Andrews County was created on 1876
(Organized in 1910)
and formed from Young and Bexar Counties. Andrews County was named for Richard Andrews, the first Texan soldier to die in the Texas Revolution. The County Seat is Andrews. The Official County website is located at http://www.co.andrews.tx.us/. The Andrews County courthouse was constructed of brick in Contemporary design in 1939 and W.T. Strange was the courthouse architect.
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.
Andrews County Clerk has Court Records from 1910, Land Records from 1910, Probate Records from 1910, Marriage Records from 1910 and Birth/Death Records from 1910 is located at P.O.
Box 727,
Andrews, TX 79714;
(915) 524-1426 . The County Clerk's Office is the record keeper of the county. The county records include birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, brand registrations, DD214s (military discharges), land / real estate / property records, probate and civil filings.
Below is a list of online resources for Andrews County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Andrews County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Texas Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
Click Here to Search Texas Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Vital Records,1100 West 49th Street,
Austin, TX 78756, Please allow up to approximately 6-8 weeks for processing of all type of certificates when ordered through the mail. They have the following records:
Birth Certificates: Birth records maintained by Bureau of Vital Statistics, Dept. of Health since 1903 through the present. For births that occurred within the past 75 years, copies can be requested only by the immediate family of the person whose name is on the birth certificate.
Cost: The cost of a birth record is $22.00. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $22.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 6-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Death Certificates: Death records maintained by Bureau of Vital Statistics, Dept. of Health since 1903 through the present.
For deaths that occurred in the past 25 years, copies can be requested only by immediate family members of the deceased.
Cost: The cost of a certified death certificate is $20.00 for the first copy and $3.00 for each additional copy issued at the same time for the same certificate. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $20.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 6-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Marriage & Divorce Certificates: Marriage Verifications from Jan 1966 and Divorce Verifications from Jan 1968. Certified copies of marriage licenses or divorce decrees are only available from the county clerk (marriage) or district clerk (divorce) in the county or district in which the event occurred. Marriage verification or divorce verification letters can now be ordered ELECTRONICALLY
Cost: $20 - Fee is for verification only.
Processing Time: 6-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
Order In Person: The certificates may be ordered by coming into this office. If you want the copy the same day, our hours for same day service are 8:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. Monday – Friday. The Texas Vital Statistics Office in Austin is located at 1100 W. 49th Street,
Austin, TX 78756.
Order By Mail: Mail a check or money order (no cash) payable to the "Texas Vital Records " along with the necessary information to the following address: Texas Vital Records, Department of State Health Services, PO Box 12040,
Austin TX 78711-2040. Please include return address on envelope and application form.
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Texas newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29 - Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If you're unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu. These records can be searched by father's first and last names, mother's first and maiden names, year, county, and city. The certificates include the child and parents' full names, residence, occupations, age, time and date of the birth, and the name of the physician attending the birth.
Texas Death Certificates, 1890-1976 - These records are searchable by first and last name of the deceased, year, county, and city. A certificate may include the decedent's date, place, and cause of death; age; date of birth; last residence; and marital status. If known, it will also include occupation, birth place, parents' names, and place of burial. Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu.
Click Here to Search Texas Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Andrews County, Texas are 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. The Texas State Library holds microfilm editions for all of Texas' federal censuses. Although the 1850, 1860, and part of the 1870 mortality schedules have been published, all the original mortality schedules are at the Texas State Library and on microfilm The 1830 territorial census of Miller County, Arkansas, enumerates an area that is in today's Texas boundaries. The remaining 1890 population schedules which exist for Texas include: Ellis County (Justice Precinct 6, Mountain Peak, and Ovilla Precinct); Hood County (Precinct 5); Rusk County (No. 6 and Justice Precinct No. 7); Trinity County (town of Trinity and Justice Precinct 2); and Kaufman County (Kaufman). Although Greer County in present-day Oklahoma functioned as part of Texas between 1886 and 1896, the 1890 census for this county was enumerated under Oklahoma Territory.
Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in Andrews County, Texas are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms
Below is a list of online resources for Andrews County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Andrews County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Arkansas and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Texas showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Texas showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps.
Below is a list of online resources for Andrews County Maps. Email us with websites containing Andrews County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Texas Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Andrews County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Andrews County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Texas (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Texas tax records constitute one of the most complete sets of available records generated at the county level (by the Commissioners Court) because these documents are maintained by the state. These lists may only include approximately sixty percent of eligible males over the age of twenty-one. Persons exempted from taxes included native Americans, "idiots," "incompetents," and those exempted because of age. This final category of exemptions varied over time. Years without an older age exemption were 1840 and 1862-70. Between 1841-44 exemptions began at forty-five years; in 1845 and from 1850-61 the upward age was set at fifty years. In 1837, 1848, and 1849 the limit was established as fifty-five, and in 1846-7, and 1871 the upward limit was set at sixty years.
Texas Ad Valorem (poll, personal, and real property) tax records for 1836 through 1976 are available in microfilm at the Texas State Library from the date of respective county organization; these are arranged by county and date and are somewhat alphabetized within each division. Microfilm copies are housed in the Genealogy Section. Tax lists for the various counties from creation to 1901 may be borrowed through interlibrary loan. Tax records through 1901-1947 are readily accessible, but not on interlibrary loan. Those for 1948 through 1976 can be obtained upon request.
Below is a list of online resources for Andrews County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Andrews County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories
in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical
and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical
Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly,
quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies
should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are
usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived
materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be
more generalized and over look the smaller details that local
societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to
look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy
section and may have some resources that are not located at
archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums
in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years
gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All
these places are vitally important to the family genealogist
and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Andrews County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Andrews County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Texas State Library and Archives Commission, P.O. Box 12927, Austin, TX 78711-2927 Holdings under the auspices of the Texas State Library are divided. Most important for genealogical research are the Texas State Archives with its Local Records Department, the Records Management Division, and the Information Services Division, which includes a Genealogy Section and a Reference Department.
The Genealogy Section maintains vertical ties that contain notes, clippings, pamphlets, and correspondence on Texas families. These files may be accessed in person, by phone (512-463-5463, forty-five minute limit), or through correspondence.
Texas Historical Commision The Texas Historical Commission (THC) is the state agency for historic preservation. THC staff consults with citizens and organizations to preserve Texas' architectural, archeological and cultural landmarks. The agency is recognized nationally for its preservation programs.
Texas Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Texas Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
During Texas's colonization period Roman Catholics were the most numerous, but early citizens included those representing other religious faiths such as Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Christian or Disciples of Christ.
Many cemetery records have been collected and transcribed, including the largest of which is multi-volumes compilation by the DAR and two volumes for Peters Colonists and descendants. The DAR collection, also microfilmed, is available at the Texas State Library and through the FHL.
Some Texas county historical and genealogical societies have published local cemetery and/funeral home records. These are normally available for purchase through the respective society. Two references can help determine which cemeteries have been recorded: Kim Parsons', A Reference to Texas Cemetery Records (Humble, Tex.: by author, 1988), arranged by county; and Sharry Crofford-Gould's, Texas Cemetery Inscriptions: A Source Index (San Antonio, Tex.: Limited Editions, 1977).
Below is a list of online resources for Andrews County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Andrews County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Texas obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Texas newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Texas.
Click Here to Search Texas Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Andrews County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Andrews County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Texas Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Anderson
County is located in East Texas between the Trinity and
the Neches rivers. Palestine, the county's largest town
and its county seat, is 108 miles southeast of Dallas
and 153 miles north of Houston.
The
territory that became Anderson County was home to
the Comanche, Waco, Tawakonis, Kickapoo, and Kichai
Indians. These and others, originally on the southern
flanks of the Wichita peoples, were in the vanguard
of the southern migration. By 1772 they had settled
on the Brazos at Waco and on the Trinity upstream
from the site of present Palestine. In 1826 empresario
David G. Burnet received a grant from the Mexican
government for colonization of the area that is now
Anderson County. In 1833 members of the Pilgrim Predestinarian
Regular Baptist Church settled at the site of Parker's
Fort in Limestone County, and others settled near
the site of present Elkhart, where they established "Old
Pilgrim," reputedly the oldest Protestant church
in Texas. On June 10, 1835, Willison Ewing and Joseph
Jordan bought a tract of land, which is now the John
H. Reagan homesite, about two miles southeast of
the present city of Palestine, and erected Fort Sam
Houston as protection from the Indians. In 1836 a
settlement known as Fort Houston grew at this site.
During the incursion of Antonio López de Santa
Anna in the spring of 1836 most of the settlements
west of the Trinity were destroyed. Settlers fled
to Fort Houston, but many of them returned to Parker's
Fort after Santa Anna's defeat. On May 19, 1836,
Parker's Fort was attacked by Indians, and most of
the families there were killed. Those who survived
made their way to Fort Houston. Some residents of
Anderson County are related to Cynthia Ann Parker,
who was captured in this raid. In October 1838, while
Gen. Thomas J. Rusk marched with two hundred men
on his way to Fort Houston in pursuit of Mexicans
and Indians, he learned that hostile Indians were
at a site called Kickapoo, near Frankston, in what
is now northeastern Anderson County.
His successful
raid ended the engagements with the Indians in eastern
Texas for that year. After the removal of the Indians
in the 1840s, settlement proceeded rapidly until
the area had sufficient inhabitants to form a new
county. In response to a petition presented by settlers
at and around Fort Houston, the First Legislature
of the state of Texas formed Anderson County from
Houston County on March 24, 1846. A suggestion was
made that the new county be called Burnet in honor
of David G. Burnet. The county was named Anderson,
however, after Kenneth Lewis Anderson, a prominent
member of Congress and the last vice president of the Republic of Texas. Fort Houston was two miles
from the center of the county, so a committee, composed
of Dan Lumpkin, William Turner Sadler, and John Parker
was appointed to lay out the site for and name a
new county seat. They chose a 100-acre tract in the
center of the county. The Parkers had come from Palestine,
Crawford County, Illinois, and upon their suggestion,
the new county seat was named Palestine. On July
30, 1846, the first session of the Anderson County
court was called. Road building was of foremost importance,
and a road from Palestine to the Neches River was
ordered. Other roads from Palestine to Fort Houston,
Parker's Bluff, Cannon's Ferry, and Kingsboro in
Henderson County followed. Authorization for construction
of a courtroom and jail with an underground dungeon
was given. In August 1846 a county tax was levied,
and Thomas Hanks was appointed county treasurer.
In October election precincts were arranged. District
court was held on November 9, 1846, with Judge William
B. Ochiltree, of the sixth judicial district of Texas,
presiding. The first cases were civil cases involving
title to land and slaves. In 1851 the Palestine Masonic
Institute was established, with both male and female
departments. In 1856 it became Franklin College.
When the male department failed, the Palestine Female
College was formed and stayed in operation until
1881, when a vote was taken to establish public schools.
A school established in 1852 at Mound Prairie was
one of the most famous in antebellum Texas. Most
of the settlers in the county came from the southern
states and from Missouri. In 1850 the county population
was 2,884, of which 600 were slaves, but by 1860
the population had increased to 10,398, of which
3,668 were slaves. During the same time, cotton production
had grown from 784 bales to 7,517 bales. Anderson
County showed steady growth in population and agricultural
production during the antebellum period. When the
Civil War broke out, Anderson County almost unanimously
supported secession and sent her ablest men to fight.
Judge John H. Reagan served in the cabinet of the
Confederate government as postmaster general. Even
after the defeat of the South, Anderson County resisted
federal rule. During Reconstruction, one loyalist
called District Judge Reuben A. Reeves, a resident
of Palestine, "the greatest curse of the latter
part of the nineteenth-century so far as this District
is concerned" because of his refusal to allow
blacks to participate as jurors in the judicial process.
When the Democratic party gained control statewide,
Anderson County voted Democratic in all national
elections until 1924 and 1928, when it voted Republican
for Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. In 1932 Anderson
County again supported the Democrats. In 1952 and
1956 the county voted for Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower,
and in 1960, Richard Nixon. The county voted for
Republican candidates in 1980, 1984, and 1992. By
1870 the population of Anderson County had declined
to 9,229, 52 percent white and 48 percent black.
In 1875, under the leadership of Judge Reagan, the
citizens of Palestine and the county joined in voting
a bond issue of $150,000 to be given as a bonus to
the International-Great Northern Railroad for locating
its machine and repair shops and general offices
in Palestine. The company employed over 300 men.
As a direct result, by 1880, Palestine doubled in
size to more than 4,000 people, and the county population
nearly doubled in size to 17,395. The county was
traversed north to south by the railroad, which branched
at Palestine, one set of tracks running to Houston
and Galveston and the other to Laredo. The I-GN,
currently the Missouri Pacific, still serves Palestine.
Palestine is also a hub for the Texas State Railroad.
The county population grew steadily upward to 37,092
in 1940, and the white majority increased to 68 percent.
Between 1940 and 1970, however, the county declined
in population by 25 percent, from 31,875 to 27,162.
The white majority increased to 75 percent of the
total. Between 1970 and 1980 the population increased
to 38,381; whites numbered 29,399, or 77 percent.
Between
1880 and 1940 Anderson County was predominantly agricultural.
Corn, cotton, sweet potatoes, hay, and, by the 1920s,
peanuts were the most important crops. The timber
industry gained importance in the 1930s. Between
1940 and 1982 the number of farms dropped by 70 percent,
from 4,422 to 1,356. Crops that remained important
in the 1980s included peanuts, sweet potatoes, hay,
and fruits and nuts.
Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29