Red River County, Texas Genealogy

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

Texas Online Genealogy Records

Description
The County was named for the Red River, which forms its northern boundary. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Red River County Courthouse 200 North Walnut Street Clarksville, TX 75426 Phone: 903.427.2401 County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage records from 1845, probate and land records from 1835; District Clerk has divorce and court records

County Clerk

200 N. Walnut Clarksville 75426 Phone: 903-427-2401

District Clerk

400 N. Walnut Clarksville 75426 Phone: 903-427-3761

Red River County has had five courthouses. The fifth and current courthouse was built in 1885.

Red River County Government Website

Parent County
1836--Red River County was created 17 March 1836 from an Old Mexican Municipality. LaGrange (now called Madras) was named temporary county seat in 1837, until Clarksville was selected as the county seat in 1838.
 * County seat:Clarksville 

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Red River County border changes.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

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

Neighboring Counties
Bowie •  Choctaw County, Oklahoma  •  Delta  •  Franklin  •  Hopkins  •  Lamar  •  McCurtain County, Oklahoma  •  Morris  •  Titus

African American

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

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

Additional Cemetery Sources


 * African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries
 * Texas Escapes Listing of Texas cemeteries with transcriptions and lots of pictures.

Census

 * 1850 Census
 * 1860 Census
 * 1870 Census
 * 1880 Census
 * 1900 Census
 * 1930 Census Index
 * 1890 Union Veterans Census

Church
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Texas Christian Church Directory~ ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in Texas
 * FamilySearch Places

Local Histories

 * Gateway to Texas, History of Red River County, by Martha Sue Stroud. Available from the author
 * Bible Records of Red River County, Texas Genealogical Members, Volume * Bible Records of the following families: Meyer, Lee, Turk, Myers, McCain, Low, Jones, McCuiston, Hall, Johnson, Pinson, Young, Strawn, Turner, Rose, Seale, Smith, Claiborne, Williams, Dyers, Strange, Benton and Hufford. Available from the Red River County Texas Genealogical Society
 * Reflections of Red River County 1830's-1890 by Marion Butts. Available from the Red River Co Genealogy Society
 * Red River County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.
 * Biographies ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Red River County Published Sources ~ TXGenWeb
 * Texas Museums ~  List of all museums in Texas  ~  Hidden Ancestors

Maps

 * Texas Land Survey Maps for (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Red River County Map ~  TXGenWeb
 * Historical Maps ~  From the Republic to the Turn of the Century  ~  Hidden Ancestors
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military

 * 1838 - 1900 - Texas Muster Roll Index Cards 1838-1900 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * Military Resources ~ Links to research Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * Fallen Heroes ~ Partial Index of casualties from Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom ~ Hidden Ancestors
 * Honoring Our Veterans ~ Partial index of veterans from Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom ~ Hidden Ancestors

Mexican-American War

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

Civil War

 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * Confederate Pension Applications ~ Texas State Library and Archives Commission
 * Civil War Dead buried in Red River County, Texas, by Lawrence and Sue Dale. Contains all notes from cemetery records, 374 individuals, most without formal Civil War markers. Available from the authors

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Wikipedia has a list of online newspaper archives for Texas.
 * Home Town News -  Texas Newspaper Index with links
 * Newslink -  Texas Newspaper List (sorted by publication frequency)
 * The Olden Times  -   Historic Texas News Online.
 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has The Paris News from 1925 that may include residents from Red River County.

Obituaries

 * Red River County Obituaries ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 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
Online Probate Records


 * 1800 – 2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records 1800-2000 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1800 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images


 * 1838 Tax List ~ TXGenWeb
 * Index to Wills Book A ~ TXGenWeb
 * Index to Wills Book B ~ TXGenWeb
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records ~ Ancestry.com (subscription)

Taxation

 * 1846-1910 Texas, County Tax Rolls 1846-1910 at findmypast ($) — index and images

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1903-1935 Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * 1903-1997 Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 (index)- FamilySearch
 * 1926-1995 Texas Births, 1926 - 1995 at MyHeritage ($) — index

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 $
 * 1837-1965 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1837-1973 Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1837-1977 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1837-1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index 1837-1977 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1966-2005 Texas Marriage Records 1966 - 2005  -  Hidden Ancestors
 * 1966-2010 Texas, Marriages, 1966-2010  -  FamilySearch record collection
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

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

Divorce

 * 1968-2005 Texas Divorce Records 1968 - 2005   ~  Hidden Ancestors
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $


 * 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project ~ Texas 1850 - 1930
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index

Societies and Libraries
Red River County Public Library 307 N Walnut St Clarksville, TX 75426 Telephone Number: 903-427-3991 Website

Red River County, TX Genealogical Society PO Box 516 Clarksville, TX 75426-2720 Website


 * Society Hill ~  Links and addresses to Texas genealogical and historical societies

Websites

 * Red River County Archives ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Red River County ~ TXGenWeb
 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.
 * USGenWeb Texas Archives Vital statistics, maps, obituaries, Bible records, tombstone transcriptions and many other records.
 * — The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.