Calhoun County, TexasEdit This Page
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United States 
Texas Counties C Calhoun County
Guide to Calhoun County Texas genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
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| Calhoun County, Texas | |
| Map | |
 Location of Texas in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | April 4, 1846 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Lavaca |
| Courthouse | |
| Address | Calhoun County Courthouse 211 S Ann Street Port Lavaca, TX 77979-4249 Phone: 361.553.4411 Calhoun County Website |
Contents |
County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903,
probate records from 1863, marriage and land records
from 1846, court records from 1850 and military discharge
records from 1919[1]
History
Parent County
1846--Calhoun County was created April 4, 1846 from Jackson, Victoria, and Matagorda Counties.
County seat: Port Lavaca [2]
The county was named for John Caldwell Calhoun (March 18, 1782 – March 31, 1850), 7th Vice President of the United States.
Boundary Changes
Record Loss
1886 -- Calhoun County Courthouse at Indianola destroyed by hurricane, August 1886.
Places / Localities
Populated Places
Cities and Towns: | Indianola | Long Mott | Matagorda Island | Port Comfort | Port Lavaca | Port O'Connor | Seadriff |
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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| See Texas Cemeteries for more information. | ||
Census
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1850 | 1,110 | — |
| 1860 | 2,642 | 138.0% |
| 1870 | 3,443 | 30.3% |
| 1880 | 1,739 | −49.5% |
| 1890 | 815 | −53.1% |
| 1900 | 2,395 | 193.9% |
| 1910 | 3,635 | 51.8% |
| 1920 | 4,700 | 29.3% |
| 1930 | 5,385 | 14.6% |
| 1940 | 5,911 | 9.8% |
| 1950 | 9,222 | 56.0% |
| 1960 | 16,592 | 79.9% |
| 1970 | 17,831 | 7.5% |
| 1980 | 19,574 | 9.8% |
| 1990 | 19,053 | −2.7% |
| Source: "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. | ||
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.
Court
- Calhoun County Court Records available on microfilm - District Court Minutes 1847-1914
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.
- Calhoun County Land Records available on microfilm - Deed Records 1846-1890, Survey Records 1838-1934
Local Histories
Local histories are available for Calhoun 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.
- Shifting Sands of Calhoun County, Texas, 1980 by the Calhoun County Historical Commission.
- "Looking Back" Scrapbook for Calhoun County and Matagorda Bay, Texas
- A History of Indianola, by Lelia Seelingson. Brief history of Indianola, beginning with the arrival of La Salle. Read the book online from The Portal to Texas History.
- Indianola: The Mother of Western Texas, 1988, by Brownson Malsch.
- Calhoun County History from The Handbook of Texas Online.
- Indianola, Texas Hurricane, Sept 1875
Maps
- Calhoun County 1845, map showing the area before Calhoun County was formed in 1846.
- Calhoun County 1862
- Calhoun County 1872
- Calhoun County 1910 - Southern part of Calhoun County
- More Calhoun County Maps from the Calhoun County TXGenWeb site
Military
- Confederate Pension Applications from the Calhoun County TXGenWeb site
- Index to the Military Rolls of the Republic of Texas 1835-1845
Newspapers
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Calhoun County, Texas newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Calhoun County, Texas Place-name search for these and other records in the Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).
- Port Lavaca Wave Newspaper
- Indianola Bulletin newspaper abstracts: Mar 4, 1852, Mar 25, 1852, Jan 6, 1853 - from newspaperarchives.com
- Newspaper Database of Obituaries, Marriage Records and Birth Records from the Calhoun County Genealogical Society.
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.
- Calhoun County Probate Records available on microfilm - Probate Records 1846-1914
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.
- Calhoun County Tax Records available on microfilm - Tax Rolls 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.
- Vital Records - Obituaries, Marriage Records and Birth Records from the Calhoun County Genealogical Society
- Calhoun County Vital Records available on microfilm - Marriage Records 1846-1919, Probate Records 1846-1916, County Clerk and other records.
- Port Lavaca Wave Newspaper Obituary Index 2002-2003
- 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
- Calhoun County Genealogical Society, founded to preserve the genealogy and history of Calhoun County.
- Calhoun County Museum
301 S. Ann Street
Port Lavaca, TX 77979 website - Calhoun County Public Library
200 West Mahan St.
Port Lavaca, TX 77979 website
Web Sites
- Calhoun County Texas TXGenWeb site family histories, cemeteries, maps and more.
- Calhoun County, TX Old Photos
- Family History Library Catalog
References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Calhoun County, Texas. Page 660 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 3 May 2013, at 01:58.
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