Jones County, Texas Genealogy

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

Description
The county was named for Anson Jones, the fifth president of the Republic of Texas. The County is located in the north-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Jones County Courthouse 100 Courthouse Square PO Box 552 Anson, TX 79501 Phone: 325-823-3762 County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage and land records from 1881 and probate records from 1882; District Clerk has divorce and court records

County Clerk

P.O. Box 552 Anson 79501 Phone: 915-823-3762 Fax: 915-823-4223

District Clerk

P.O. Box 308 Anson 79501 Phone: 915-823-3731

History
The earliest settlement occurred in 1851 with the establishment of Fort Phantom hill, which was abandoned in 1854 and re-established in 1872.

Parent County
1858--Jones County was created 1 February 1858 from Bexar Land District and Bosque County, but was not organized until 1881.

County seat: Originally, Jones City. The town's name was changed to Anson in 1882.

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Jones County boundary changes.

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

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:

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

Neighboring Counties
Callahan •  Fisher  •  Haskell  •  Nolan  •  Shackelford  •  Stonewall  •  Taylor

African American

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

Cemeteries
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

 * 1880 County Census ~ TXGenWeb

Church

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

Land

 * http://www.usgwarchives.net/tx/jones/jonestoc.htm ~  USGenWeb Archives Project

Local Histories

 * The First 100 Years of Jones County, 1978, by Hooper Shelton and Homer Hutto.
 * Jones County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.
 * People and Events in Jones County History ~  TXGenWeb
 * Texas Museums ~  List of all museums in Texas  ~  Hidden Ancestors

Maps

 * Historical Maps ~  From the Republic to the Turn of the Century  ~  Hidden Ancestors
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site

Military

 * 1838 - 1900 - Texas Muster Roll Index Cards at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * Military Resources ~ Links to research Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * Fallen Heroes ~ Partial Index of casualties from Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * Honoring Our Veterans ~ Partial index of veterans from Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * 1940 Texas National Guard Unit from Jones County ~ USGenWeb Archives Project

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
 * Confederate Pension Applications ~ Texas State Library and Archives Commission
 * CSA Military Pension List ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Confederate Indigent Families List ~ USGenWeb Archives Project

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has digitized Abilene newspapers that may include residents from Jones County.
 * Wikipedia has a list of online newspaper archives for Texas.
 * Home Town News -  Texas Newspaper Index with links
 * Newslink -  Texas Newspaper List (sorted by publication frequency)
 * The Olden Times  -   Historic Texas News Online

Obituaries

 * Jones County Obituary Index ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Obituary Resources ~ Links to research and locate obituaries ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * USGenWeb Archives Obituary Project ~  Texas
 * Afrigeneas ~ African American death notices, obituaries and funeral programs compiled by users from current newspapers and historical sources
 * Obituary Depot ~ Texas Newspaper Citations
 * Obituary Project ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * Obituary Daily Times ~ Citations to over 15,000,000 obituaries including interactive search function

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1800 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1800 – 2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records ~ Ancestry.com (subscription)

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

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.com — 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.com — index $
 * 1966-2005 Texas Marriage Records 1966 - 2005 - Hidden Ancestors
 * 1966-2010 Texas, Marriages, 1966-2010 - FamilySearch record collection

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records '


 * 1890-1976 Texas Death Records 1890 – 1976 [with images] Name index and images of statewide death certificates, 1890-1976. The name index has been created by FamilySearch and is tied to images of the Texas death certificates. Few certificates are available prior to 1903.
 * 1903-1973 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1903-2000 Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch.
 * 1964-1998 Texas Death Index 1964 to 1998 [no images] Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.
 * 1977-1986 at FamilySearch.org — index.

Divorce

 * 1968-2005 http://whttp://www.hiddenancestors.com/Texas/texas_divorce_records.htm Texas Divorce Records 1968-2005] - Hidden Ancestors
 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968- 2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $


 * 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project Texas 1850 - 1930

Societies and Libraries
Anson Public Library 1137 12th St Anson, TX 79501 Telephone Number: 325-823-2711

Stamford Carnegie Library 600 E Mcharg St Stamford, TX 79553 Telephone Number: 325-773-2532


 * Society Hill ~  Links and addresses to Texas genealogical and historical societies

Websites

 * Jones County Archives ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Jones 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.