Bell County, Texas Genealogy

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County Courthouse
http://www.bellcountytx.com/

Bell County's Commissoners Court 101 E. Central Ave. Belton, Texas 76513 (254) 939-3521 or 1-800-460-2355

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

Wikipedia

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
COURTHOUSE FIRE.

Narrow Escape of Bell County's Capitol.

BELTON, Tex., March 15. - About 6 o'clock this morning fire was discovered in the county treasurer's office, which is in the north side of the courthouse. Prompt work by the fire department saved the building. The floor, walls, and furniture in the treasurer's office are badly damaged. Loss about $350. There is pretty strong evidence that oil was poured on the floor and the fire was started by incendiaries. No attempt seems to have been made to break open the treasurer's safe, hence it is believed to be the work of parties who wished to destroy the courthouse.

The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, TX 16 Mar 1891

COURTHOUSE FIRE.

Save of the County Treasurer Intact -

BELTON, Tex., March 16. -

The damage to the courthouse by the fire yesterday morning was covered by insurance in the following companies: North British and Mercantile, Western Assurance association of Toronto, Commercial of California, Germania of New York and Hamburg and Bremen of Germany. The loss will not exceed $400. The adjuster for the companies is having contractors make estimates for repairs to-day and will have the work done in a short time.

County Treasurer W. J. Blair opened his fire and burglar proof safe this morning and found everthing in it intact. Not a cent of money was gone and his books and papers were not injured. The safe is smoked up considerably, but there are no indications whatsoever that any attempt to blow it open had been made.

Between the cages in the jail there is a hall, into which the prisoners are let once a day to take exercise and for other necessary purposes. When they were let into this hall last Saturday they declined to go back to their cells when ordered to do so by the deputy sheriff. They claimed to be afraid of small-pox. An extra guard watched them all night. However, when this conduct of the prisoners became known in town yesterday morning after the fire there was considerable excitement. Many persons believed that it was a preconceived arrangement between the prisoners and their friends on the outside to start a fire in town and that during the excitement the prisoners would escape. After a close examination no evidence was found that the prisoners had made any effort to escape. The action of the prisoners and the fire may have been a mere coincidence, though many persons think otherwise.

The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, TX, 17 Mar 1891

source:gendisasters.com

Citiies
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

Maps

 * 1) Hometown Locator map
 * 2) Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site

Vital 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 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

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.org Family History Library Catalog for Bell County.