Wise County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties W  Wise County

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

County Courthouse
Wise County Courthouse 200 North Trinity Street PO Box 359 Decatur, Texas 76234-0359 Phone: 940.627.3351 County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage records from 1881, probate records from 1882, land records from 1852 and court records

County Clerk

P.O. Box 359 Decatur 76234 Phone: 940-627-3351 Fax: 940-627-2138

District Clerk

P.O. Box 308 Decatur 76234 Phone: 940-627-5535

History
The first white settler arrived in 1854 and the first public school opened in 1855.

Just northwest of Fort Worth and Dallas, in the 1860's, "Wise County had more Indian attacks &amp; kidnappings than any other county in Texas".

In the early days of Wise County there were very large cattle ranches and homestead farms. Starting in the 1880's, coal was mined near the town of Bridgeport. Later limestone rock crushers and gas production became important.

Parent County
1856--Wise County was created 23 January 1856 from Cooke County. County seat: Decatur

Record Loss
1881--Courthouse and many county records were destroyed by fire.

Places / Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog



Populated Places
Alvord | Aurora | Balsora | Boonsville | Boyd | Bridgeport | Chico | Cottondale | Decatur | Greenwood | Lake Bridgeport | New Fairview | Newark | Paradise |Rhome | Runaway Bay | Slidell

Neighboring Counties
Cooke • Denton • Jack • Montague • Parker • Tarrant

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

Additional Cemetery Sources

 * Alphabetical Headstone Listings for Wise County, 1850-2010 31,537 Names with headstone pictures online
 * Wise County Cemetery Location, Maps &amp; Information 101 Cemeteries in Wise County

Census

 * 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)

Maps



 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site.

Military

 * 1838 - 1900 Texas Muster Roll Index Cards 1838-1900 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1845 - 1848 US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War 1845-1848 at Ancestry.com — index $

Newspapers

 * Wise County Messenger
 * Bridgeport Index Newspaper 1910-1975 15,377 images of pages with names indexed.

Probate
Online Probate Records


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

Schools

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

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records '


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

'Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * Wise County Marriages 1881-1945 Bride &amp; Groom &amp; Date of Marriage,14,976 Listings
 * Wise County Marriages 1866-2001 Bride &amp; Groom &amp; Date of Marriage,10,527 Listings
 * Wedding Announcements from The Wise County Messenger Newspaper 2000-2009 1,520 with Complete Text
 * Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977 - FamilySearch records collection 
 * Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973  -  FamilySearch record collection
 * Texas, Marriages, 1966-2010  -  FamilySearch record collection
 * 1814 - 1909 and 1966 - 2011 Texas Marriage Collection 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1837 - 1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index 1837-1977 at Ancestry.com — index $

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * Texas Death Records 1890 – 1976 [with images] Name index and images of statewide death certificates, 1890-1976. The name index has been created by Family Search and is tied to images of the Texas death certificates. Few certificates are available prior to 1903.
 * Texas Death Index 1964 to 1998 [no images] Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.
 * Wise County Death Certificates Online - 1903-1966 7,904 images online
 * Wise County Recorded Deaths - 1903-1999 11,324 deaths listed
 * Wise County Funeral Records in Alphabetical Order 1914-2001, 19,000 Pages with older images online
 * 1903 - 1973 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903 - 1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Divorce

 * Wise County Divorces 1968-2001 Divorces With Marriage Dates &amp; Number of Children, 5,904 Records
 * Texas Divorce Records 1968 - 2005 (index)  - Hidden Ancestors
 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968 - 2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $

Societies and Libraries
Wise County Heritage Museum 1602 S Trinity St Decatur, TX 76234 940-627-5586 Email Us [mailto:wisemuseum@embarqmail.com_ wisemuseum@embarqmail.com]
 * Wise County Historical Society

Bridgeport Historical Museum 812b Halsell Street Bridgeport, Texas
 * Bridgeport Historical Society- Bridgeport History &amp; Museum


 * Paradise Historical Society - Links to Paradise Information

Family History Centers

 * Decatur Texas Family History Center

Websites

 * Wise County on the Web - Many local links
 * Lake Bridgeport- Pictures &amp; links to information
 * Jones Family Funeral Home, Bridgeport Texas
 * Hawkins Funeral Homes, Decatur, Bridgeport &amp; Boyd
 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.