User:RogersBA/Sandbox TX 249

Guide to Wise County, Texas ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The County was named for a Virginia Congressman Henry A. Wise, who had supported annexation of Texas by the United States. He was elected governor of Virginia in 1856. The County is located in the north-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Wise County Courthouse 308 W Main St Decatur, TX 76234 Phone: 940-627-5535 Wise County Courthouse

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage records from 1881, probate records from 1882, land records from 1852 and court records

Populated Places
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog



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

Census Records

 * 1860-1930 -- Wise County Census Images LARGE images of all year's pages
 * 1860 -- 1860 Census Transcription All of Wise County Transcribed with Additional Information, 3,034 names with index
 * 1870-1910 -- Wise County Census Indexes of Last Names Only
 * 1900-1910 -- Wise County 1900 &amp; 1910 Census Transcriptions &amp; Index of Names, Southwest corner of Wise County only
 * 1920 -- 1920 Census All of Wise County Transcribed with Additional Information, 23,117 names with index
 * 1930 -- 1930 Census All of Wise County Transcribed with Additional Information, 19,202 names with index (population was less)
 * See also Using the Census to find other records about ancestors

Church Records

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

 List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Funeral Homes

 * Jones Family Funeral Home, Bridgeport Texas
 * Hawkins Funeral Homes, Decatur, Bridgeport &amp; Boyd

Local Histories
1855 The first white settler arrived in 1854 and the first public school opened in 1855. 1860s Just northwest of Fort Worth and Dallas, in the 1860s, "Wise County had more Indian attacks &amp; kidnappings than any other county in Texas". 1880s In the early days of Wise County there were very large cattle ranches and homestead farms. Starting in the 1880s, coal was mined near the town of Bridgeport. Later limestone rock crushers and gas production became important.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 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 Records

 * 1838-1900 Texas Muster Roll Index Cards 1838-1900 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1916-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; 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 — How to Use this Collection; Index and images at partner site
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images at partner site

 World War I
 * 1917-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Newspapers

 * Wise County Messenger
 * Bridgeport Index Newspaper 1910-1975 15,377 images of pages with names indexed.
 * Texas Digital Newspaper Program at The Portal to Texas History

Obituaries

 * 1960-1989 (most 1970s) Obituaries From Local Papers 4,160 Newspaper clippings online
 * 1910-1975 (only a few in older years) Whole Newspaper Pages -The Bridgeport Index Most years have names indexes
 * 1976-2008 Obituaries From The Bridgeport Index 7,106 Newspaper clippings online
 * 2000-2009 Obituary Text From The Wise County Messenger 5,197 Obituaries with complete text
 * Recent The Wise County Messenger Link;Decatur paper obituaries
 * Recent The Bridgeport Index Link - Bridgeport paper obituaries

Probate Records

 * 1800-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images only
 * 1800-2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records at Ancestry — index and images ($)

School Records

 * Old School Pictures &amp; Yearbooks 1900s-1970s Indexed class pictures &amp; yearbooks.

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

Tax Records

 * 1846-1910 Texas, County Tax Rolls 1846-1910 at Findmypast ($) — index and images

Birth

 * 1864-1933 Wise County Recorded Births &amp; Birth Certificates, 1864-1933 Data of 19,202 births with 9,500 certificates online.
 * 1926-2009 Birth,Statistics and Announcements 1926-2009 No longer have online. Sent on request.
 * 2003 Wise County Messenger Newspaper Birth announcements 2003-present online
 * 1926-1995 Texas Births, 1926 - 1995 at MyHeritage — index ($)

Marriage

 * 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 — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1837-1973 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1837-1977 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1837-1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index 1837-1977 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1866-2001 Wise County Marriages 1866-2001 Bride &amp; Groom &amp; Date of Marriage,10,527 Listings
 * 1881-1945 Wise County Marriages 1881-1945 Bride &amp; Groom &amp; Date of Marriage,14,976 Listings
 * 1966-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 2000-2009 Wedding Announcements from The Wise County Messenger Newspaper 2000-2009 1,520 with Complete Text
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage — index ($)

Death

 * 1890-1976 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1903-1966 Wise County Death Certificates Online - 1903-1966 7,904 images online
 * 1903-1973 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1903-1990 Wise County Recorded Deaths - 1903-1999 11,324 deaths listed
 * 1914-2001 Wise County Funeral Records in Alphabetical Order 1914-2001, 19,000 Pages with older images online
 * 1964-1998 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index

Divorce

 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage — index ($)
 * 1968-2001 Wise County Divorces 1968-2001 Divorces With Marriage Dates &amp; Number of Children, 5,904 Records
 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry — index ($)

FamilySearch Centers

 * Azle Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Carrollton Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Decatur Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Fort Worth Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Lewisville Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Plano Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Dallas Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Denton Public Library - North Branch - an affiliate library
 * Denton Public Library - South Branch - an affiliate library
 * Frisco Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Grapevine Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Southlake Public Library - an affiliate library

Museums

 * Bridgeport Historical Museum 812b Halsell St Bridgeport, TX 76426 Website
 * Wise County Heritage Museum 1602 S Trinity St Decatur, TX 76234 Phone: 940-627-5586 E-mail:[mailto:wisemuseum@embarqmail.com_ wisemuseum@embarqmail.com] Website

Societies

 * Paradise Historical Society PO Box 296 Paradise, TX 76073 Phone: 940-969-2021 Website

Websites

 * Wise TX GenWeb part of TXGenWeb
 * Wise USGWArchives part of USGWArchives Texas Counties
 * Wise County on the Web - Many local links
 * Frontier Times Magazine
 * Historic Texas
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.