Bailey County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties B  Bailey County

Guide to Bailey 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, marriage, probate and court records from 1918 and land records from 1882; Distric Clerk has divorce records

History
The Texas Constitution of 1876 set aside three million acres of land to erect a new State Capitol. In 1879, Texas made a contract exchanging the three million acres, including Bailey County, for the construction of the present Capitol in Austin. The three million acres eventually became part of the sprawling XIT Ranch from which the Y-L and Muleshoe Ranches of Bailey County were formed in 1902. The first recorded cattle drive took place in 1882 when Tom Lynch drove his cattle from New Mexico to Spring Lake.

Muleshoe wasn't the first settlement in Bailey County. Hurley was the first and was located about three miles northwest of Muleshoe. Hurley was named for New Mexico political leader, Patrick J. Hurley

Parent County
1876--Bailey County was created 21 August 1876 from Bexar Land District. County seat: Muleshoe

The county was named for Peter J. Bailey, (1812-1836). Peter James Bailey, Alamo defender, the son of Gabriel and Sabra (Rice) Bailey, was born in Kentucky in 1812. He graduated from Transylvania University with a degree in law in 1834. In January 1836 he came to Texas in company with Daniel W. Cloud and others from Logan County, Kentucky. They took the oath of allegiance before John Forbes at Nacogdoches on January 14, 1836, and were enrolled in the Texas army. Bailey and Cloud were members of the Tennessee Mounted Volunteers. They perished with David Crockett in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. For Bailey's service to Texas, his heirs received land parcels that are now in Archer, Baylor, and Hamilton counties.

Populated Places
Towns and Cities: Bula | Enochs | Maple | Muleshoe | Needmore | Virginia City

Neighboring Counties
Cochran • Hockley •  Lamb  •  Parmer •  Roosevelt County, New Mexico

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

 * Bailey County, Texas Cemeteries
 * USGenWeb volunteers have transcribed several cemeteries and burial plots in Bailey County, Texas, which can be searched at the USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project.
 * Muleshoe Memorial Park Cemetery -  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Bailey County Cemetery - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Baileyboro Cemetery - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Bula Cemetery -  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Enochs Cemetery - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Maple Cemetery -  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * WestCamp Cemetery - USGenWeb Archives Project

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Enoch

Land

 * Original Land Owners of Texas -  USGenWeb Archives Project

Maps
Texas Counties Map. TXGenWeb site.

Military

 * Bailey County Confederate Pension Applications -  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


 * Bailey County Births -  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 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


 * Bailey County Marriages- USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 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.

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 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, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
 * 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 Deaths and Burials 1903 - 1973 (index) -  FamilySearch
 * 1977 - 1986 at FamilySearch.org — index

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Divorce

 * Bailey County Divorces- USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index

Web Sites

 * Bailey County TXGenWeb site
 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.
 * USGenWeb Archives Project - transcriptions and photos
 * TXGenWeb Bailey County - transcripotions and information
 * TXGenWeb Bailey County - transcripotions and information