Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997

DESCRIPTION:

This database is an index to over 15 million births recorded in Texas between 1903 and 1997. Information contained in this index includes:

Child's full name
Sex
Birth date
Birth county

Some records also include:

Names of both parents
Birth certificate number

In some cases, where the names of the parents are provided, the parents' names were recorded incorrectly. Occassionally the mother's name was recorded in the father's place and the father's name was recorded in the mother's place. Therefore, you may need to switch which fields you put the parents' names in, in order to produce results.

With the information provided in this index, you may be able to obtain a copy of a birth certificate. If possible, it is important that you do this because oft times more information is provided in an original record than is provided in its index. For information on how to order a copy of a birth certificate, visit the Texas Department of State Health Services website.

Beginning in 1903, with mandatory recording of births and deaths, copies of county records are maintained at the Bureau of Vital Statistics, Texas Department of Health, 1100 West 49th Street, Austin, Texas 78756. Statewide indexes were microfilmed by the Texas State Library and copies are additionally available at several genealogical libraries. The birth index covers 1903-76 and is alphabetized by year. The Genealogy Section of the Texas State Library provides limited correspondence service by checking indexes for a particular name for a small fee. If a birth or death record is not found at the state level, it is prudent to check the proper municipal or county office.

Probated or delayed birth registrations were sometimes submitted to the respective county court. These were then forwarded to the State Bureau of ital Statistics. Microfilm indexes to delayed birth records include Texas residents born elsewhere, many of whom were seeking Social Security registration. The bureau ended delayed birth registration in 1959.

Taken from Texas, Ancestry's Red Book by Wendy L. Elliott, edited by Alice Eichholz. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1992).

Vital records can be great sources of genealogical information. Besides providing the name of the person for whom the record was created, vital records can provide a wealth of other information. Birth records will generally, but not always, contain the following information: Child--name, birthplace, date of birth, sex, hospital, time of birth; Father--name, race, birthplace, age, occupation; Mother--name, race, birthplace, age, occupation, residence, term of residence in the community, term of pregnancy, marital status, number of other living children, number of other deceased children, number of children born dead.

Modern (post-1910) birth records are maintained by the states. They are extremely valuable, but many researchers, learning birth information from home sources, fail to obtain birth certificates. This reluctance is most unfortunate and can result in an inaccurate or incomplete family genealogy. Modern birth records contain much more information than earlier records. Although birth certificates vary from state to state, most of them share much information in common.

Taken from, Johni Cerny, "Research in Birth, Death, and Cemetery Records," in The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, ed. Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1997).

For reference, the following table is provided to verify counties when only a county code is given on a record.

County	Code	County	Code	County	Code
Anderson	1	Garza	85	Montgomery	170
Andrews	2	Gillespie	86	Moore	171
Angelina	3	Glasscock	87	Morris	172
Aransas	4	Goliad	88	Motley	173
Archer	5	Gonzales	89	Nacogdoches	174
Armstrong	6	Gray	90	Navarro	175
Atascosa	7	Grayson	91	Newton	176
Austin	8	Gregg	92	Nolan	177
Bailey	9	Grimes	93	Nueces	178
Bandera	10	Guadalupe	94	Ochiltree	179
Bastrop	11	Hale	95	Oldham	180
Baylor	12	Hall	96	Orange	181
Bee	13	Hamilton	97	Palo Pinto	182
Bell	14	Hansford	98	Panola	183
Bexar	15	Hardeman	99	Parker	184
Blanco	16	Hardin	100	Parmer	185
Borden	17	Harris	101	Pecos	186
Bosque	18	Harrison	102	Polk	187
Bowie	19	Hartley	103	Potter	188
Brazoria	20	Haskell	104	Presidio	189
Brazos	21	Hays	105	Rains	190
Brewster	22	Hemphill	106	Randall	191
Briscoe	23	Henderson	107	Reagan	192
Brooks	24	Hidalgo	108	Real	193
Brown	25	Hill	109	Red River	194
Burleson	26	Hockley	110	Reeves	195
Burnet	27	Hood	111	Refugio	196
Caldwell	28	Hopkins	112	Roberts	197
Calhoun	29	Houston	113	Robertson	198
Callahan	30	Howard	114	Rockwall	199
Cameron	31	Hudspeth	115	Runnels	200
Camp	32	Hunt	116	Rusk	201
Carson	33	Hutchinson	117	Sabine	202
Cass	34	Irion	118	San Augustine	203
Castro	35	Jack	119	San Jacinto	204
Chambres	36	Jackson	120	San Patricio	205
Cherokee	37	Jasper	121	San Saba	206
Childress	38	Jeff Davis	122	Schleicher	207
Clay	39	Jefferson	123	Scurry	208
Cochran	40	Jim Hogg	124	Shackelford	209
Coke	41	Jim Wells	125	Shelby	210
Coleman	42	Johnson	126	Sherman	211
Collin	43	Jones	127	Smith	212
Collingsworth	44	Karnes	128	Somervell	213
Colorado	45	Kaufman	129	Starr	214
Comal	46	Kendall	130	Stephens	215
Comanche	47	Kenedy	131	Sterling	216
Concho	48	Kent	132	Stonewall	217
Cooke	49	Kerr	133	Sutton	218
Coryell	50	Kimble	134	Swisher	219
Cottle	51	King	135	Tarrant	220
Crane	52	Kinney	136	Taylor	221
Crockett	53	Kleberg	137	Terrell	222
Crosby	54	Knox	138	Terry	223
Culberson	55	La Salle	142	Throckmorton	224
Dallam	56	Lamar	139	Titus	225
Dallas	57	Lamb	140	Tom Green	226
Dawson	58	Lampasas	141	Travis	227
De Witt	62	Lavaca	143	Trinity	228
Deaf Smith	59	Lee	144	Tyler	229
Delta	60	Leon	145	Upshur	230
Denton	61	Liberty	146	Upton	231
Dickens	63	Limestone	147	Uvalde	232
Dimmit	64	Lipscomb	148	Val Verde	233
Donley	65	Live Oak	149	Van Zandt	234
Duval	66	Llano	150	Victoria	235
Eastland	67	Loving	151	Walker	236
Ector	68	Lubbock	152	Waller	237
Edwards	69	Lynn	153	Ward	238
El Paso	71	Madison	157	Washington	239
Ellis	70	Marion	158	Webb	240
Erath	72	Martin	159	Wharton	241
Falls	73	Mason	160	Wheeler	242
Fannin	74	Matagorda	161	Wichita	243
Fayette	75	Maverick	162	Wilbarger	244
Fisher	76	McCulloch	154	Willacy	245
Floyd	77	McLennan	155	Williamson	246
Foard	78	McMullen	156	Wilson	247
Fort Bend	79	Medina	163	Winkler	248
Franklin	80	Menard	164	Wise	249
Freestone	81	Midland	165	Wood	250
Frio	82	Milam	166	Yoakum	251
Gaines	83	Mills	167	Young	252
Galveston	84	Mitchell	168	Zapata	253
		Montague	169	Zavala	254