Van Zandt County, Texas Genealogy

United States &gt; Texas &gt; Counties UV &gt; Van Zandt County adopted by Betty Phillips &amp; Betty Miller

History
Cherokees occupied the area under a grant from Mexico in 1822 and were removed in 1839. The first post office, grist mill and saw mill were set up in 1845. During the Civil War the county was popularly known as the "Free state of Van Zandt".

Parent County
1848--Van Zandt County was created 20 March 1848 from Henderson County. County seat: Canton

Neighboring Counties

 * Henderson
 * Hunt
 * Kaufman
 * Rains
 * Smith
 * Wood

Cemeteries
Cemeteries of Van Zandt County with photos and some bios of folks buried there can be found on Van Zandt County Website under the heading of Cemetery Listings.

Local Histories
Go to Van Zandt County website and link to Historical Places in Van Zandt Countyby Bobby Pearce. There you will find many Van Zandt County Historical Sites and Research Helps on Bobby Pearce's "Field Guide to Historical Sites in Van Zandt County".

Maps
Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site

Military
On the Van Zandt County Website, go to the link Veterans of Van Zandt County and you will find information on individual soldiers. Records are of Muster Rolls, Civil War Pensioners, 1890 Texas Union Soldier Schedule, World War I Casualties, World War I Draft Registrations (by town), World War II Veterans with pictures, &amp; Links to Fantastic Civil War Web Sites.

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.

Societies and Libraries
On the Van Zandt County Website, go to the Index link Early Van Zandt County Doctors and Medical Society Minutes and read the minutes from the Medical Society's meetings of the early 1900s. These minutes were transcribed and compiled by the late Mable Cook.

OPHGR (Organization for the Preservation of Historical and Genealogical Records)

[mailto:pvinson47@aol.com P. Vinson], President

Canton, TX

email:[mailto:opngr1@gmail.com ophgr1@gmail.com]

Website: http://www.ophgr.com

These folks go to county courthouses, churches and other places where old documents and records are housed. They either scan the very old records with their oversized scanner or they transcribe those old documents and then publish them as books. Membership is $10.00/year if you have an email address and you get their Newsletter sent to you quarterly. Visit their web site for Publication Listings as well as membership information.

They also host several workshops during the year. Topics include: Beginning Researcher, Internet Research, Beginner Computer Help as well as Native American/Melungeon/African American Research.

Van Zandt County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 1388, Canton, Texas 75103 Phone: 903-537-5012 email: [mailto:vanzandtgensoc@etcable.net vanzandtgensoc@etcable.net]

We spent a week there this summer. The library they have is WONDERFUL and the staff extremely helpful. The location is at the court house annex. They have published Graveyards of Van Zandt Co., Tx - Vol A-E, Marriage Record Books of Van Zandt Co. The library is open from 9AM - 5 PM - staffed by local volunteers who know about the county.

Web Sites

 * TEXAS GenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county


 * Family History Library Catalog