Bowie County, TexasEdit This Page
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United States 
Texas Counties B Bowie County
Guide to Bowie County Texas genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Bowie County, Texas | |||||||||
| Map | |||||||||
 Location in the state of Texas | |||||||||
 Location of Texas in the U.S. | |||||||||
| Facts | |||||||||
| Founded | December 17, 1840 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County Seat | New Boston | ||||||||
| Courthouse | |||||||||
| Address | Bowie County Courthouse PO Box 248 New Boston, TX 75570 Phone: 903.628.2571 Bowie County Website | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Contents |
County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, probate, land and miltiary
records, school census; Clerk District Court has divorce and court records[1]
Quick Dates
Bowie County's civil records start the following years:
| Birth | Marriage | Death | Census | Land | Probate |
| 1903 | 1889 | 1850 | 1889 | 1889 |
== 1796. He was the son of Reason (or Rezin) and Elve Ap-Catesby Jones (or Johns) Bowie.
Boundary Changes
Record Loss
1889--The Bowie County Courthouse at Texarkana burned on 21 Jan 1889. Almost all the records were destroyed. [2][3]
1989--The Old Bowie County Courthouse at Old Boston, built in 1891, burned on 12 Aug 1989. The courthouse was abandoned, as a new courthouse had opened at New Boston in 1985. No records were lost. [4]
Places/Localities
Populated Places
Towns and Cities: De Kalb | Hooks | Leary | Maud | Nash | New Boston | Red Lick | Red Water | Spring Hill | Texarkana | Wake Village | Wards Village.
The City of Texarkana is located in two states. In the middle of the city is a street called State Line Road which separates the city between Bowie County, Texas and Miller County, Arkansas. Texarkana is the county seat for Miller County, Arkansas, and a marriage license purchased in Miller County, Arkansas is not valid in the State of Texas.
Neighboring Counties
- Cass
- Little River County, Arkansas
- McCurtain County, Oklahoma
- Miller County, Arkansas
- Morris
- Red River
Resources
Cemeteries
Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information.
| Online Grave Transcripts | Published Grave Transcripts | County Cemetery Directories |
| Family History Library | ||
| WorldCat | ||
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Epodunk | |
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| See Texas Cemeteries for more information. | ||
Additional Cemetery Sources
- Cemetery Index from the Bowie County TXGenWeb site
- Bowie County Cemeteries from the Tombstone Transcription Project
- Bowie County Funeral Home Records from the Bowie County TXGenWeb site
- Bowie County Index of Cemetery Transcriptions from the USGenWeb Project
- Red Bayou Cemetery and History Bowie County Texas, 1998, available from the New Boston Genealogical Society.
- Hubbell Chapel Cemetery, 2001, available by the New Boston Genealogical Society.
- Cemetery Books, available from the New Boston Genealogical Society, include: Ringwood Cemetery & Associated Cemeteries; Wards Creek Cemetery, Church & School Records; Woodman Cemetery (DeKalb); Sand Hill Cemetery; Old Union Cemetery; Read Hill Cemetery and Associated Cemeteries (Brooks, Glass Hill, Godley, Prairie & Shipp); Red Bayou Cemetery; College Hill Cemetery; New Boston Cemetery, Hughes-Kinght, Magnolia and Pulaski Cemeteries; Old Salem, Old Liberty Hill, New Liberty Hill, Malta, Woodstock and Old Wimberly Cemeteries.
- Dalby Springs Cemetery (including photos) ~ Texas Escapes
- Texarkana-Rose Hill Cemetery ~ Texas Escapes
- Redwater Cemetery, Maud BillionGraves. Over 1,000 headstone photographs and transcriptions of those.
Census
- 1850 Census for Bowie County census images from archive.org; index from USGenWeb archives.
- 1860 Census for Bowie County census images from archive.org; index from USGenWeb archives. Another index
- 1870 Census for Bowie County census images from archive.org; index from USGenWeb archives.
- 1880 Census for Bowie County census images from archive.org; index from USGenWeb archives.
- 1900 Census for Bowie County census images from archive.org.
- 1910 Census for Bowie County census images from archive.org. Bowie county split on two microfilm reels: reel 1, reel 2
- 1920 Census for Bowie County census images from archive.org.
- 1930 Census for Bowie County census images from archive.org.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1850 | 2,912 | ||
| 1860 | 5,052 | 73.5% | |
| 1870 | 4,684 | −7.3% | |
| 1880 | 10,965 | 134.1% | |
| 1890 | 20,267 | 84.8% | |
| 1900 | 26,676 | 31.6% | |
| 1910 | 34,827 | 30.6% | |
| 1920 | 39,472 | 13.3% | |
| 1930 | 48,563 | 23.0% | |
| 1940 | 50,208 | 3.4% | |
| 1950 | 61,966 | 23.4% | |
| 1960 | 59,971 | −3.2% | |
| 1970 | 67,813 | 13.1% | |
| 1980 | 75,301 | 11.0% | |
| 1990 | 81,665 | 8.5% | |
| 2000 | 89,306 | 9.4% | |
| Est. 2009 | 93,964 | 5.2% | |
| U.S. Census Bureau[5] Texas Almanac[6] | |||
Church
Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death/burial date and place. For general information about Texas denominations, view the Texas Church Records wiki page.
- Churches in Bowie TX - ChurchAngel.com
- Churches in Texarkana TX
- Texarkana TX Churches
Court
Family Histories/Surnames
- New Boston Genealogy Society Family History Index ~ Bowie County TXGenWeb
- Family Group Sheets ~ Bowie County TXGenWeb
- Surnames ~ Bowie County TXGenWeb
- Biographies ~ Bowie County TXGenWeb
Land and Properties
After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions, including deeds and mortgages, have been recorded by the county. You can obtain copies of these land records by writing to the county clerk at the county courthouse. For more information, see Texas Land and Property.
The Family History Library Catalog lists microfilm copies of deeds, trust deeds, and mortgages of many counties.
Local Histories
Local histories are available for Bowie County, Texas. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Texas Local Histories.
- First Settlers of Bowie and Cass Counties Texas, By: Gifford White, Published June 1, 1983 by Ericson Books
- Daughter of Destiny: Memoirs of a Bowie County, Texas Farm Girl, By: Carlene M. Howell, Published April 1995 by Tab Books
- Bowie County, Tx Index to Probate Records; 1883-1940, 97 Pages,Compiled by WPA Workers
- Texarkana Pioneer Families, By: Nancy Jennings
- The Texarkana Story 1873-1948, By: Lucille Holland
- Texarkana a Pictorial History, By: William D Leet, Published 1982
- Bowie County Texas Historical Handbook, By: Bowie County Historical Commission, Published 1976
- Texarkana Centennial, Historical Program - 1873-1973, By: Nancy Jennings Watts & Mary Lou Stuart Phillips, Published 1973
- History of Texarkana and Bowie and Miller Counties, By: Chandler, Barbara O., 1939.
Maps
- Maps of Bowie County from the Bowie County TXGenWeb site
- Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site
- Bowie County is the most northeastern county in the State of Texas
Military
- Vietnam Wall List for Bowie County - Bowie County TXGenWeb
- Confederate Indigent Families List - Bowie County TXGenWeb
- Confederate Pension Applications - Bowie County TXGenWeb
- Dependents Support Act List of Dependents - Bowie County TXGenWeb
Newspapers
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Bowie County, Texas newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Bowie County, Texas Place-name search for these and other records in the Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).
- Newspapers of Bowie County Old and New - Bowie County TXGenWeb
- Texarkana Gazette
- Articles from Bowie County Newspapers - Bowie County TXGenWeb
Probate
Probate records of Texas have been kept by the probate clerk in each county courthouse. You can obtain copies of the records from the clerk's office. In most counties, all information pertaining to a probate case is recorded in the "probate minutes."
Content: Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their places of residence.
Record types: Wills, estates, guardianships, naturalizations, marriage, adoption, and birth and death records.
See the Wiki page Texas Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.
Index to Probate Cases 1883 to 1940 - Bowie County TXGenWeb
Taxation
Texas tax records complement land records and can be used in place of censuses or to supplement the years between censuses. Because only persons who owned taxable property were listed, many residents were not included in tax lists. There may also be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties. For more information, see the wiki page Texas Taxation.
Texas County Tax Rolls, 1846-1910 lists FHL films with county tax lists. The lists vary by county and year. Most records are between the years of 1846 - 1910.
- Bowie County 1846 Tax List from the USGenWeb archives
- Bowie County Poll Tax List 1903 from the USGenWeb archives
- Bowie County Poll Tax List 1904 from the USGenWeb archives
- Bowie County Poll Tax Listing, 1903-1904, 74 pages, gives name, age, race, occupation and number of years resident in TX and in the county. Available from the New Boston Genealogical Society.
- Automobile Registration in Bowie County, 1907-1917, available from the New Boston Genealogical Society.
Vital Records
See Texas Vital Records for more information about Vital records in Texas. Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. United States Vital Records has additional research guidance on researching and using vital records.
A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Texas Vital Records State Department of Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred.
- Bates Rolf Funeral Home Index and Bowden Funeral Home Records from the USGenWeb archives.
- Bowie County, Texas Marriages, 1888-1930, 7 volumes, available from the New Boston Genealogical Society
- Texas Death Index 1964 to 1998 [no images] Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.
- Texas Death Records 1890 – 1976 [with images]
Name index and images of statewide death certificates, 1890-1976. The name index has been created by FamilySearch and is tied to images of the Texas death certificates. Few certificates are available prior to 1903
Societies and Libraries
Research Libraries for Bowie County TX - Bowie County TXGenWeb
Family History Centers
- Texarkana USA Genealogy Society
P.O. Box 2323
Texarkana, TX 75504-2323 - The New Boston Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 104
New Boston, Texas, 75570.
The NBGS is located at the New Boston Public Library. - Red River County Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 516
Clarksville, TX 75426
Web Sites
- Bowie County TXGenWeb site
- TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.
- Family History Library Catalog
- Cyndi's List - List of resources for state and county
References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Bowie County, Texas. Page 659 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Gendisasters.com - Texarkana, TX Bowie County Courthouse Fire, Jan 1889 http://www3.gendisasters.com/texas/17956/texarkana-tx-bowie-county-courthouse-fire-jan-1889
- ↑ Handbook of Texas Online: Bowie County http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcb11
- ↑ Texas Escapes: Old Boston http://www.texasescapes.com/EastTexasTowns/Boston-Texas.htm
- ↑ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=Search&_name=bowie+county&_state=04000US48&_county=bowie+county&_cityTown=bowie+county&_zip=&_sse=on&_lang=en&pctxt=fph
- ↑ http://www.texasalmanac.com/population/population-counties-history.pdf
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- This page was last modified on 2 May 2013, at 01:58.
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