Gillespie County, Texas Genealogy

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

Texas Online Genealogy Records

Description
The county was named for Robert Addison Gillespie, a soldier in the Mexican–American War. The County is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Gillespie County Courthouse 101 W Main Street PO Box 551 Fredericksburg, TX 78624 Phone: 830.997.6515

County Clerk has birth, marriage and probate records 1850, death records from 1902, land records from 1848 and court records from 1954; District Clerk has divorce records

County Clerk

101 West Main St., Unit 13 Fredericksburg 78624 Phone: 830-997-6515 Fax: 830-997-9958

District Clerk

101 West Main St., Rm 204 Fredericksburg 78624 Phone: 830-997-6517

Vital Records, Public Record Search Indexes from Gillespie County Courthouse

History
1849-- A cholera epidemic in 1849 took a heavy toll of the early settlers.

Parent County
1848--Gillespie County was created 23 February 1848 from Bexar and Travis Counties.
 * County seat: Fredericksburg

Record Loss
1850--Courthouse and many county records were destroyed by fire in July 1850.

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
Blanco •  Kendall  •  Kerr  •  Kimble  •  Llano  •  Mason

African American

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


 * Access cemetery information for Gillespie County at Fredericksburg Genealogical Society. This index to burials includes a surname and maiden name search. Cemetery information is found by clicking on a cemetery name.  Individual photos are accessed by clicking on the camera icon.  There are some maps with cemetery section plans. This site includes about 3,500 cemetery photos and 50 cemeteries.
 * African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries
 * Cemetery Junction ~  Links to cemetery transcriptions

Census

 * 1850 Census ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1860 Census ~ USGenWeb Archives Project

Church

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

Lutheran

 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Fredericksburg, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court

 * Naturalization Records ~  USGenWeb Archives Project

Land

 * Land Survey Abstract Indicies Gillespie County ~  USGenWeb Archives Project

Local Histories

 * Books on Gillespie County ~  TXGenWeb
 * Texas Museums ~  List of all museums in Texas  ~  Hidden Ancestors

Maps

 * 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:Cities and Towns- 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
 * Civil War Pension Applications ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Confederate Indigent Families ~ USGenWeb Archives Project

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Korean War

 * Korean War Casualties ~ USGenWeb Archives Project

Newspapers
Access obituaries January 1, 1980 through December 31,2004 at the Fredericksburg Genealogical Society website. These obituaries came from two newspapers, The Fredericksburg Standard and ''The Fredericksburg Radio Post. ''The Pioneer Memorial Library has copies of Fredericksburg newspapers on microfilm, with issues beginning in 1890.

Obituaries
Access obituaries January 1, 1980 through December 31,2004 at the Fredericksburg Genealogical Society website. These obituaries came from two newspapers, The Fredericksburg Standard and The Fredericksburg Radio Post.


 * Gillespie 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 (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903-1997 Texas Birth Index (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 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 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1966-2005 Texas Marriage Records - Hidden Ancestors
 * 1966-2010 Texas, Marriages - FamilySearch record collection
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1890-1976 Texas Death Records [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.
 * 1903-1977 Texas Deaths and Burials (index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1903-2000 Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
 * 1964-1998 Texas Death Index [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 ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Societies and Libraries
Pioneer Museum and Gillespie County Historical Society 325 West Main Street Fredericksburg, Texas 78624 Telephone Number: 830-990-8441 E-mail:[mailto:Pioneer Memorial Library Pioneer Memorial Library] Website

Harper Library 23797 Us Hwy 290 West Harper, TX 78631 Telephone Number: 830-864-4993 Website

Fredericksburg Genealogical Society (The organization dissolved in 2008, but still keeps a website with Gillespie County information)

Family History Centers

 * Fredericksburg Texas Family History Center
 * Society Hill

Websites

 * Gillespie County Archives ~ USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Gillespie 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.