Taylor County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties T  Taylor County

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

County Courthouse
Taylor County Courthouse 300 Oak Street Abilene, TX 79602 Phone: 915.674.1202 County Clerk has marriage, probate and land records

Taylor County has had two county seats: Buffalo Gap 1878-1883 and Abilene 1883-present.

Parent County
1858--Taylor County was created 1 February 1858 from Bexar and Travis Counties. County seat: Abilene

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Taylor County boundary changes.

Places / Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog

Populated Places
Abilene | Buffalo Gap | Caps | Potosi | Hamby | Happy Valley | Lawn | Merkel | Ovalo | Potosi | Trent | Tuscola | Tye | View | Wylie

Neighboring Counties

 * Callahan
 * Coleman
 * Fisher
 * Jones
 * Nolan
 * Runnels
 * Shackelford

African American

 * Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1870(images) - FamilySearch

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

Additional Cemetery Sources

 * Abilene City Cemetery (City of Abilene Cemetery, Municipal Cemetery) Cemetery Database. Also includes: I. O. O. F. Cemetery, Masonic Cemetery, Cedar Hill Cemetery, Cedar Hill Flats Cemetery. Search by space or occupant.
 * Taylor County Cemeteries ~  TXGenWeb
 * Taylor County Cemeteries Maps, Transcriptions, Photos and more.
 * 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
 * Buffalo Gap Cemetery, Tuscola BillionGraves
 * Drummond Cemetery, Abilene BillionGraves
 * Texas Escapes Listing of Texas cemeteries with transcriptions and lots of pictures.

Church

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

Local Histories

 * A History of Rural Taylor County, 1980, by Juanita Daniel Zachry.
 * Taylor County Timeline ~  TXGenWeb
 * Taylor County, Texas History from the Handbook of Texas Online
 * 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.
 * Abilene 1883 Panoramic Map from the Amon Carter Museum.
 * Historical Maps ~  From the Republic to the Turn of the Century  ~  Hidden Ancestors

Military

 * Confederate Pension Applications ~ Texas State Library and Archives Commission
 * Taylor County CSA Pensions ~  USGenWeb Archives
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors
 * Confederate Indigent Families List
 * Terrys Texas Rangers, 8th Texas Calvary
 * 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
 * Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 - FamilySearch
 * Texas, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 - FamilySearch

Newspapers

 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has Abilene newspapers from the early 1900's that covered local news on residents from Taylor County.
 * Wikipedia has a list of online newspaper archives for Texas.
 * Abilene Reporter News
 * The Merkel Mail 912 North 1st Street Merkel, TX 79536 Phone: 325-928-5712 [[Image:]]325-928-5712 
 * The Buffalo Gap RoundUp
 * 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, Probate Records, 1800-1990 (images) - FamilySearch

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 (index)- FamilySearch

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * Texas Marriage Records 1966 - 2005  ~  Hidden Ancestors
 * Texas County Marriage Records, 1837-1977 - FamilySearch. Index to a variety of marriage records (registers, licenses, intentions to marry, etc.) from select counties in Texas.
 * Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973  ~  FamilySearch record collection
 * Texas, Marriages, 1966-2010  ~  FamilySearch record collection

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, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
 * Texas Death Index 1964 to 1998 [no images] Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Divorce

 * Texas Divorce Records 1968 - 2005   ~  Hidden Ancestors


 * USGenWeb Census Project

Societies and Libraries
Abilene Public Library 202 Cedar St Abilene, TX 79601 Phone: (325) 676-6328 Website

Merkel Public Library 100 Kent St Merkel, TX 79536 Phone: (325) 928-5054


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

Family History Centers

 * Abilene Texas Family History Center

Web Sites

 * Taylor County~ TXGenWeb
 * Taylor County Archives ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 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.
 * USGenWeb Texas Archives Vital statistics, maps, obituaries, Bible records, tombstone transcriptions and many other records.