Motley County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties M  Motley County

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

Quick Dates
Motley County's civil records start the following years:

County Courthouse
Motley County Courthouse PO Box 66 Matador, TX 79244 Phone: 806.347.2621 County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1891 and land records from 1891 with some earlier

History
The first settlers arrived in 1878. The first settlement was Matador in 1891.

Parent County
1876--Motley County was created 21 August 1876 from Bexar Land District. County seat: Matador.

Named in honor of Dr. Junius William Mottley, 1811-1836, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and aide to General Rusk at the Battle of San Jacinto where he was mortally wounded.

Record Loss
1944--Motley County Courthouse, built about 1904, was destroyed by fire Sept 1944. No vital records were lost, but some were damaged by water.

Towns

 * Flomot
 * Four Corners
 * Matador
 * Northfield
 * Roaring Springs
 * TeePee City
 * Whiteflat
 * White Star
 * Duchman Creek

Neighboring Counties

 * Briscoe
 * Cottle
 * Crosby
 * Dickens
 * Floyd
 * Hall
 * King

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

 * East Mound Cemetery - transcription ~  Motley County TXGenWeb
 * USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project. - Motley County Page.
 * East Mound Cemetery - Hidden Ancestors TXGenWeb Motley County.
 * Motley County - Gloria Mayfield's TX Cemeteries.
 * Motley County Cemeteries - Historic Texas Cemeteries.
 * Find A Grave - can be searched by the name of a person or family to find where a person is buried. Usually gives birth and death dates often with a picture of the tombstone. May give obituaries, names of family members and links to their information in Find A Grave.
 * Political Graveyard - Site tells where all of the dead politicians are buried.

Census

 * 1880 Census Transcription ~  USGenWeb Census Project
 * 1900 Census Surname Index ~  Motley County TXGenWeb
 * 1910 Census Partial Index ~  Motley County TXGenWeb

Land

 * Original Land Owners of Texas - Motley County -  USGenWeb Archives

Local Histories

 * Surnames of Motley County -  Motley County TXGenWeb
 * Afred Hightower Barton
 * Charlie David Bird
 * Henry Harrison Campbell
 * Arthur G. Ligertwood

Books About Local History


 * "The Early History of Motley County" by Harry H. Campbell
 * "Of Such As These, A History of Motley County and it's Families" by Eleanor Mitchell Traweek
 * "Interments In Motley County, Texas to March 1977" by Rita Groves

Maps



 * Motley County Maps ~  Motley County TXGenWeb
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site.

Military

 * Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 - FamilySearch
 * Texas, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 - FamilySearch
 * Confederate Pension Applications ~ Texas State Library and Archives Commission
 * Motley County Confederate Pension Applications ~  Motley County TXGenWeb
 * Motley County Veterans ~  Motley County TXGenWeb
 * A Salute to Our Fallen Heroes - Honoring those who gave their lives to protect our freedom.
 * Veterans - A salute to those who served our county.
 * Photo of the Motley County Veteran's Memorial -  Motley County TXGenWeb
 * Motley County Veterans -  Motley County TXGenWeb
 * Confederate Pension Application Index -  USGenWeb Motley County Archives

Newspapers

 * Old Newspaper Clippings -  Motley County TXGenWeb
 * Motley County Tribune
 * Home Town News -  Texas Newspaper Index with links
 * Newslink -  Texas Newspaper List (sorted by publication frequency)
 * The Olden Times  -   Historic Texas News Online

Obituaries

 * 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

 * Texas, Probate Records, 1800-1990 (images) - FamilySearch
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records ~  Ancestry.com  (subscription)

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 (index)- FamilySearch

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * Marriages 1966 - 2006
 * 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

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 Family Search 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.

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Divorce

 * Texas Divorce Records 1968 - 2005 (index)  -  Hidden Ancestors

Societies and Libraries
Motley County Library 1105 Main Street P.O. Box 557 Matador, TX 79244

Motley Co. Chamber of Commerce 828 Dundee St. (Old Traweek Hospital) P. O. Box 788 Matador, TX 79244 806-347-2968

Web Sites

 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county
 * Motley County TXGenWeb. History, vital statistics, biographies, photos, newspaper clippings, surnames, maps, obituaries and other Motley County information.
 * USGenWeb Motley County Archives. Vital statistics, census information, cemetery transcriptions, photographs, land owners and more.
 * Search for an Ancestor - Family Search.