Harris County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Harris 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 John Richardson Harris, who founded the town of Harrisburg on Buffalo Bayou in 1826. The County is located in the east-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Harris County Courthouse 1001 Preston 4th Floor Houston, TX 77251-1525 Phone:713.755.6405 County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage and land records from 1836, probate records form late 1800’s, court  records from 1920’s and immirgration records 1880-1890; District Clerk has divorce records

County Clerk

P. O. Box 1525 Houston 77251 Phone: 713-755-6438

District Clerk

Physical Address 201 Caroline, Suite 420 Houston, Texas 77002

Mailing Address P.O. Box 4651 Houston 77210 Phone:713-755-5715

Parent County
1836--Harris County was created 17 March 1836 from Old Mexican Municipality.
 * County seat: Houston

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Harris County border changes.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

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 ±Water surface only; land in adjacent county

Neighboring Counties
Brazoria •  Chambers  •  Fort Bend  •  Galveston  •  Liberty  •  Montgomery  •  Waller

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Sources


 * At Rest: A Historical Directory of Harris County, Texas Cemeteries (1822-2001) Including Burial Customs and Other Interesting Facts, With a Listing of Past and Present Communities, Funeral Homes and Monument Companies, by Trevia Wooster Beverly, Houston: Tejas Publications &amp; Research, c. 1995; 2001.
 * Glenwood Cemetery established in 1871 by the Houston Cemetery Company
 * Washington Cemetery established in 1887 by the Deutsche Gesellschaft von Houston
 * Houston &amp; Texas Death Records Webpage
 * 1895-2008 at FamilySearch — index and images. Also at Ancestry - index & images ($).

Church
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court

 * Harris County District Clerk

Education

 * Rice University Yearbooks: 1916-1935

Local Histories

 * Houston Public Library/Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research

Maps

 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site
 * 1897 Map of 1897 Harris County, Texas with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)
 * 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

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Houston Chronicle Newspaper
 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Texas newspapers including Galveston from the early 1800's.
 * Texas Digital Newspaper Program at The Portal to Texas History

Probate
Online Probate Indexes and Records


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

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

Vital Records

 * Harris County Clerk Searchable Indexes http://www.cclerk.hctx.net/applications/websearch/

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1840 - 1981 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903 - 1935 (images and index) - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903 - 1997 (index only) - How to Use this Collection
 * 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
 * 1837-1965 Texas, U.S., Select County Marriage Records at Ancestry.com — index & images ($)
 * 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 $
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1890-1976 with images - How to Use this Collection - The name index was created by FamilySearch and is tied to images of the Texas death certificates. Few certificates are available prior to 1903 and in many counties prior to 1910. Fold3.com also has Texas Deaths, 1890-1976 ($) available online.
 * 1903 - 1973 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry — index and images $*1964 - 1998 (no images) - How to Use this Collection - Index to Texas statewide death certificates covering 4 million deaths since 1964.
 * 1977 - 1986 — index - How to Use this Collection

Divorce

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

Societies and Libraries
Atascocita-Kingwood Genealogical Society PO Box 5214 Kingwood, TX 77325

Historical Preservation Association''' PO Box 1244 Baytown TX 77522-1244

Genealogical Society''' 310 North Live Oak PO Box 606, Tomball TX. 77377-0606 Telephone Number: 281-516-7417 Library Hours: Mon.- Wed. 10-2 Sat. 10-2 Closed 4th Sat. of every month. Society is closed for an undisclosed period of time.

Library Center for Genealogical Research''' 5300 Caroline Houston, Texas

County Genealogical Society''' PO Box 391 Pasadena 77501

West Family Genealogy Society''' PO Box 842661 Houston, TX 77284-2661

Area Genealogical Society''' P.O. Box 2723 Humble, TX 77347-2723

FamilySearch Centers

 * Alvin Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Baytown Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Bear Creek Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Bear Creek Texas West FamilySearch Center
 * Clear Lake Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Friendswood Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Galveston Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Houston Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Houston Texas North FamilySearch Center
 * Katy Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Kingwood Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Klein Texas FamilySearch Center
 * League City Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Melbourne Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Pasadena Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Pine Trails Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Richmond Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Shadowdale Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Tomball Texas FamilySearch Center


 * Houston Public Library Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research - an affiliate library
 * Lawrence County Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Rosenberg Library - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Harris County Family History and Genealogy, a part of the TXGenWeb and USGenWeb projects.
 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county
 * The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.