Jack County was created in 1856
(Organized in 1857) and formed from Cooke County. Jack County was named for Patrick Churchill Jack, attorney and early Texas colonist, and his brother William Houston Jack, both veterans of the Texas Revolution. The County Seat is Jacksboro. The Official County website is located at http://www.jackcounty.org/. See also Extended History for more historical details.
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.
Jack County Clerk has Court Records from 1858 , Land Records from 1858, Probate Records from 1858, Marriage Records from 1858 and Birth/Death Records from 1903 is located at 100
N. Main St.,
Jacksboro, TX 76458-1746; Telephone:
(940) 567-2111 . 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 Jack County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Jack 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 Jack 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 Jack County, Texas are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 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 Jack County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Jack 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 Jack County Maps. Email us with websites containing Jack 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 Jack County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Jack 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 Jack County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Jack 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 Jack County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Jack County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Jack County Historical Society,
100 N. Main St.,
Jacksboro 76056
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 Jack County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Jack 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 Jack County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Jack 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.
Before white settlement Jack County was a borderland between the Caddo Indians to the east and the Comanches to the west. The first Europeans to visit the area may have been Spaniards under Francisco Vásquez de Coronado in the sixteenth century, but they made no permanent settlements. Jack County was included in the Texan Emigration and Land Company, more commonly known as the Peters colony. Settlers began arriving in the future county by 1855, and by 1856 the first settlement, Keechi, was established. Early settlers entering Jack County came mainly from the middle South states, primarily Alabama, North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky, many by way of Smith County or other parts of Texas.
The Texas legislature approved the establishment of the county on August 27, 1856, and named it for William H. and Patrick C. Jack, participants in the Texas Revolution. It is the only county with that name in the United States. The Butterfield Overland Mail crossed the county. Fort Richardson, on Lost Creek near the site of present-day Jacksboro, was established by the United States Army in 1867 and completed in 1869. It was the most northern of the Texas frontier forts built to protect pioneers against Indian raids and was abandoned in 1878. Mesquiteville was designated county seat; the town was later renamed Jacksboro.
Because of the county's position on the frontier and its relative isolation, a plantation economy never developed; on the eve of the Civil War only thirty-seven slaves lived in the county. Though the earliest newspaper in the county, the Whiteman (1860), owned and operated by Harris A. Hamner, advocated the Southern cause, county residents voted 76 to 14 against secession in February 1861. The Jack County area was untouched by combat, but the removal of federal troops from the frontier had dire consequences for the populace. Without an army presence, Indian raids became frequent and numerous residents were forced to flee eastward. The 1860 census counted 1,000 people in Jack County, but by 1870 the population had dwindled to 694. Though federal forces returned to the area after the end of the war, Indian raids on the new settlers continued. After the most famous one, the Warren Wagontrain Raid of May 18, 1871, in neighboring Young County, chiefs Satanta and Big Tree were taken to Jacksboro for trial and sentenced to be executed on September 1, 1871. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment for fear of further Indian uprising.
By the mid-1870s the threat of Indian attack subsided, and during the later half of the decade the county's population rapidly increased. By 1880 the number of residents was 6,629, more than ten times what it had been only a decade before, and by 1890 the population had grown to 9,740. The Chicago, Rock Island and Texas Railway, which reached Jacksboro on August 24, 1898, brought additional growth and provided important access to markets outside the county.
Cattle ranching dominated the county's economy during its early years. The first cattle drive north from Jack County was made in 1866, and by 1890 there were 68,756 cattle in the county. After large-scale farming was introduced in the late 1870s, the number of farms grew rapidly, increasing from 945 in 1880 to 1,888 in 1910. The dominant crop in the county's early years was corn, with 115,761 bushels harvested in 1880 and 663,490 bushels in 1900. During the late 1880s and 1890s oats and wheat were introduced, and by 1920 Jack County was a leading producer of grains; in that year county farmers grew 498,250 bushels of oats, 249,643 bushels of corn, and 351,819 bushels of wheat. Cotton was also grown in considerable quantities after 1890, and by the early 1920s the annual yield was 6,000 bales. Despite the growth of crop farming, livestock raising continued to play an important role in the county's economic life. Revenue from cattle remained an important source of income for many farmers and ranchers, and receipts from poultry and egg production grew throughout the early decades of the twentieth century.
Oil, discovered near Bryson in 1923, set off a small boom, as numerous oilfield workers and others attracted by the prospects of easy money moved in. Nevertheless the population of the county as a whole declined steadily after 1915, largely as the result of a series of agricultural busts. The population, which reached a peak of 11,817 in 1910, fell to 9,863 in 1920 and 9,046 in 1930. Income from oil helped some cash-poor farmers to settle debts and survive the lean years of the Great Depression, but many others were forced to sell their farms and equipment and try their hands at something else. The economy began to recover during World War II, but subsequently the population declined slowly. Between 1940 and 1990 the number of residents fell from 10,206 to 6,981. In the latter year Mexican Americans (3.3 percent) and African Americans (.7 percent) formed the largest minority groups. The largest communities were Jacksboro (3,350) and Bryson (520). In the early 1990s cow and calf operations provided the largest source of agricultural receipts; the leading crop was wheat. The sale of firewood also provided important income. Leading industries included petroleum production and oil-well servicing. Oil production steadily increased to 1,800,000 barrels annually in the early 1990s. Production began to decline thereafter, however. A little over 706,000 barrels of oil and 12,131,871 cubic feet of gas-well gas were produced in the county in 2004; by the end of that year 203,811,409 barrels of oil had been taken from county lands since 1923.
The voters of Jack County favored the Democratic candidate in virtually every presidential election from 1892 through 1948; the only exception occurred in 1928, when Republican Herbert Hoover took the county. After 1952, when Republican Dwight Eisenhower carried the county over Democrat Adlai Stevenson, the area began to trend Republican. Though the Democrats won majorities in the county in 1960, 1964, and 1968, the Republicans took the county in 1972, 1980, 1984, and 1988. Democrat Bill Clinton won a plurality of the county's voters in 1992, at least partly because independent candidate Ross Perot ran strongly in the area during that election. But Republican Bob Dole won a plurality in 1996, and George W. Bush carried the county by large margins in 2000 and 2004. Republican gubernatorial and senatorial candidates also fared well in the late twentieth century, though Democrats continued to occupy many local offices.
Educational facilities in 1990 included a public library in Jacksboro and three public school districts—Jacksboro, Bryson, and Perrin. The educational level of Jack County residents remained relatively constant from 1950 to 1990. In 1950, 29 percent of those attending high school or college received a diploma; by 1960 this percentage had risen to 30 percent. In 1970, 38 percent of the residents of the county had a high school diploma, but the figure had dropped to 30 percent by 1980 and remained stable afterward.
The census counted 8,763 people living in Jack County in 2000. About 86 percent were Anglo, 6 percent were black, and 8 percent were Hispanic. Almost 76 percent of residents older than age twenty-five had graduated from high school, and almost 13 percent had college degrees. In the early twenty-first century petroleum and gas production, oilfield services, and livestock were the central elements of the area's economy. In 2002 the county had 884 farms and ranches covering 596,172 acres, 72 percent of which were devoted to pasture,19 percent to crops, and 8 percent to woodlands. In that year local farmers and ranchers earned $15,552,000; livestock sales accounted for $14,761,000 of the total. Cattle, hay, wheat, goats, and sheep were the chief agricultural products. Jacksboro (2000 population, 4,533) is the county seat and the county's largest town; other communities include Bryson (528), Perrin (300), and Jermyn (75). Recreational facilities in the county include Fort Richardson State Historical Park, Lake Jacksboro, and Lake Bridgeport. Deer hunting is an important seasonal attraction. Special events include the Jack County Fair in February, the Snake Safari in March, the Weekend in Old Mesquiteville in June, and the Quarterhorse Show in September.
Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29