Montague County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Montague 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 Daniel Montague, a surveyor, and soldier in the Mexican–American War. The County is located in the north-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Montague County Courthouse PO Box 77 Montague, Texas 76251-0077 Phone: 940.894.2461

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage, probate and court records from 1873 and land records

County Clerk

P.O. Box 77 Montague 76251 Phone: 940-894-2461 Fax: 940-894-6601

District Clerk

P.O. Box 155 Montague 76251 Phone: 940-894-2571

History
1719 and 1854--The first Anglo-American settlers arrived in 1854. French and Spanish were in the area as early as 1719.

Parent County
1857--Montague County was created 24 December 1857 from Cooke County.
 * County seat: Montague

Record Loss
1873--Courthouse and many county records were destroyed by fire in February 1873.

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:

Neighboring Counties
Clay •  Cooke  •  Jack  •  Jefferson County, Oklahoma  •  Love County, Oklahoma  •  Wise

African American

 * 1865 - 1870 Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1870(images) - FamilySearch

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

Additional Cemetery Sources
 * 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 USGenWeb Census Project Texas 1850 - 1930

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

Local Histories

 * History of Montague County, 1913, by Mrs. W. R. (Fannie Bellows) Potter, a history of Montague County, told through anecdotal accounts covering events that span from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. Read the book online from The Portal to Texas History. Read the book online at archive.org.
 * Montague Texas History from The Handbook of Texas Online.

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 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 at Ancestry — index and images $

Mexican-American War

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

Civil War

 * 1861 - 1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * Confederate Pension Applications ~ Texas State Library and Archives Commission
 * Confederate Pension Applications TXGenWeb

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 at FamilySearch — index and images

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

 * Montague County Obituaries ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 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 1800-2000 at Ancestry — index and images ($)


 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records Ancestry ($)

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 Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903 - 1997 Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 (index) - FamilySearch
 * 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 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 — index $
 * 1966 - 2010 at FamilySearch
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1890 - 1976 Texas Death Records 1890 – 1976 [with images] Name index and images of statewide death certificates, 1890-1976.
 * 1903 - 1973  at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903 - 1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry — index and images $
 * 1903 - 2000 Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
 * '1964 - 1998 [no images]
 * 1977 - 1986  at FamilySearch.org — index

Divorce

 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1968 - 2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968 - 2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry — index $

Societies and Libraries
Montague County Genealogical Society PO Box 795 Bowie 76230 Facebook

Montague County Historical Society PO Box 77 Montague 76251

FamilySearch Centers

 * Carrollton Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Decatur Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Gainesville Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Graham Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Lewisville Texas FamilySearch Center
 * McKinney Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Plano Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Wichita Falls Texas FamilySearch Center


 * Donald W. Reynolds Library - an affiliate library
 * Emily Fowler Central Library - an affiliate library
 * Rita and Truett Smith Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Sherman Public Library - an affiliate library

Websites

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