Shelby County was created in 1836
(Organized in 1837) and formed as an Original
County. Shelby County was named for Isaac Shelby, a Revolutionary War soldier from Tennessee and the first Governor of Kentucky. The County Seat is Center. The Official County website is located at http://co.shelby.tx.us. See also Extended History for more historical details.
Shelby County was first organized under the Mexican government as Tenehaw Municipality; Nashville, founded in 1824, was the most important town. In 1836 the Congress of the Republic of Texas established Shelby County, named for Isaac Shelby, hero of the American Revolution and governor of Kentucky. The name of the town Nashville was changed to Shelbyville, and Shelbyville became the county seat, which it remained until 1866, when the county seat was moved to Center. Since that time Center has remained the county seat. The courthouse in Center, along with all county records, was destroyed by fire in 1882. A new courthouse, modeled on an Irish castle, was designed by the architect John Joseph Emmett Gibson, an Irish immigrant. It was completed in 1885 and was recognized in the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. The courthouse still housed the county government in 1984.
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.
Shelby County Clerk has Court Records from 1882, Land Records from 1838 , Probate Records from 1881, Marriage Records from 1882 and Birth/Death Records from 1903 is located at P.O.
Box 1987,
Center, TX 75935; Telephone:
(936) 598-6361. 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 Shelby County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Shelby 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 Shelby 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 Shelby 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 Shelby County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Shelby 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 Shelby County Maps. Email us with websites containing Shelby 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 Shelby County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Shelby 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 Shelby County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Shelby 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 Shelby County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Shelby County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Shelby County Historical Society, Museum and Genealogy Research Library, PO Box 1542 230 Pecan Street, Center, TX; 75935;
Telephone: (936) 598-2613
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 Shelby County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Shelby 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 Shelby County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Shelby 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.
Shelby County is in an area that has been the site of human habitation for several thousand years. Archaeological artifacts have been recovered from the area around Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Sabine County to the south that date from the Archaic Period (ca. 5000 B.C.-500 A.D.). During historic times the area was occupied for the most part by Caddo Indians, an agricultural people with a highly developed culture. Earliest European exploration of the area that would become Shelby County cannot be conclusively determined. If one of the southernmost of the numerous conflicting route interpretations of the Moscoso expedition in 1542 is correct, then that group passed through or very near the area of Shelby County. It could be, however, that first European contact with the area did not occur until the eighteenth century. French and Spanish explorers discovered and utilized traces of an east-west Hasinai Indian trail, which, after 1714, became a part of El Camino Real or the Old San Antonio Road. The road ran through the area of Sabine and San Augustine counties, just south of Shelby County. In 1716 Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de los Ais Mission was founded just south of the site of present San Augustine. Although the mission was abandoned for a short period, it remained in existence until 1773. During this period the Spanish probably explored the area comprising present-day Shelby County. Sometime during the second decade of the nineteenth century John Latham, reputedly the first settler, settled in the southeastern part of the county in 1818. Mexican restrictions forbidding settlements within twenty leagues of the boundary of Texas curtailed legitimate settlement and encouraged squatters. Consequently, the area gained a reputation for violence and remained scarcely populated.
In 1840 disputes over land titles and fraudulent land transactions led to the opposition of two factions, the Regulators and the Moderators, and a series of armed conflicts that came to be known as the Regulator-Moderator War. Before the conflict was finally resolved in 1844, a number of the individuals involved were killed or tried and hanged, and the economy of Shelby County seems to have been devastated. The San Augustine Red-Lander said in a comment on the war that "land is now ten cents an acre in Shelby County where formerly it was valued at more than twenty times that sum; and the tide of emigration has completely turned from that country which is shunned by emigrants as another sodom." The effects of the war on the county's economy and growth do not appear to have been permanent. By 1847 the county had a population of 3,318, which was only marginally lower than San Augustine County to the south and Panola County to the north. Between 1847 and 1860 Shelby County continued to grow to 4,239 and 5,362, recorded in 1850 and 1860, respectively. Most of the Anglos who settled the county came from other southern states, and they brought with them the institution of slavery. Although slaveholding was restricted to a small minority of the Anglo population, slavery was an integral part of the county's economic and social systems. In fact, between 1847 and 1860 the number of slaves in the county grew at a faster rate than did the free population. The 763 slaves present in 1847 constituted a little under 23 percent of the total population, and the 1,476 slaves present in 1860 constituted just less than 28 percent of the total population. During the antebellum period the county was, for the most part, rural and agricultural, with most of the county's residents living on farms. The largest crop of any kind and the most important food crop was corn. County farmers produced 99,518 bushels in 1850. Farmers also grew 9,805 bushels of oats. The largest cash crop was cotton, but farmers produced just 790 bales in 1850. Livestock was also important to the county's economy. The more than 20,000 hogs in the county were a major food source, as were the 10,000 cattle. During the 1850s arable production expanded much more rapidly than did the population of the county. By 1860 the corn crop had risen by 70 percent, increasing to 167,475 bushels, while the cotton crop was a little more than five times larger than the 1850 crop with production totalling 4,052 bales. Livestock production did not change so dramatically. The number of hogs and cattle in the county declined slightly, but sheep production grew from an 1850 total of 1,296 and 1,770 pounds of wool to 2,794 sheep and 7,408 pounds of wool by 1860.
Shelby County's white inhabitants overwhelmingly supported the secession movement during the winter of 1860-61. When the secession ordinance was submitted for popular approval in February of 1861, county voters approved the measure by a vote of 333 to 28. They also wholeheartedly supported the war effort of the Confederacy that followed. One county source estimated that as many as 750 men from Shelby County served in either state or Confederate army units. Shelby County was never occupied by Union forces, and thus escaped the destruction which devastated other parts of the South. Nonetheless, the war years were difficult for the county's citizens. They were forced to deal with the lack of markets and wild fluctuations in Confederate currency, as well as concern for those on the battlefield. The end of the war meant wrenching changes in the county's economy. The postwar era brought freedom for the county's black population. Although most of them remained in the county, many black families left the farms owned by their former masters, seeking better working conditions. For the vast majority, changing locations seems to have brought little improvement in the terms on which they labored. Most ended up working the land on shares, receiving one-third of the crop for their labors. Gradually, however, at least a portion of the black population accumulated enough capital to move into the class of landowning farmers. In 1870 only one black farmer owned his land, but by 1910 almost one-third (160 out of 541) of all black farmers were landowners.
For many of Shelby County's whites, the end of slavery meant serious economic loss. In 1859 slaves constituted 50 percent of all taxable property in the county. This loss, coupled with the widespread belief that blacks would not work and unresolved questions concerning the status of the South in the nation, let to a loss of confidence that caused property values to plummet. In 1859 Shelby County's taxable property excluding slaves had been evaluated at $818,961. In 1866 the evaluation of all taxable property in the county had fallen to $567,936. During Reconstruction Shelby County received little attention from federal political or military authorities. Neither federal troops nor an agent of the Freedmen's Bureau was ever stationed in the county. Still the county's citizens felt the effects of Reconstruction. Troops were stationed at various times in contiguous counties, and undoubtedly passed through Shelby County from time to time. Residents also witnessed the removal of state and local officials as impediments to Reconstruction. The process was of short duration, however, as the county was returned to conservative control following the 1869 election. Since the Civil War the county has generally remained solidly Democratic. In the 1982 primary, for example, 99 percent of those who voted, voted in the Democratic primary. In presidential politics the Democratic candidate carried the county in every election between 1872 and 1992 except for three occasions. In 1968 the American Party candidate, George Wallace, carried the county, and in 1972 and 1984 the Republican candidates, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, respectively, carried the county.
For more than six decades after the Civil War Shelby County remained rural and agricultural as it had been during the antebellum period. The number of farms in the county rose each census year through 1940, as did the population. In 1870 the population of the county was 5,732, and there were 820 farms; by 1940 the population had risen to 29,235 and the number of farms to 4,952. Just as during the antebellum period, the principal food crop was corn, and the principal cash crop was cotton. Each census year between two-thirds and nine-tenths of all harvested cropland in the county was planted in one of these two crops. The largest corn crop was harvested in 1919, when farmers produced 765,420 bushels of corn on 54,517 acres. The largest cotton crop was harvested in 1929, when farmers picked and ginned 22,040 bales of cotton from 90,871 acres. In many ways the majority of farmers in the county were not only growing the crops that had always been grown, but they were also using some of the same methods. Until the 1940s most of the cotton and corn fields in the county were still being cultivated with a mule or team of mules, and the crops were being harvested by hand. In 1940 only fifty-five of the 4,952 farms in the county had tractors, 392 had trucks, and 1,119 had automobiles. Almost 90 percent of the farm houses in the county were not wired for electricity, and more than 90 percent had no telephones. Although the same crops were being produced, with many of the same tools and methods, there were real differences in the lives of the county's farmers. During the antebellum period the main avenue for moving crops to market had been the Sabine River or a wagon to Marshall, Jefferson, or one of the other larger market centers. In 1885 the Houston East and West Texas Railway was built through the northern portion of the county, and in 1904 the Gulf, Beaumont and Great Northern Railroad was completed, crossing through the center of the county from north to south. These two railroads gave farmers easier and more efficient access to markets. By 1940 roads in the county were being paved, U.S. highways 84, 96, and 59 had been constructed, and trucks were beginning to be used to transport the crops. Wider and more efficient access to markets and the gradual expansion of the county's cotton crop had not brought prosperity for most of the farmers in the county. Between 1890 and 1930 the number of Shelby County farmers who owned all or a part of the land they farmed steadily fell, dropping from 77 percent in 1890 to 42 percent in 1930.
While agriculture was the foundation of the county's economic base, the county was never exclusively agricultural. Manufacturing provided jobs for a small portion of the county's labor force from 1850, when twelve people were employed and products were valued at $6,350. From that point every census recorded a larger number of people employed in industry until 1930, when 707 people were employed to make products valued at $2,048,458. The number of workers employed was small compared to the total population of 28,627, but the income generated had a significant impact on the county's economy. The population of Shelby County grew steadily during the first four decades of the twentieth century, reaching a peak of 29,235 in 1940. After World War II the population began a long slow decline, as numerous residents left to take advantage of opportunities elsewhere. By 1970 the county's population had fallen to 19,672, its lowest figure since the 1890s. The drop in the number of inhabitants was particularly in the county's black population, which declined from a high of 7,522 in 1940 to 4,796 in 1970. After that the county's population began to grow again, and by 1982 the estimated number of inhabitants was 23,700, a 17 percent gain from 1970. In 1990 the population of the county was 22,034. During the early 1980s almost 75 percent of county residents lived in rural areas. The county's population also had a high percentage of residents over age sixty-four and a median age of thirty-five, reflecting the continuing outmigration of the young. In 1990 the largest minority groups were persons of African-American descent (21 percent), Hispanics (2.4 percent), American Indians (0.2 percent), and Asians (0.1 percent). Center, with 4,950 residents, was the largest community; other towns included Huxley (335), Joaquin (805), Tenaha (1,072), and Timpson (1,029). During the early 1980s the county had six school districts, with seven elementary, two middle, five high schools, and two special education schools. The average daily attendance in 1980-81 was 4,151. Forty-nine percent of the 249 students planned to attend college. The economic base of the county in the 1980s was still agricultural. In 1982, 44 percent of the land in the county was in farms and ranches. Shelby County ranked twenty-fifth in the state in agricultural receipts, with 96 percent from livestock and livestock products. The total number of businesses in the county in the early 1980s was 404. In 1980 14 percent of the labor force was self-employed, 14 percent in professional or related services, 21 percent in wholesale or retail trade, 14 percent in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and mining, and 23 percent employed in other counties. Leading industries included sawmills, poultry and egg processing, road construction, agribusiness, general construction, and the manufacture of hardwood flooring, hardwood veneer, and plywood. The Toledo Bend Reservoir and Sabine National Forest also attracted sizable numbers of tourists.
Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29