Bell County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties B  Bell County

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

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage, probate and land records from 1850, military records and school census; Clerk District Court has divorce records from 1850, court and naturalization records

Quick History
Settled, abandoned and resettled several times due to Indian troubles.

Parent County
22 January 1850: Bell County was created from Milam County.

The county was named for Peter H. Bell, (1812-1898). Peter Hansborough Bell, governor of Texas, was born on May 12, 1812, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. He engaged in business in Petersburg until he left Virginia to fight for the independence of Texas.

Record Loss
1891--The treasurer's office of the Bell County Courthouse caught fire, March 15, 1891. Probably arson. No record loss.

Places/Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog



Cities
Bartlett | Belton | Copperas Cove | Harker Heights | Killeen | Little River-Academy | Morgan's Point Resort | Nolanville | Temple | Troy

Towns
Holland | Rogers

Village
Salado

Military
Fort Hood

Unincorporated Communties
Cyclone | Ding Dong | Heidenheimer | Pendleton | White Hall

Neighboring Counties
Burnet •  Coryell  •  Falls  •  Lampasas  •  McLennan  •  Milam  •  Williamson

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

 * Cemeteries of Bell County -  transcriptions and photographs - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Bell County Cemeteries - transcriptions and photos - TXGenWeb
 * Moffat Cemetery, Temple BillionGraves
 * St. Joseph Cemetery, Burlington BillionGraves

Census

 * 1860 Bell County Census - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1870 Bell County Census - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1880 Bell County Census -  USGenWeb Archives Project

Local Histories

 * Bell County Bibliography -  TXGenWeb
 * Bell County Photographs - TXGenWeb
 * Surnames - TXGenWeb
 * Historical Timeline - Wikipedia

Maps



 * Texas Land Survey Maps for (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Belton 1881 Panoramic Map from the Amon Carter Museum.
 * Bell County Maps
 * Hometown Locator map
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site

Military

 * 1838 - 1900 Texas Muster Roll Index Cards 1838-1900 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1845 - 1848 US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War 1845-1848 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * Military in Bell County -  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Bell County Rangers and Confederate Vet Muster List -  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Confederate Pension Applications -  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Confederate Indigent Families -  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 - FamilySearch
 * Texas, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 - FamilySearch

Newspapers
Off-line Newspaper Information Online Newspapers Online Newspaper Abstracts Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form

Probate

 * 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
 * 1840 - 1981 at FamilySearch.org — index

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm
 * 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
 * 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.
 * 1814 - 1909 and 1966 - 2011 Texas Marriage Collection 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1837 - 1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index 1837-1977 at Ancestry.com — index $

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * Texas Death Index 1964 to 1998 [no images] Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.
 * Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
 * Texas Death Records 1890 – 1976 [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
 * Texas Deaths and Burials 1903 - 1973 (index)  -  FamilySearch
 * 1977 - 1986 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903 - 1973 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903 - 1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Divorce

 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968 - 2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $

Societies and Libraries
East Bell County Genealogical Society 3219 Meadow Oaks Drive c/o PO Box 75 Temple, TX 76503-0075 website West Bell Genealogical Society Killeen Public Library 205 East Church Street Killeen, Texas website

Lena Armstrong Public Library (City of Belton) http://www.ci.belton.tx.us/index.aspx?nid=71 kkroll@ci.belton.tx.us 301 E. 1st Avenue Belton, Texas 76513 [ MAP ] (254) 933-5830 (254) 933-5831 fax

Harker Heights Public Library http://www.ci.harker-heights.tx.us/default.aspx?name=lib.welcome 400 Indian Trail Harker Heights, TX 76548 [ MAP ] 254-953-5491

Killeen Family History Library (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) 1410 S 2nd St Killeen, Bell, TX 76541 [ MAP ] Phone: 254-526-2918

Killeen Public Library http://www.ci.killeen.tx.us/index.php?section=71 205 E. Church Ave Killeen, Texas 76541 [ MAP ] (254) 501-8990

Temple Public Library http://www.youseemore.com/TemplePL/default.asp 100 West Adams Ave Temple TX 76501 [ MAP ] Circulation Desk: (254) 298-5556 Reference Desk: (254) 298-5702

Temple College Hubert M. Dawson Library library@templejc.edu http://www.templejc.edu/library/library.html 2600 South First Street Temple, Texas 76504 [ MAP ] (254) 298-8426 or (800)460-4636 ext 8426 (Texas only)

University of Mary Hardin Baylor Townsend Memorial Library 900 College St Belton, TX 76513 [ MAP ] http://umhblib.umhb.edu/ library@umhb.edu (254) 295-4637 *


 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Societies
Bell County Historical Commission http://www.bellcountytx.com/Historical/index.htm PO Box 712 Belton TX 76513-0712 (254) 933-5917 hist.comm@co.bell.tx.us Office is in the restored Bell County Courthouse (Belton)

Central Texas Genealogical Society http://ctgs.org/ West Waco Library and Genealogy Center 5301 Bosque Blvd Suite 275 Waco, Texas 76710 [ MAP ] Email: ctgs@ctgs.org

East Bell County Genealogical Society http://www.rootsweb.com/~txebcgs/ P.O. Box 1493 Temple, TX 76503 Meeting Location: Temple Public Library (McLane Room)

Salado Historical Society http://www.saladohistoricalsociety.com/ Salado Historical Society PO Box 251 Salado, Texas, 76571

Sons of the American Revolution Heart of Texas Chapter http://www.rootsweb.com/~txhotsar/

Sons of Confederate Veterans Major Robert M. White Camp #1250 http://www.scvtemple.com Location: Cotton Patch Cafe, Temple Mall

Web Sites

 * The Bell County TXGenWeb Project, a member of The TXGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Bell County.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Bell County. (Backup site)
 * FamilySearch Catalog for Bell County.