Dickens County, TexasEdit This Page
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United States 
Texas Counties D Dickens County
Guide to Dickens County Texas genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
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Contents |
County Courthouse
Dickens County Courthouse
PO Box 179
Dickens, TX 79229
Phone: 806.623.5531
County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, burial, divorce, probate and land records form 1891[1]
Dickens County Courthouse
P.O. Box 120
Dickens, Texas 79229
Phone: 806-623-5531
County Clerk
P.O. Box 120
Dickens, Texas 79229
Phone: 806-623-5531
District Clerk
P.O. Box 120
Dickens, Texas 79229
Phone: 806-623-5531
History
DICKENS is centrally located in DICKENS COUNTY, eight miles below the escarpment of the Llano Estacado (below the Caprock). It was a ranch supply point for an area where the first settlements were dugouts used as cowboy line camps for the Spur, Pitchfork, and Matador Ranches. In 1886 there was a camp near the present townsite and by 1889 Dickens was settled. The town became the county seat shortly after the county was organized and by 1893 had a post office, wagon yard, hotel, courthouse, saloon, blacksmith shop and a barber shop. The school was in a dugout on the courthouse square. Preaching was also held in the dugout.
In 1890 the county had a population of 195 and most of the people lived in and around Dickens. Soon after 1900, Dickens had a population of 600, the most it has ever had. There was a decline before World War II but when the boys came back home the town took a new growth with the building of new homes and businesses. This lasted for a few years with another downward surge following. In 1964 the town was voted wet and a new upward surge began with a population of 430. Highway 82 runs through the center of Dickens and has helped the town's businesses do well. As of 1997 the town shows another decline with population around 325.
Parent County
Dickens County was formed from Bexar, Young, Baylor and Crosby Territories. [2]
Created August 21, 1876 and organized February 9, 1891 from Crosby County.
Named in honor of J. Dickens, who died in the siege of the Alamo.
Espuela was the first County seat temporarily from April 2, 1891 to March 17, 1892.
Dickens became the County seat from March 17, 1892 to present.
Boundary Changes
Record Loss
Places/Localities
Populated Places
Afton| Dickens | McAdoo | Spur
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 |
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Additional Cemetery Sources
- Amity Cemetery
- Afton Cemetery
- Dickens Cemetery
- Espuela Cemetery
- Glass Ranch Burial
- McAdoo Cemetery
- Red Mud Cemetery
- Spur Memorial Cemetery
- Steele Hill Cemetery
- Woodward Ranch Burial
- Dickens County Cemeteries maps, transcriptions, information
Census
Churches
- Bethel Baptist Church, 519 N. Williams, Spur
- Church of Christ W. Hwy 70, Spur
- Church of Christ E. Hwy 70, Spur
- Community Bible Chapel 209 E. Third, Spur
- Dickens Baptist Church, 1022 Fourth, Dickens
- Dickens Bible Church of the Nazarene, Afton
- First Assembly of God Church, third and Cowan, Spur
- First Baptist Church 120 W. Second, Spur
- First Christian Church, 610 N. Burlington, Spur
- First United Methodist Church, 528 N. Burlington, Spur
- Independent Christian Churches, 507 N. Willard, Spur
- Lakeside Baptist Church, S. Parker, Spur
- St. Mary's Catholic Church, E. Sixth, Spur
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.
Local Histories
Local histories are available for Dickens 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.
A History of Dickens County by Fred Arrington 1971
Dickens County, Its Land and People by Dickens County Historical Commission 1986
The Spurs, W.J. "Scotch Bill" Elliott published by The Spur Newspaper, 1939. Stories of the ranch land of the Spur Headquarters Ranch and Espuela Land and Cattle Company.
Surnames of Dickens County
Maps
Military
Biographies of Civil War Veterans
Those Who Made the Ultimate Sacrifice
Newspapers
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Dickens County, Texas newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Dickens County, Texas Place-name search for these and other records in the Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).
Obituaries
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.
Taxes Will and probate (subscription)
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.
- 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
Dickens County Public Library, 401 Burlington, Spur, Texas
Dickens County Historical Commission
Family History Centers
Web Sites
USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Dickens County, Texas. Page 662 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 30 April 2013, at 16:06.
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