Texas, Eastland County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Texas Eastland County

What Is in the Collection?
This collection includes the following types of court records:


 * Naturalization certificates
 * Petitions
 * Declarations of intent
 * Civil proceedings
 * Indexes to Civil proceedings

The early volumes are handwritten in book format. Later records are handwritten or typed on blank pages or pre-printed forms. This collection covers the years 1868 to 1949.

Counties generally begin recording court proceedings as soon as the court is organized. Court records are made as a permanent record of the court proceedings. Naturalization is the process of granting citizenship privileges and responsibilities to foreign-born residents. The counties recorded naturalization procedures in the court records as legal proof of citizenship.

Information that was current at the time the record was made are usually reliable. However, there was always a chance for misinformation. Errors may have occurred because of the informant’s lack of knowledge or because of transcription errors.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The civil and criminal proceedings generally include the following information:


 * Names of interested parties
 * Names of jurors
 * Names of witnesses
 * Proceeding dates
 * Name and title of presiding officer

The Declaration of Intent and Naturalization Petitions usually included the following:


 * Name
 * Arrival date
 * Birth date
 * Birthplace
 * Age
 * Race
 * Last foreign residence
 * Current residence
 * Arrival place
 * Names of witnesses
 * Signature of judge or court official

Naturalization proceedings after 1906 usually included the following additional details:


 * Marital status
 * Name of spouse
 * Maiden name of wife
 * Birth date of spouse
 * Residence of spouse
 * Date of Declaration of Intent or Naturalization

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search you will need to know:
 * The full name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate court or naturalization date.
 * The ancestor’s residence.

Compare the information on the image to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several images before you find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page then: ⇒Select the "Record Category" category ⇒Select the "Record Type, Volume, and Year Range"

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the information to find other records such as emigrations, port records, ship’s manifests, birth, christening, census, and land records.
 * Learn foreign and “Americanized” names
 * Use the information to find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Texas, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Texas Archives and Libraries.

Known Issues With This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

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