Bowie County, Texas Genealogy

Guide to Bowie County Texas genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Texas Online Genealogy Records

Description
The county was named for James Bowie, the legendary knife fighter who died at the Battle of the Alamo. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, probate, land and miltiary records, school census; Clerk District Court has divorce and court records

County Clerk

P.O. Box 248 New Boston 75570 Phone: 903-628-6740 Fax: 903-628-6729

District Clerk

P.O. Box 248 New Boston 75570 Phone: 903-628-6751 Bowie County Website

Boundary Changes
1834 - 1931 For animated maps illustrating Texas County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Texas County Boundary Maps" (1834-1931) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
1889--The Bowie County Courthouse at Texarkana burned on 21 Jan 1889. Almost all the records were destroyed.

1989--The Old Bowie County Courthouse at Old Boston, built in 1891, burned on 12 Aug 1989. The courthouse was abandoned, as a new courthouse had opened at New Boston in 1985. No records were lost.

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:

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

†The City of Texarkana is located in two states. In the middle of the city is a street called State Line Road which separates the city between Bowie County, Texas and Miller County, Arkansas. Texarkana is the county seat for Miller County, Arkansas, and a marriage license purchased in Miller County, Arkansas is not valid in the State of Texas.

Neighboring Counties
Cass •  Little River County, Arkansas  •  McCurtain County, Oklahoma  •  Miller County, Arkansas  •  Morris  •  Red River

African American

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

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

County cemetery collections


 * Bowie County Funeral Home Records from the Bowie County TXGenWeb site
 * Cemetery Books, available from the New Boston Genealogical Society, include: Ringwood Cemetery &amp; Associated Cemeteries; Wards Creek Cemetery, Church &amp; School Records; Woodman Cemetery (DeKalb); Sand Hill Cemetery; Old Union Cemetery; Read Hill Cemetery and Associated Cemeteries (Brooks, Glass Hill, Godley, Prairie &amp; Shipp); Red Bayou Cemetery; College Hill Cemetery; New Boston Cemetery, Hughes-Kinght, Magnolia and Pulaski Cemeteries; Old Salem, Old Liberty Hill, New Liberty Hill, Malta, Woodstock and Old Wimberly Cemeteries.
 * Dalby Springs Cemetery (including photos) ~  Texas Escapes
 * Texarkana-Rose Hill Cemetery ~  Texas Escapes

Census

 * 1850 Census for Bowie County census images from archive.org; index from USGenWeb archives.
 * 1860 Census for Bowie County census images from archive.org; index from USGenWeb archives. Another index
 * 1870 Census for Bowie County census images from archive.org; index from USGenWeb archives.
 * 1880 Census for Bowie County census images from archive.org; index from USGenWeb archives.
 * 1900 Census for Bowie County census images from archive.org.
 * 1910 Census for Bowie County census images from archive.org. Bowie county split on two microfilm reels: reel 1, reel 2
 * 1920 Census for Bowie County census images from archive.org.
 * 1930 Census for Bowie County census images from archive.org.

Church

 * Churches in Bowie TX - ChurchAngel.com
 * Churches in Texarkana TX
 * Texarkana TX Churches

Family Histories/Surnames

 * New Boston Genealogy Society Family History Index ~  Bowie County TXGenWeb
 * Family Group Sheets ~  Bowie County TXGenWeb
 * Surnames  ~  Bowie County TXGenWeb
 * Biographies  ~  Bowie County TXGenWeb

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1906 - 1989  — index and images

Local Histories

 * First Settlers of Bowie and Cass Counties Texas, By: Gifford White, Published June 1, 1983 by Ericson Books
 * Daughter of Destiny: Memoirs of a Bowie County, Texas Farm Girl, By: Carlene M. Howell, Published April 1995 by Tab Books
 * Bowie County, Tx Index to Probate Records; 1883-1940, 97 Pages,Compiled by WPA Workers
 * Texarkana Pioneer Families, By: Nancy Jennings
 * The Texarkana Story 1873-1948, By: Lucille Holland
 * Texarkana a Pictorial History, By: William D Leet, Published 1982
 * Bowie County Texas Historical Handbook, By: Bowie County Historical Commission, Published 1976
 * Texarkana Centennial, Historical Program - 1873-1973, By: Nancy Jennings Watts &amp; Mary Lou Stuart Phillips, Published 1973
 * History of Texarkana and Bowie and Miller Counties, By: Chandler, Barbara O., 1939.

Maps

 * Maps of Bowie County from the Bowie County TXGenWeb site
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site
 * 1897 Map of 1897 Bowie County, Texas with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)
 * Bowie County is the most northeastern county in the State of Texas

Military

 * Dependents Support Act List of Dependents - Bowie County TXGenWeb

Mexican-American War

 * 1845 - 1848 US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War 1845-1848 at Ancestry.com — index $

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1838 - 1900 Texas Muster Roll Index Cards 1838-1900 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * Confederate Indigent Families List - Bowie County TXGenWeb
 * Confederate Pension Applications - Bowie County TXGenWeb

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Vietnam War

 * Vietnam Wall List for Bowie County - Bowie County TXGenWeb

Newspapers

 * Newspapers of Bowie County Old and New -  Bowie County TXGenWeb
 * Texarkana Gazette
 * Articles from Bowie County Newspapers -  Bowie County TXGenWeb

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1800 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1800 – 2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records 1800-2000 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1883 - 1940 Index to Probate Cases 1883 to 1940 - Bowie County TXGenWeb

Taxation

 * 1846- Bowie County 1846 Tax List from the USGenWeb archives
 * 1903- Bowie County Poll Tax List 1903 from the USGenWeb archives
 * 1904- Bowie County Poll Tax List 1904 from the USGenWeb archives
 * 1903-1904- Bowie County Poll Tax Listing, 1903-1904, 74 pages, gives name, age, race, occupation and number of years resident in TX and in the county. Available from the New Boston Genealogical Society.
 * 1907-1917- Automobile Registration in Bowie County, 1907-1917, available from the New Boston Genealogical Society.

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records

'
 * 1840 - 1981  at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903 - 1935 Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903 - 1997 Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 (index)- FamilySearch

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * 1802-2010 - Texas, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1814 - 1909 and 1966 - 2011 Texas Marriage Collection 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1837 - 1977 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.
 * 1837 - 1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index 1837-1977 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1837 - 1997 Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973 - ;FamilySearch record collection
 * 1888 - 1930 Bowie County, Texas Marriages, 1888-1930, 7 volumes, available from the New Boston Genealogical Society
 * 1966 - 2005 Texas Marriage Records 1966 - 2005 Hidden Ancestors
 * 1966 - 2010 Texas, Marriages, 1966-2010 - FamilySearch record collection

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1890 - 1976 Texas Death Records 1890 – 1976 [with images] Name index and images of statewide death certificates, 1890-1976.
 * 1903 - 1973 Texas Deaths and Burials 1903 - 1973 (index) FamilySearch
 * 1903 - 1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1903 - 2000Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
 * 1964 - 1998 https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1375599 Texas Death Index 1964 to 1998] [no images]
 * 1977 - 1986  at FamilySearch.org — index
 * Bates Rolf Funeral Home Index and Bowden Funeral Home Records from the USGenWeb archives.

Divorce

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

Societies and Libraries
Texarkana Genealogical Society PO Box 5825 Texarkana, TX 75505-5825 Website

Garland Genealogical Society PO Box 461882 Garland 75046 Website

New Boston Genealogical Society PO Box 104 New Boston 75570 website Website

See also a List of Texas Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies


 * Research Libraries for Bowie County TX  -  Bowie County TXGenWeb

Family History Centers

 * Texarkana-New Boston Texas Family History Center


 * Texarkana USA Genealogy Society P.O. Box 2323 Texarkana, TX 75504-2323
 * The New Boston Genealogical Society P.O. Box 104 New Boston, Texas, 75570. The NBGS is located at the New Boston Public Library.
 * Red River County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 516 Clarksville, TX 75426

Websites

 * Bowie County TXGenWeb site
 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.
 * FamilySearch Catalog The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.
 * Cyndi's List - List of resources for state and county