Wood County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties W  Wood County

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

Adopted by Betty Miller and Betty Phillips

County Courthouse
Wood County Courthouse PO Box 338 Quitman, TX 75783-0338 Phone: 903.763.2711 County Clerk has birth and death records Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage,land and probate records from 1879, cemetery and court records, military records from 1918; District Clerk has divorce records

Wood County has had four courthouses. They were built in 1851, 1854, 1883 and 1925, the current courthouse.

History
The area was originally Caddo Indian country. The first settler arrived in 1824, the first school opened in 1852 and the first newspaper was published in 1845.

Parent County
1850--Wood County was created 5 February 1850 from Van Zandt County. County seat: Quitman

Boundary Changes
1870--A western section of Wood County was used to form the new Rains County.

Record Loss
1878--Courthouse and all county records were destroyed by fire in December 1878.

Neighboring Counties

 * Camp
 * Franklin
 * Hopkins
 * Rains
 * Smith
 * Upshur
 * Van Zandt

Local Histories

 * Wood County, 1850–1900, 1976, by the Wood County Historical Society.An overview of Wood County, Texas from roughly 1850 to 1900, includes historical sketches of various aspects of life in the county as well as anecdotes. Genealogical information and documentation are also included for pioneer families in the area. Read the book on line from The Portal to Texas History.
 * History of Mineola, Texas; "Gateway to the Pines", 1973 by Lucille Jones. Read the book online from The Portal to Texas History.
 * Wood County History from The Handbook of Texas Online.

Maps

 * Texas Land Survey Maps for (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site

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
OPHGR Organization for the Preservation of Historical and Genealogical Records, Canton, TX [mailto:pvinson47@aol.com P. Vinson], President;  [mailto:ophgr1@gmail.com email]    Website

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.

Web Sites

 * Betty's World Genealogical information on Betty's Families of Abney, Boxley, Bradberry, Breazeale, Brown, Carter, Middleton, Norman, Pickens, Phillips, Stone, Summers, Tinsley, Wade, Wills/Wells, and General Andrew Pickens.
 * TEXAS GenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.