Newton County was created in April 22, 1846 and formed from Jasper County. Newton County was named for John Newton, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. The County Seat is Newton. The Official County website is located at http://www.co.newton.tx.us/. 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.
Newton County Clerk has Court Records from 1846, Land Records from 1846 , Probate Records from 1846, Marriage Records from 1846 and Birth/Death Records from 1903 is located at P.O.
Box 484,
Newton, TX 75966; Telephone:
(409) 379-5341. 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 Newton County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Newton 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.
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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 Newton 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 Newton 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 Newton County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Newton 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 Newton County Maps. Email us with websites containing Newton 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 Newton County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Newton 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 Newton County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Newton 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 Newton County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Newton 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 Newton County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Newton 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 Newton County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Newton 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.
Indians were the earliest human inhabitants of Newton County. Artifacts attributed to members of the Caddo confederacies have been located in present-day Newton County. The Atakapans, whose name means "man-eaters" in Choctaw, occupied the coastal regions around the Sabine River and may also have ventured into Newton County. The Coushattas, who migrated to lower East Texas during the early 1800s, also came through the county. In fact, one of the earliest trails through the area was known as the Coushatta Trace. The lands which eventually comprised Newton County were included in Lorenzo de Zavala's 1829 grant from the Mexican government. At least twenty-one settlers received title to land now in the county in 1834 and 1835. Most of the area of present-day Newton County was part of the Municipality of Liberty from 1831 to 1834 and the Municipality of Bevil, which later became Jasper County, from 1834 to 1846. The area north of the Little Cow Creek, which includes one-fifth of the present county, was within the Municipality of San Augustine in 1834-35 and the Municipality of Sabine from 1835 to 1837, before becoming part of Jasper County in 1837. The state legislature marked off Newton County on April 22, 1846, from the eastern half of Jasper County and named it in honor of John Newton, a veteran of the American Revolution. The county's boundaries have remained unchanged since that time save for a small cession along the western border to Jasper in 1852.
The issue of the location of the courthouse dominated Newton County's early history. Electors originally voted to place the seat at the center of the county, and the first commissioners' court meetings convened near Quicksand Creek as a result. However, citizens of Burkeville successfully petitioned the Texas legislature to make their town the county seat in 1848. Voters narrowly approved the new location the following year. In 1853 a dispute concerning land titles, followed by yet another election, resulted in the move of offices to Newton, a newly established community at the geographic center of the county. Burkeville citizens refused to give up the struggle, and an 1855 plebiscite favored Burkeville by a small majority. County officials refused to leave Newton, however, convincing the legislature to recognize that city as the proper seat of government, where it has since remained. By 1860 settlers in Newton County had established a mixed agricultural economy based on corn, potatoes, cattle, hogs, sheep, and horses. Cotton production had jumped from 152 bales in 1850 to 2,091 bales in 1860. Although there were few large planters, the number of slaves was also growing and in 1860 reached 1,103, 34 percent of the county's population. From a very early date Baptist and Methodists dominated the county's religious life.
Newton County citizens overwhelmingly favored the conservative southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge in the 1860 presidential election. Not surprisingly, they supported secession by an even greater margin. Although some 400 men from Newton County served during the Civil War, the commissioners' court made strenuous efforts to help the remaining citizens avoid much of the war's immediate economic destruction. The political and social turmoil that affected much of the state during Reconstruction had little impact on Newton County. County voters supported Republican Edmund J. Davis in his successful bid for the governor's office in 1869 but returned to their traditional Democratic affiliations in the congressional race of 1871. Electors continued to favor Democrats for the next century, until American party candidate George Wallace received a plurality in the 1968 presidential contest. In 1972 the county voted Republican, but from 1976 through 1992, Newton County voters supported Democratic presidential candidates.
As had been the case before the Civil War, agriculture remained important from 1880 to 1930. The number of farms in Newton County nearly doubled during the fifty-year period. Corn, cotton, cattle, and hogs served as staples in the county's agricultural economy. Sheep ranching enjoyed a brief span of popularity, although the number of these animals raised in the county declined rapidly after 1900. The population grew steadily during these years, from 4,359 in 1880 to 12,395 in 1930. Blacks made up over one-third of the almost entirely rural population of Newton County. The post-Reconstruction period saw a tremendous expansion of the lumber industry. The census of 1880 estimated total industrial production, largely stemming from water-powered sawmills, to be just over $25,000. Early lumbermen used animal teams or creeks to pull or float their cut timber to the Sabine River, where it was then floated downstream to Orange. Capitalizing on the region's huge expanses of virgin forests, large timber interests became involved in Newton County during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Included among these lumber giants were A. J. Peavy, Henry Lutcher, and John Henry Kirby. By 1929 industrial production was over $4,000,000 annually, with 1,383 of the county's 1,461 industrial workers employed by lumber-related concerns. Nearly two-thirds of the total work force was now involved in non-agricultural occupations. The growth of the lumber industry from 1880 to 1930 also revolutionized transportation. Early settlers depended upon poorly maintained county roads and sporadic riverboat service along the Sabine. Promoters had gained charters to establish railroads in the county as early as 1852. Yet the first completed line of lasting importance to Newton County, a section of the Texarkana and Fort Smith to Ruliff, was not realized until 1897. Lumbermen, seeking to link their forest holdings with their mills, oversaw the rapid expansion of the rail system during the early twentieth century. Particularly important were the Orange and Northwestern, the Sabine and Neches Valley, and the Gulf and Northern.
The Great Depression and gradual depletion of available stands of timber had a severe impact upon Newton County. As late as 1940, public emergency work programs employed 468 persons (10.7 percent of the total work force); another 302 (6.6 percent of the total work force) were still seeking work. Mill closings at Deweyville, Call, and Wiergate also hurt the county's economy. Industrial production fell 37 percent from 1930 to 1940. These factors were undoubtedly important in the 21 percent decline in population from 1940 to 1950 and a further 9.6 percent drop from 1950 to 1960. As a result of the economic woes, increasing numbers of persons began to seek work outside Newton County. Industrial plants at Beaumont and Orange attracted particularly large numbers. Fortunately, these commuters were able to use the county's improving system of roadways. U.S. Highway 190, which provides the main east-west thoroughfare, was paved by the mid-1940s. State Highway 87, the major north-south route, was completely paved by 1955. The number of registered motor vehicles nearly doubled between 1935 and 1962, again reflecting the greater mobility of Newton County residents after the World War II.
Other changes also contributed to the transformation of life in Newton County. While a few towns (including Newton and Deweyville) had electric service before 1925, electricity became available for the county's rural residents during the late 1930s. As part of the New Deal's Rural Electrification Administration, the Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative provided electric power to the northern part of the county. The Jasper-Newton Electric Cooperative served the county's southern residents. Moderate deposits of oil were also found in Newton County. In 1938 the South Call Oilfield began producing and was followed by several more fields discovered after 1945. Newton County's once declining population has undergone changes in numbers, racial composition, and educational levels. After a 1960 figure of 10,372, in 1980 13,227 persons lived in Newton County, a 27.5 percent increase but still less than the high of 13,700 in 1940. Most of the population in 1980 remained rural; Newton (1,620), Deweyville (850), and Burkeville (515) are the largest towns. The composition of the population has also changed. In 1940 blacks made up over 40 percent of the county's population; by 1980 the figure had fallen to just over 24 percent. In 1940 slightly more than one-tenth of county residents over twenty-five years of age had four years of high school education. By 1980 over 45 percent had achieved this level, and 4 percent had also completed at least four years of college. Newton County continued to grow slowly in the 1980s. In 1990 the county population was 13,569. The Toledo Bend Reservoir, along the northern boundary, provided new recreational facilities and attracted tourists to Newton County. Oil and gas deposits also figured in the local economy. Opportunities in wholesale and retail trade, along with service-related fields, increased in the 1970s and 1980s as well. The decline in agriculture from 1930 to 1960 seems to have been halted. The number of farms, which fell from a high of 1,565 in 1940 to a low of 192 in 1959, increased to 323 in 1982. While cotton-growing has virtually disappeared in Newton County, farmers have produced increasing amounts of hay, and cattle raising continues to play an important role in the county's economy. More importantly, proper forest management and reforestation programs have in recent years rejuvenated the county's available timber resources, and in 1990 forestry was the main agricultural activity in the county.
Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29