Brooks County, TexasEdit This Page
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United States 
Texas Counties B Brooks County
Guide to Brooks County Texas genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
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| Brooks County, Texas | |
| Map | |
 Location of Texas in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | March 11, 1911 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Falfurrias |
| Courthouse | |
| Address | Brooks County Courthouse PO Box 427 Falfurrias, TX 78355 Phone: 361.325.3053 Brooks County Website |
Contents |
County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, probate
and court records from 1911[1]
Brooks County Courthouse
P.O.Box 515
Falfurrias, TX 78355
(512) 325-5604 FAX: (512) 325-5678
History
Mexican colonists settled the area before 1883. The first Ango- Americans arrived in 1883.
Parent County
1911--Brooks County was created 11 March 1911 from Starr, Zapata, and Hidalgo Counties. County seat: Falfurrias [2]
The county was named for John Brooks, who worked to establish the county. State Representative John Abijah Brooks, succeeded in having Brooks County separated from Starr County, with Falfurrias as the county seat. The initial plans were to name the new county Falfurrias County, but in the end it was decided to name it Brooks in honor of John Brooks, who worked diligently for its formation.
Boundary Changes
Record Loss
Places / Localities
Populated Places
Towns and Cities: | Falfurris | Los Olmos |
Neighboring Counties
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
- Brooks County Cemeteries from the Brooks County TXGenWeb site
- Cemeteries of Brooks County - USGenWeb Archives Project
- Longoria Cemetery, Encino BillionGraves
- Pedro Garza Zamora Cemetery, Falfurrias (Airport Road Addition) BillionGraves. East of Falfurrias on SH-285.
- FindAGrave Brooks County Cemeteries - transcriptions and photographs
Census
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1920 | 4,560 | ||
| 1930 | 5,901 | 29.4% | |
| 1940 | 6,362 | 7.8% | |
| 1950 | 9,195 | 44.5% | |
| 1960 | 8,609 | −6.4% | |
| 1970 | 8,005 | −7.0% | |
| 1980 | 8,428 | 5.3% | |
| 1990 | 8,204 | −2.7% | |
| 2000 | 7,976 | −2.8% | |
| 2010 | 7,223 | −9.4% | |
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.
- Bailey County Catholic Churches
- First Baptist Church Muleshoe
- First United Methodist Church
- 1st Assembly of God Parsonage
- Church of Christ
- Calvary Baptist Parsonage
Court
Land
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.
- Original Land Owners of Texas - USGenWeb Archives Project
Local Histories
Local histories are available for Brooks 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.
Maps
Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site
Military
- Brooks County Military from the TXGenWeb site
- Civil War Pension Applications - USGenWeb Archives Project
- US Army Company A-31st Batt. FT Carson CO 1957-1958
- Brooks County Casualties World War II - Army & Air Force - Access Genealogy
- Co K 2nd Texas Cavalry
- Muster Rolls - Republic of Texas
- Civil War Union Regiment
- TX Civil War Message Board
Newspapers
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Brooks County, Texas newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Brooks County, Texas Place-name search for these and other records in the Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).
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.
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.
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.
- Brooks County Births 1926-1934, from the Brook County TXGenWeb site
- 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 - Brooks County Deaths - transcriptions - USGenWeb Archives Project
- Brooks County Marriages - transcriptions - USGenWeb Archives Project
- Brooks County Divorces - transcriptions - USGenWeb Archives Project
Societies and Libraries
Ed Rachal Memorial Library
203 S. Henry
Falfurrias TX 78355
Web Sites
References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Brooks County, Texas. Page 659 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
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- This page was last modified on 2 May 2013, at 02:32.
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