Cameron County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties C  Cameron County

History
By 1761 Spanish ranches were established. In 1845 Fort Brown was established and Anglo-Americans came to the area.

Parent County
1848--Cameron County was created 12 February 1848 from Nueces County. County seat: Brownsville

The county was named for Ewen Cameron, (1811?-1843). On July 7, 1842, Cameron took part in the engagement at Lipantitlán against Gen. Antonio Canales. Samuel H. Walker attributed much of the credit for the successful defense of the position to Cameron. At the battle of Mier, "The fearless Cameron, whose company garrisoned the back yard of one of the houses, being charged by an imposing force of the enemy, after emptying his rifles into their lines, beat off the foe until he could reload, with the loose stones in the court." At Pass Suarte, after Fisher and the staff officers had been separated from the command, the Mier prisoners unanimously chose Cameron as their commander. On Saturday, February 19, Cameron and about sixty men were recaptured by Mexicans and subjected with other groups to the Black Bean Episode. Cameron drew a white bean in the lottery, but was shot for a later attempt at escape.

Populated Places
Towns and Cities: | Bayview | | Cameron Park | Combes |  | Indian Lake | La Feria | Laguna Vista | Los Fresnos | Los Indios | Palm Valley | Port Isabel | Primera | Rancho Viejo | Rangerville | Rio Hondo | San Benito | Santa Rosa | South Padre Island |

Neighboring Counties

 * Hidalgo
 * Willacy

Resources

 * Cameron County Resources~Cameron County, TXGenWeb

Cemeteries

 * Cemeteries of Cameron County~ Cameron County, TXGenWeb
 * Tombstone Transcription Project ~ Partial transcription of cemetery tombstones ~ USGenWeb
 * Texas Historic Cemeteries ~ Partial indexes to historic cemeteries
 * African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries
 * Cemetery Junction ~  Links to cemetery transcriptions

Church

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

Local Histories

 * 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 TXGenWeb site

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battle was fought in Cameron County.


 * May 12-13, 1865 = Palmito Ranch, also known as Palmito Hill


 * Map showing Civil War battles in Texas.


 * Cameron County Military Resources ~ Cameron County, TXGenWeb
 * 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

Newspapers

 * Home Town News -  Texas Newspaper Index with links
 * Newslink -  Texas Newspaper List (sorted by publication frequency)
 * The Olden Times  -   Historic Texas News Online

Obituaries

 * 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

 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records ~  Ancestry.com  (subscription)
 * Texas Land Title Abstracts ~ Ancestry.com (subscription)

Vital Records

 * Birth Records of Cameron County 1926-1995 from the USGenWeb archives
 * Divorce Records of Cameron County 1968-2001 from the USGenWeb archives
 * Marriage Records of Cameron County incomplete list of Marriage Records from the Cameron County TXGenWeb site.
 * Texas Death Index 1964 to 1998 Texas Death Index (FamilySearch Historical Records) Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.
 * 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.
 * Texas Marriage Records 1966 - 2005  ~  Hidden Ancestors
 * Texas Divorce Records 1968 - 2005   ~  Hidden Ancestors
 * USGenWeb Census Project ~ Texas 1850 - 1930

Societies and Libraries
Caprock Public Library 104 N 1st St Quitaque, TX 79255 Phone: (806) 455-1225

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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Brownsville Texas Family History Center
 * Harlingen Texas Family History Center

Web Sites

 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.
 * Hidden Ancestors Information on Texas genealogy research as well as genealogy research in general.