Refugio County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Refugio 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 original municipality of Refugio. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Refugio County Courthouse 808 Commerce Street Refugio, TX 78377-0704 Phone: 361.526.2727 County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage records from 1851, probate records from 1840, court records from 1881 and land records from 1835

County Clerk

P.O. Box 704 Refugio 78377 Phone: 361-526-2233

 County and District Clerk

P.O. Box 736 Refugio 78377 Phone: 361-526-5942

History
1836--The battle of Refugio occurred in 1836, just prior to the Goliad Massacre.

Parent County
1836--Refugio County was created 17 March 1836 from an Old Mexican Municipality.
 * County seat: Refugio

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Refugio County border changes.

Record Loss
1879--Many records were destroyed in a courthouse fire in January 1879.

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:

Neighboring Counties
Aransas •  Bee  •  Calhoun  •  Goliad  •  San Patricio  •  Victoria

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 1838-1900 at Ancestry — index and images $

Mexican-American War

 * 1845 - 1848 US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War 1845-1848 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
Online Newspapers
 * 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 1800-2000 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

 * 1903-1935 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1926-1995 Texas Births, 1926 - 1995 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Marriage

 * 1802-2010 Texas, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * 1814-1909 and 1966 - 2011 Texas Marriage Collection 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry — 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 — index $
 * 1966 - 2010 - FamilySearch - FamilySearch record collection - How to Use this Collection
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1890-1976 - FamilySearch with images - How to Use this Collection 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.
 * 1903-1973 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry — index and images $
 * 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

 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry — index $

Societies and Libraries
Refugio County Historical Society Refugio County Museum 102 West St. Refugio, TX 78377 Telephone Number:361-526-5555 Website

FamilySearch Centers

 * Bay City Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Beeville Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Corpus Christi Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Lake Jackson Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Victoria Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Yorktown Kenedy Texas FamilySearch Center


 * Joe Barnhart Bee County Library - an affiliate library

Websites

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