Runnels County, Texas Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for Hiram G. Runnels, a Texas state legislator. The County is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Runnels County Courthouse 613 Hutchings Avenue P. O. Box 189 Ballinger, TX 76821 Phone: 325-365-2633

Runnels County Government Website

County Clerk has birth, death and court records from 1903, marriage, probate and land records from 1880, military discharge records from 1918 and school census records 1925-1970; District Clerk has divorce records

County Clerk

P.O. Box 189 Ballinger 76821 Phone: 325-365-2720 Fax: 325-365-3408

District Clerk

P.O. Box 166 Ballinger 76821 Phone: 325-365-2638 Fax: 325-365-9229

History
1862--The first white settler arrived in 1862.

Parent County
1858--Runnels County was created 1 February 1858 from Bexar Land District and Travis County.
 * County seat: Ballinger

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Runnels County boundary 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:

Neighboring Counties
Coke •  Coleman  •  Concho  •  Nolan  •  Taylor  •  Tom Green

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


 * Maps to Runnels County Cemeteries HomeTown Locator
 * TexasEscapes
 * 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

 * Runnels County Census Index ~ TXGenWeb Census Project

Church

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

Local Histories

 * 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

 * 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

World War I

 * 1917 - 1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * Soldiers of WWII ~ Runnels County TXGenWeb

Newspapers

 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has digitized Abilene newspapers that may include residents from Runnels County.
 * 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

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
Online Probate Records


 * 1800 – 2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records 1800-2000 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1800 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records ~  Ancestry.com  (subscription)

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

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 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

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 FamilySearch 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
 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $


 * 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project ~\ Texas 1850 - 1930

Societies and Libraries
Carnegie Library Of Ballinger 204 N 8th St Ballinger, TX 76821 Telephone Number: 325-365-3616 Website

Winters Public Library 120 N Main St Winters, TX 79567 Telephone Number: 325-754-4251 Website


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

Websites

 * Runnels 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.