Zavala County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties XYZ  Zavala County

Guide to Zavala County Texas genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
Zavala County Courthouse Crystal City, Texas 78839 Phone: 830.374.2331 County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, probtate and court records from 1884, land and military records; District Clerk has divorce records

History
The first permanent settlements occurred in the late 1860's. Zavala County was attached for judicial purposes to Uvalde, Maverick and Frio counties before it was separately organized. Zavala county was misspelled "Zavalla" when the county was created in 1858; the spelling error was not corrected by the Texas Legislature until 1929.

Parent County
1858--Zavala County was created 1 February 1858 from Maverick and Uvalde Counties. County seat: Crystal City

Populated Places
Batesville | Cometa | Chula Vista-River Spur | Crystal City | La Pryor | Las Colonias | Loma Vista

Neighboring Counties

 * Dimmit
 * Frio
 * Kinney
 * La Salle
 * Maverick
 * Medina
 * Uvalde

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

 * Zavala County Cemetery Index
 * Loma Vista Cemetery Listing
 * Vivion Cemetery Listing
 * Zavala County Cemeteries Maps, transcriptions, information
 * Tombstone Transcription Project ~ Partial transcription of cemetery tombstones ~ USGenWeb
 * Texas Historic Cemeteries ~ Partial indexes to historic cemeteries
 * African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries
 * Texas Escapes Listing of Texas cemeteries with transcriptions and lots of pictures.

Census

 * 1860 Zavala County Census
 * 1870 Zavala County Census
 * 1880 Zavala County Census
 * 1900 Zavala County Census
 * 1910 Zavala County Census

Church

 * Texas Christian Church Directory~ ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in Texas

Land

 * Zavala County Land Grant Index

Local Histories

 * Historical Notes on Zavala County, 1986, by Ernest Holdsworth, Zavala County Historical Commission.
 * Now and Then in Zavala County, 1985, by the Zavala County Historical Commission.
 * Zavala County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.
 * Texas Museums ~  List of all museums in Texas  ~  Hidden Ancestors

Maps



 * 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

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
 * Zavala County Confederate Pension Claims
 * 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

Newspapers

 * 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

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

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


 * Texas Marriage Records 1966 - 2005  ~  Hidden Ancestors
 * 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 Family Search and is tied to images of the Texas death certificates. Few certificates are available prior to 1903.
 * [https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1949337 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   ~  Hidden Ancestors


 * USGenWeb Census Project ~ Texas 1850 - 1930

Societies and Libraries

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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

 * Zavala County TXGenWeb
 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.
 * Hidden Ancestors Information on Texas genealogy research as well as genealogy research in general.
 * USGenWeb Texas Archives Vital statistics, maps, obituaries, Bible records, tombstone transcriptions and many other records.