Franklin County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Franklin 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 Judge Benjamin C. Franklin, the first appointed justice in the Republic of Texas. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Franklin County Courthouse PO Box 68 Mount Vernon, TX 75457 Phone: 903.537.4252

County Clerk has divorce, records from 1884, birth and death records from 1903, marriage and probate records from 1875 and land records from 1846

County Clerk

200 N. Kaufman Mt. Vernon 75457 Phone: 903-537-2342(Ext: 2)

District Clerk

P.O. Box 750 Mt. Vernon 75457 Phone: 903-537-8337

History
1836--The first settlers arrived in 1836.

Parent County
1875--Franklin County was created 6 March 1875 from Titus County.
 * County seat: Mount Vernon

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Franklin County border 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
Camp •  Delta  •  Hopkins  •  Lamar  •  Red River  •  Titus  •  Wood

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

Church
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Maps
Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb 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 — index and images $

Mexican-American War

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

Civil War

 * 1861 - 1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 at FamilySearch — index

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Wikipedia has a list of online newspaper archives for Texas.
 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has The Paris News from 1925 that may include residents from Franklin County.
 * Texas Digital Newspaper Program at The Portal to Texas History

Probate
Online Probate Indexes and Records


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

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Taxation

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

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1840 - 1981 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903 - 1935 (images and index) - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903 - 1997 (index only) - 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 at Ancestry — index $
 * 1837 - 1965 — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1837 - 1973 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1837 - 1977 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1837-1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index at Ancestry — index $
 * 1875-1965 Texas, U.S., Select County Marriage Records at Ancestry.com — index & images ($)
 * 1966 - 2010 - FamilySearch record collection - How to Use this Collection
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1890-1976 with images - How to Use this Collection 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 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates at Ancestry — index and images $
 * 1964 - 1998 (no images) - How to Use this Collection Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.
 * 1977 - 1986 — index - How to Use this Collection

Divorce

 * 1968 - 2010 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces at Ancestry — index $
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Societies and Libraries
Franklin County Genealogical Society PO Box 1563 110 E. Main St. Mt. Vernon, Texas 75457 Telephone Number: 903-537-3931 Website Facebook

FamilySearch Centers

 * Gilmer Texas FamilySearch Center
 * McKinney Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Paris Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Queen City Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Wills Point Texas FamilySearch Center


 * Atlanta Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Franklin County Genealogical Society - an affiliate library
 * Hopkins County Genealogical Society Research Library - an affiliate library
 * Mt Pleasant Texas Public Library - an affiliate library
 * W Walworth Harrison Public Library - an affiliate library

Websites

 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.