Lavaca County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Lavaca 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 the Lavaca River. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Lavaca County Courthouse PO Box 326 Hallettsville, TX 77964 Phone: 361.798.3612 County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage and probate records from 1847, land records from 1846, military records from 1918, court and naturalization records

County Clerk

P.O. Box 326 Hallettsville 77964 Phone: 361-798-3612

District Clerk

P.O. Box 306 Hallettsville 77964 Phone: 361-798-2351 Fax: 361-798-5674

Parent County
1846--Lavaca County was created 6 April 1846 from Colorado, Gonzales, Fayette, Jackson, and Victoria Counties.
 * County seat: Hallettsville

Lavaca County Historyfrom the Handbook of Texas Online.

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
Colorado •  De Witt  •  Fayette  •  Gonzales  •  Jackson  •  Victoria  •  Wharton

African American

 * 1865-1870 Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records(images) - FamilySearch
 * African American Griots ~ USGenWeb
 * AfriGeneas ~ African Ancestored Genealogy
 * Texas African American Genealogy ~ Access 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
 * Texas Escapes ~ Listing of Texas cemeteries with transcriptions and lots of pictures.

Census

 * 1850 Census ~ TXGenWeb
 * 1860 Census ~ TXGenWeb
 * 1870 Census ~ TXGenWeb

Church

 * St. Mary's Parish, Halletsville ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Church of the Ascension, Moravia ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Texas Christian Church Directory~ ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in Texas

Lutheran
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Records of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Moulton, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).
 * FamilySearch Places

Land

 * Original Land Owners of Texas ~  USGenWeb Archives Project

Local Histories

 * Lavaca County Bibliography ~  TXGenWeb
 * Lavaca County Biographies ~  TXGenWeb
 * Lavaca County Family Websites ~  TXGenWeb
 * Family Reunions ~  TXGenWeb
 * Texas Museums ~  List of all museums in Texas  ~  Hidden Ancestors

Maps

 * Texas Land Survey Maps for (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Lavaca County Maps ~  TXGenWeb
 * 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

 * 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

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
 * Confederate Indigent Families ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Confederate Pension Applications ~ USGenWeb Archives Project

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Home Town News -  Texas Newspaper Index with links
 * Newslink -  Texas Newspaper List (sorted by publication frequency)
 * The Olden Times  -   Historic Texas News Online
 * Texas Digital Newspaper Program at The Portal to Texas History

Obituaries

 * Lavaca County Obituaries ~  TXGenWeb
 * 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 Indexes and 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)

Taxation

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

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
 * 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
 * 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 at FamilySearch
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

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 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
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Societies and Libraries
Friench Simpson Memorial Library 705 E 4th St Hallettsville, TX 77964 Telephone Number: 361-798-3243 Website

Shiner Public Library 115 E Wolters 2nd St Shiner, TX 77984 Telephone Nuber: 361-594-3044 Website

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

Family History Centers

 * Bastrop Texas Family History Center
 * Bay City Texas Family History Center
 * Bear Creek Texas West Family History Center
 * Houston Texas Family History Center
 * Katy Texas Family History Center
 * Kyle Texas Family History Center
 * Richmond Texas Family History Center
 * Seguin Texas Family History Center
 * Yorktown Kenedy Texas Family History Center


 * Houston Public Library Clayton Library Center for Genealogica - an affiliate library
 * Nesbitt Memorial Library - an affiliate library
 * New Braunfels Public LIbrary - an affiliate library
 * San Marcos Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Lavaca County Archives ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Lavaca 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.