User:RogersBA/Sandbox TX 15

Guide to Bexar County, Texas ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The county was named for Presidio San Antonio de Béxar. The County is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Bexar County Courthouse 100 Dolorosa San Antonio, TX 78205 Phone: 210-335-2011 Bexar County Courthouse County Clerk has birth records from 1838, marriage records from 1837, death records from 1903, probate records from 1843, land records from 1700’s, Spanish church records 1737-1859 and Spanish City Council minutes 1815-1820.

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

Cemeteries

 * 1893-2007 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Census Records

 * 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project — Texas 1850 - 1930


 * See also Using the Census to find other records about ancestors

Church Records

 * Texas Christian Church Directoryat Church Angel
 * Catholic Parishes in Texas

 List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Directories

 * 1958 San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, City Directory, 1958 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1944-1952 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
 African Amercicans ''
 * 1865-1870 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images only
 * Texas African American Griots at  USGenWeb
 * AfriGeneas American Ancestored Genealogy; select Records then a collection

Local Histories
The villa of San Fernando de Bexar was the first municipality in the Spanish province of Texas in 1731. In 1772 the seat of the government of Spanish Texas moved to Bexar. The original county was divided into 128 additional counties. From the Handbook of Texas Online: The first Europeans to explore the region came with an expedition in 1691 led by Domingo Terán de los Ríos and Fray Damián Massanet, who evidently reached the San Antonio River near where San Juan Capistrano Mission was later founded. Nearby they found a group of Payayas living on the riverbank. The Indians, as Massanet recorded in his diary, called the place Yanaguana; he, however, renamed the site San Antonio de Padua to celebrate the memorial day of St. Anthony, June 13. The next group of Spanish explorers, an expedition led by two Franciscans, fathers Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares and Isidro Félix de Espinosa, and a military officer, Pedro de Aguirre, did not reach the area until April 1709. Much impressed by the setting and the availability of water, they noted that the area might make a promising site for future settlement. In 1714 Louis Juchereau de St. Denis crossed the region on his way to San Juan Bautista. Espinosa again visited the site in 1716 on his way to East Texas with the expedition of Domingo Ramón and this time recommended San Pedro Springs as a mission site. Near that spot, in May 1718, Martín de Alarcón led the expedition that founded San Antonio de Valero Mission and San Antonio de Béxar (or Béjar) Presidio, named for Viceroy Balthasar Manuel de Zúñiga y Guzmán Sotomayor y Sarmiento, second son of the duke of Bexar.


 * History of the Alamo in Bexar County at Bexar County TXGenWeb
 * Historical Markers of Bexar County at Bexar County TXGenWeb
 * Texas Indexes (about 20 counties) at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county
 * Texas Indexes (about 20 counties) at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 1889-1909 1889-1909 Maps of Bexar County at Bexar County TXGenWeb
 * 1897 Map of 1897 Bexar County, Texas with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * Military Records of Bexar County at Bexar County TXGenWeb

 Mexican-American War
 * 1845-1848 US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War 1845-1848 at Ancestry — index ($)

 Civil War  Online Records
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images at partner site
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images at partner site
 * 1838-1900 Texas Muster Roll Index Cards 1838-1900 at Ancestry — index and images ($)

 World War I
 * 1917-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1906-1989 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Newspapers

 * Texas Digital Newspaper Program at The Portal to Texas History
 * Wikipedia has a list of online newspaper archives for Texas.
 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has San Antonio newspapers from the late 1800's that covered local news on Bexar County residents.

Obituaries

 * Obituaries of Bexar County, Texas at Partial Listing of Obituaries from Bexar County at Bexar County, TXGenWeb
 * TX USGenWeb Archives Obituary
 * Afrigeneas at African American death notices, obituaries and funeral programs compiled by users from current newspapers and historical sources
 * Obituary Daily Times at Ancestry ($) Citations to over 15,000,000 obituaries including interactive search function

Probate Records

 * 1800-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images only
 * 1800-2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records 1800-2000 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records Ancestry ($)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records

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

Vital Records

 * Records of Bexar County, Texas at Bexar County TXGenWeb

Birth

 * 1840-1981 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1903-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1903-1997 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1926-1995 Texas Births, 1926 - 1995 at MyHeritage — index ($)

Marriage

 * 1802-2010 Texas, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 Texas Marriage Collection 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1837-1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1837-1973 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1837-1977 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1837-1965 Texas, U.S., Select County Marriage Records at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1966-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage — index ($)

Death

 * 1890-1976 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1903-1973 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1903-2000 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1964-1998 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1977-1986 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Divorce

 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1968-2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage — index ($)

FamilySearch Centers

 * Hill Country Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Hondo Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Kerrville Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Kyle Texas FamilySearch Center
 * San Antonio Texas East FamilySearch Center
 * San Antonio Texas FamilySearch Center
 * San Antonio Texas La Cantera FamilySearch Center
 * San Antonio Texas North FamilySearch Center
 * San Antonio Texas West FamilySearch Center
 * Seguin Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Stone Oak Texas FamilySearch Center
 * Leon Valley Public Library - an affiliate library
 * San Antonio Genealogical and Historical Society - an affiliate library

Libraries

 * Converse Public Library 601 S Seguin Rd Converse, TX 78109 Phone: (210) 659-4160 Website
 * Leon Valley Public Library 6425 Evers Rd Leon Valley, TX 78238 Phone: (210) 684-0720 Website
 * San Antonio Public Library' 600 Soledad St San Antonio, TX 78205 Phone: (210) 207-2500 Website
 * Universal City Public Library 100 Northview Dr Universal City, TX 78148 Phone: (210) 659-7048 Website

Societies

 * Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library Website
 * Los Bexareños Genealogical And Historical Society PO Box 1935 San Antonio, TX 78297 Website
 * San Antonio Genealogical and Historical Society 911 Melissa Drive San Antonio, TX 78213 Phone: (210) 342-5242 Website

Websites

 * Bexar County TXGenWeb, part of TXGenWeb
 * USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Cyndi's List TX
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.