Texas, Matagorda County, School Census Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Texas Matagorda County

What Is in the Collection?
The collection consists of school census records for Matagorda County, Texas for the years 1923 to 1946. The records are arranged by race, "colored" and "white", and then alphabetically by surname.

The listing of school-aged children is a common practice throughout the United States. The records are usually compiled on a yearly basis. School records helped local governments determine funding needs for individual schools. The information is usually reliable although the ages are sometimes off by a year and legal guardians may be confused with parents.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
School Census Records may include the following information:


 * Name of county, town and school district
 * Surname and Christian name of child
 * Child's date of birth, age and gender
 * Names of parents or guardians
 * Parents' residence or post office address

Image Visibility
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How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the child.
 * The approximate years the child attended school.
 * The names of the child's parents.

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information in the list to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct person. You may need to compare several persons in the list before you find your ancestor.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page then select the "Year, Race, Surname Range".

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What Do I Do Next?
Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Look at the actual image of the record, if you can, to verify the information and to find additional information.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Copy the citation below, in case you need to find this record again later.
 * Use the ages listed to determine approximate birth dates and find the family in additional censuses.
 * Use the information found in the record to find church and vital records such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find land, probate and immigration records.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records were kept years before counties began keeping records. They are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county.
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Check the info box above for additional FamilySearch websites and related websites that may assist you in finding similar records.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

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