Genealogy has become a popular hobby in the U.S. This guide points you to resources held by the UNT Libraries and online sources related to Texas state records and general U.S. genealogy resources. While the UNT Libraries do not have a dedicated genealogy collection, there are many resources to be found within our walls and through our online sources to aid in your genealogy research.
The UNT Libraries recognize that many of our students, staff, and faculty do not have access to their genealogical histories. Slavery, Diaspora, colonization, and genocide violently separate individuals from their homes and family lands. Additionally, underdeveloped regions may not have the "paper trail" needed to identify ancestors. Adopted persons may also have difficulty identifying their biological ancestors. Genetic genealogy can help to fill gaps in individual histories with positive or harmful connections.
On this page find tips and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about commonly used genealogy records.
image source: Family portrait of the Moten family. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth14897/
Begin documenting the lineage you know and talk to relatives who can can assist with filling in gaps.
Pedigree or ancestral charts provide an easy way to begin documenting and visualizing your family lineage. Here are a few pedigree/ancestral charts:
How to Interview Elderly Relatives for Genealogy Research shows how to fill in the gaps on your charts with information from family members and how to add a personal dimension to your research by recording family stories.
Genealogy benefits from researchers sharing what they learn.
Yes. The UNT Library has some birth records or certificates on microfilm for the counties of Cooke and Montague.
It depends on when the person was born. The state of Texas did not keep birth records before 1903 and full compliance did not occur until the 1930s. If any record exists for a person before 1903 it will most likely be at the county level. Contact the county clerk's office in the county of birth. You can find the address for every county as well as the year the county began keeping birth records in the Ancestry's Red Book (2004). Contact information for county clerk's can also be found online at the Texas State Vital Statistics Unit. If the person was born after 1903, the record may be found at the county as well as at the state level.
Yes. Indexes and images from 1903-1935 and index information only through 1997 are available for free on Family Search. The index is also available on Ancestry which is publicly accessible for free at UNT Libraries.
One book the UNT Library has is Early Texas Birth Records, 1838 - 1878.
To get a birth certificate from the State you will need to contact the Texas Department of Health and Human Services and order a copy. Only close relatives may order a birth certificate from the last 75 years. Birth certificates may also be ordered at the county level.
Yes. The UNT Library has some death records or certificates on microfilm for the counties of Cooke and Montague.
It depends on when the person died. The state of Texas did not keep death records before 1903 and full compliance did not occur until the 1930s. If any record exists for a person before 1903, it will most likely be at the county level. Contact the county clerk's office in the county of death. You can find the address for every county as well as the year the county began keeping death records in Ancestry's Red Book (2004). Contact information for county clerk's can also be found online at the Texas Vital Statistics Unit. If the person died after 1903, the record may be found at the county and the state level.
Yes. Indexes and images for 1903-1986 and index only records up to 2000 are available for free from Family Search. These records are also available from Ancestry which is publicly accessible for free at UNT Libraries.
To get a death certificate from the State you will need to contact the Texas Department of Health and Human Services and order one. Only close relatives may order a death certificate from the last 25 years. Death certificates may also be ordered at the county level.
Yes. The UNT Library has some marriage records or certificates on microfilm for the counties of Denton, Cooke, Montague and Wise.
It depends on when the marriage took place. The state of Texas did not begin collecting marriage records at the state level until 1966. For marriages that occurred before 1966, you will need to check with the county clerk's office in the county where the marriage took place. You can find the address for every county as well as the year the county began keeping marriage records in Ancestry's Red Book (2004) at the library or online at the Texas Vital Statistics Unit. Marriages prior to 1836 may also be in the custody of the Roman Catholic Church.
Yes. A free index to marriage licenses for 1966-2011 is available for download from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. There is no comprehensive state index for marriages before 1966 as records were kept on only on the county level and in church records before then. Many county records have now been made available for free on Family Search and through Ancestry which is publicly accessible for free at UNT Libraries. For more info on marriage records before 1966 see the Family Search Wiki.
One book owned by the UNT Library is Jordan R. Dodd's Texas Marriages, Early to 1850: A Research Tool .
Certified marriage certificates are only available at the county level in the county where the marriage took place. However the state does offer verification letters of a marriage taking place which can be ordered from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. You can access the form you need to send a request from their web page.
Yes. The UNT Library has some divorce minutes on microfilm for the counties of Cooke and Montague.
It depends on when the divorce took place. The state of Texas did not begin collecting divorce records at the state level until 1968. For divorces that occurred before 1968, you will need to check with the district clerk's office where the divorce occurred. You can find the address for district clerks' offices on this web page at the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.
Yes. A free index for 1968-2011 is available for download from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. There is no comprehensive index for divorces before 1968.
Certified divorce certificates are only available at the district level at the district clerk's office. However the state does offer verification letters for divorce decrees which can be ordered from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.
Tax rolls help you put a family in a particular place for a given year. This is especially helpful for the years between the Census years and can serve as a substitute for the lost Census of 1890.
Tax rolls are very irregular. They do not exist for certain counties and parts of others are missing. In particular, early tax rolls for a given county are not complete or have been lost entirely. See the Texas State Library for more information. Remember! County borders were changing all the time. Consult Ancestry's Red Book or Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790 - 1920 to locate where the county borders were at different time periods.
With a great deal of patience. Within each county the tax rolls are arranged by the first letter ONLY of the taxpayer's last name. They are not strictly in alphabetical order nor are they indexed. This is known as a register index.
Assessments of real and personal property, poll taxes, and other county and state taxes can be found in county tax rolls.
My family didn't own any land so tax records won't help me.
Tax rolls contain poll taxes and personal property taxes, so you should always check the tax rolls.
Yes, UNT Libraries has microfilm of Texas county tax rolls through 1910 that are available from the Texas State Library. To discover what's available, search the Libraries catalog with the keyword "county tax rolls" plus the county name.
Probate records are court records created after a person dies. These records relate to a court's decisions regarding the distribution of the estate to the heirs or creditors and the care of dependents. Probate takes place whether there was a will (testate) or not (intestate). Records may be found in probate files may include wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions.
Yes. The UNT Library owns some probate records on microfilm for the counties of Denton, Cooke, Montague, and Wise.
Yes, the Library has 29 of the 31 volumes of the Index to Probate Cases of Texas prepared by the Works Projects Administration. The counties the Library has volumes for are:
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Atascosa (#9) |
Bowie (#19) |
Brazoria (#20) |
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Brazos (#21) |
Camp (#32) |
Chambers (#36) |
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Coleman (#42) |
Delta (#60) |
Franklin (#80) |
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Gregg (#92) |
Hardin (#100) |
Hays (#105) |
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Liberty (#146) |
Marion (#155) |
Morris (#172) |
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Newton (#176) |
Nolan (#177) |
Orange (#181) |
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Robertson (#198) |
Runnels (#200) |
Rusk (#201) |
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San Saba (#206) |
Shelby (#210) |
Titus (#225) |
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Trinity (#228) |
Waller (#237) |
Williamson (#246) |
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Wood (#250) |
Yes, the Libraries has all available federal censuses for Texas from 1850 to 1930. The only census available for 1890 is the 1890 Texas Census Index of Civil War Veterans or Their Widows; this indexes only Union soldiers from the state of Texas. These records are on microfilm and can be requested through the library catalog. Access to these records online is also available through Ancestry Library Edition at the UNT Libraries.
Census records help you develop the make-up of a family. Each census contains different information and by collecting all census records you can place a particular family at a particular place at a particular moment in time. Census records also help you locate lost children, siblings, parents and grandparents. Census records are an excellent way to begin your genealogy research and give you a framework from which to work.
The Library has indexes or the complete Soundex for the years of 1850 through 1920. Printed indexes are available for the years 1850 through 1880. The Soundex is available for 1900, 1910 and part of 1920. The index for the surviving 1890 census is also available.
The Soundex is a coded surname (last name) index based on the way the surname sounds rather than the way it is spelled. It was developed so you can find a surname even though it may be recorded under various spellings. Every surname consists of a letter and three numbers. The letter is always the first letter of the surname. For example, if Smith was spelled under both Smith and Smyth, the Soundex code would be S530 for both. The National Archives web page has a thorough discussion of the Soundex system.
No. Though the federal decennial census began in 1790, there are no federal censuses available for Texas before 1850 because Texas didn't become a state until 1845. No censuses were taken under the Republic of Texas (1836-45) although tax rolls can serve as a substitute for those years. Published records for this period include Gifford E. White's 1830 Citizens of Texas (e-book and print available) and 1840 Census of the Republic of Texas, Citizens of the Republic of Texas, and Stephen F. Austin's Register of Families: From the Originals in the General Land Office, Austin, Texas. Consult Ancestry's Red Book for a discussion of the various censuses taken under the Spanish and Mexican governments.
No. Some states have taken their own state censuses, but the state of Texas has never taken a state census.
Yes, the library has some censuses for other states for just the years 1790 – 1820. They are: Connecticut (1790 – 1820), Delaware (1800 – 1820), District of Columbia (1800, 1820), Georgia (1820), Illinois (1820), Indiana (1820), Kentucky (1810 – 1820), Louisiana (1810 – 1820), Maine (1790 – 1820), Maryland (1790 – 1820), Massachusetts (1790 – 1820), Mississippi (1820), New Hampshire (1790 – 1820), New York (1790 – 1820), North Carolina (1790 – 1820), Ohio (1820), Pennsylvania (1790 – 1820), Rhode Island (1790 – 1820), South Carolina (1790 – 1820), Tennessee (1810 – 1820), Vermont (1790 – 1820), and Virginia (1810 – 1820). They are all on microfilm. Additionally other states' census records are available via Ancestry (publicly accessible for free at UNT Libraries) and Family Search. The years vary.
The Southwest Regional Branch of the National Archives, located in Fort Worth, has all available federal censuses for all states on microfilm. They also have all available Soundex for all states. Other large collections of census records for other states may be found at the Dallas Public Library and the Fort Worth Public Library as well as online through sites such as Family Search and Ancestry (available for free at UNT Libraries).
Yes. The Census has been taken every ten years since 1790. The censuses from 1790 through 1840 only listed the name of the head of the household and the numbers of people in various categories. The censuses from 1850 through 1920 lists every free person in the house, often gives their relationship to the head of the household, and lists their age and place of birth. Separate slave schedules exist for 1850 and 1860.
As noted above, the Census omitted enslaved individuals. The 1850 slave schedules were the first enumeration of enslaved persons but rarely include names of the enslaved. These schedules list the slave owner's name and include a number, age, sex, and color for the enslaved in addition to other related information and details.
Less the one percent of the 1890 Census survived a fire in 1921. What wasn't destroyed by fire was badly damaged by water. What survived is available on microfilm; see the National Archives. For states Alabama through Kentucky (part), the 1890 Census of Civil War Veterans or Their Widows was also destroyed. See an article in Prologue titled "First in the Path of the Firemen: The Fate of the 1890 Population Census."
The Library has a published work A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services… Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census: A General Index. This indexes pensioners as indicated in the 1840 federal census.
No. Confederate pension records for soldiers residing in Texas are available from the Texas State Library, and you may request them via email. The Libraries do have an print index to Texas Confederate Civil War pension records, Virgil D. White's Index to Texas CSA Pension Files. The Texas State Library provides access to the Index to Confederate Pension Applications and the Confederate Indigent Families List (1863-1865).
Confederate Civil War pension records are located in the state where the soldier resided, not the state from which he served. Confederate pensions were not given out as early as Union pensions so if your ancestor moved after the War, you'll want to make sure to check with the state he moved to as well. Confederate pension records are not at the National Archives, but compiled service records are located there. A list of locations for state records in print and online is listed here on the Family Search Wiki.
The Library has compiled service records for Confederate soldiers who served from Texas on microfilm. The title is Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers who Served in Organizations From the State of Texas. There is an index to these service records, and the index is on microfilm as well - Index to Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers who Served in Organizations From the State of Texas.
No, but you can find them at the National Archives' Southwest Regional Branch in Fort Worth as well as online on sites such as Family Search, Ancestry, and Fold3.
No, the UNT Libraries do not have any Civil War pension records. Union pension records are located at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. They are not on microfilm, but you can order copies online or with a NATF 85 form which you can request online, pick up at the National Archives - Southwest Regional Branch in Fort Worth, or send a written request for the form. The web site contains more information.
The UNT Library has the Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers who Served in Organizations From the State of Texas on microfilm. You will also find Texas Union veterans and their widows in the 1890 Texas Census Index of Civil War Veterans or Their Widows. The UNT Library does not have the actual census - just the index.
Service records for Union soldiers can be found at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The National Archives - Southwest Regional Branch has selected Union compiled service records on microfilm.
The American Civil War is probably one of the most written about topics. Along with the thousands of books owned by the UNT Library about specific campaigns, military leaders, battles, and daily life, there are some resources of particular interest to the genealogists such as the Supplement to the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.
The Texas State Library has an index to service records and other records related to an individual's military service located on their web site.
The earliest Texan military records begin in 1835. The largest collection of military and related records pertaining to Texans is housed in the Texas State Archives.
The Library has a published work Texas Ranger Indian War Pensions by Robert W. Stephens and the Alamo Defenders: A Genealogy, the People and Their Words (e-book and print available).
