman 7509

Denison Public Library Historical Genealogical Society 300 W. Gandy St. Denison, TX 75020 Website


 * Martha Jefferson Randolph Chapter NSDAR

Websites

 * Grayson County,Texas ~ TXGenWeb web site. Has maps, biographical and historical data, online books, cemeteries, obituaries, articles and all kinds of useful information.
 * Inventory of county records, Grayson County Courthouse, Sherman, Texas
 * The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.