Baylor County, Texas Genealogy

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

Texas Online Genealogy Records

Description
The county was named for Henry Weidner Baylor, a surgeon in the Texas Rangers during the Mexican–American War. The County is located in the north-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage records from 1879, divorce records from 1881, probate and court records from 1880

County Clerk and District Clerk

101 S. Washington St. Seymour 76380 Phone: 940-889-3322 Baylor County Website

History

 * Texas Museums ~  List of all museums in Texas  ~  Hidden Ancestors
 * History of Baylor County, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online

Parent County
1858--Baylor County was created 1 February 1858 from Fannin Land District.
 * County seat: Seymour

The county was named for Henry W. Baylor, a doctor serving with the Texas Rangers.

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:

Round Timber- Established 1874, Population in 2000 was 2. 

Seaborn - A post office operated at Seaborn from January 1907 to September 1910 before changing its name to Westover. http://sites.rootsweb.com/~txpost/baylor.html ]

Westover - Created in 1910 when the name of the town of Seaborn was changed to Westover.

Neighboring Counties
Archer • Foard  •  Haskell •  Knox  •  Throckmorton  •  Wichita •  Wilbarger  •  Young

African American

 * 1865 - 1870 (images) - FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * Texas African American Griots ~  USGenWeb
 * AfriGeneas ~  African Ancestored Genealogy

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

Additional Cemetery Sources
 * African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries
 * Cemetery Junction ~  Links to cemetery transcriptions

Church
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Texas Christian Church Directory~ ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in Texas
 * FamilySearch Places

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1906 - 1989  — index and images

Local Histories

 * Baylor Banner transcriptions by Dianna Bryan Quinn, 1902-1920 ~ Hosted by Ancestry.com
 * Texas Museums ~  List of all museums in Texas  ~  Hidden Ancestors
 * History of Bayor County, Texas ~ Texas State Historical Association
 * History of Baylor County from cityofseymour.org

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

Military

 * 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
 * Baylor County Veterans &amp; Memorials ~ Baylor County, TXGenWeb

Mexican-American War

 * 1845 - 1848 US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War 1845-1848 at Ancestry.com — index $

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1838 - 1900 Texas Muster Roll Index Cards 1838-1900 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * Confederate Pension Applications ~ Texas State Library and Archives Commission

World War I

 * 1917-1920 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
Online Newspapers
 * Texas Digital Newspaper Program at The Portal to Texas History

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, Ancestry

Probate
Online Probate Indexes and Records


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

Taxation

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

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records
 * 1840-1981 - free, courtesy: FamilySearch. - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903-1935 - free, includes images, courtesy: FamilySearch. - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903-1997 - free, courtesy: FamilySearch. - How to Use this Collection
 * 1926-1995 Texas Births, 1926 - 1995 at MyHeritage ($) — index

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 - How to Use this Collection
 * 1837 - 1973 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1837 - 1977 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1837 - 1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index 1837-1977 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1879 - 1920 Baylor County Marriages 1879 - 1920 ~ Complete List ~ Baylor County, TXGenWeb
 * 1966 - 2005 Texas Marriage Records 1966 - 2005 Hidden Ancestors
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1890-1976 - free, courtesy: FamilySearch. - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903-1973 - free, courtesy: FamilySearch. - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903 - 1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1903-2000 - free, courtesy: FamilySearch. - How to Use this Collection
 * 1964-1998 - free, courtesy: FamilySearch. - How to Use this Collection
 * 1977 - 1986 at FamilySearch.org — index - How to Use this Collection

Divorce

 * 1968 - 2005 Texas Divorce Records 1968 - 2005     Hidden Ancestors
 * 1850 - 1930 USGenWeb Census Project ~ Texas 1850 - 1930
 * 1968 - 2010 at FamilySearch.org — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1968 - 2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Societies and Libraries
County Historical Society''' PO Box 689 Seymour 76380


 * Baylor County, TXGenWeb


 * Baylor County Free Library 101 S. Washington St. Seymour, Texas 76380 940-889-2007


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

FamilySearch Centers

 * Childress Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Decatur Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Gainesville Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Graham Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Vernon Oklahoma FamilySearch Center
 * Wichita Falls Texas FamilySearch Center


 * Southern Prairie Library System - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Baylor County TXGenWeb
 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.
 * Baylor County USGenWeb Archives Project name indexes and other information.
 * The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.
 * Cyndi's List ~ Texas