Ector County, TexasEdit This Page
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United States 
Texas Counties E Ector County
Guide to Ector County Texas genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
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Contents |
County Courthouse
Ector County Courthouse
300 N Grant Avenue;
Odessa, TX 79761
Phone: 915.335.3030
County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, burial, probate, court
and land records from 1896; District Clerk has divorce records[1]
Ector County has had two courthouses. The old red brick courthouse, built in 1904, was torn down in 1938, when the new Art Deco style courthouse opened. In 1964 a new courthouse was built around the 1938 courthouse, changing the look of the courthouse.
Inventory of County Records, Ector County Courthouse, 1973, edited by Carolyn Trigg. Read the book online at The Portal to Texas History.
History
Parent County
1887--Ector County was created 26 February 1887 from Tom Green County. County seat: Odessa [2]
Boundary Changes
Record Loss
Places/Localities
Populated Places
Gardendale | Goldsmith | Notrees | Odessa (partly in Midland county) | Penwell | Pleasant Farms | West Odessa
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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| See Texas Cemeteries for more information. | ||
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
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 Ector 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
- Ector County 1890 Land Office Map from the Portal to Texas History.
- Ector County 1901 from Historic Map Works.
- Ector County Highway Map 1940 from the Texas State Library Archives Commission.
- Ector County Highway Map 1961 from the Texas State Library Archives Commission.
Military
Newspapers
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Ector County, Texas newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Ector County, Texas Place-name search for these and other records in the Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).
- Odessa American Newspaper
- Odessa American Statesman archives, 1957-61, 1968-73, and 1976-77, at ancestry.com $
- Obituaries from the Acres West Funeral Chapel -- includes obits from 2008-present
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.
- Ector County Index to Probates 1891-1949 from the Ector County TXGenWeb site.
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.
Births
- Ector County Birth Index 1926-1952 from the Ector County TXGenWeb site.
- Ector County Births 1873-1900 compiled from World War I Draft Registrations. From the TXGenWeb archives.
- Ector County Birth Index 1926-1934 and other records from the Ector County TXGenWeb site.
Marriages
- Ector County Marriage Index 1966-2002 from the Ector County TXGenWeb site.
- Ector County Marriage Records Mar 1941-Jun 1942 transcribed from the County of Ector Marriage Book No. 3 from the Permian Basin Genealogical Society.
Deaths
- Ector County Death Records from the Texas Death Index 1964-1998 from the Ector County TXGenWeb site.
- Ector County Death Index to Microfilmed Death Records from the Ector County TXGenWeb site.
- Ector County Index to Probates 1891-1949 from the Ector County TXGenWeb site.
- Ector County Death Index 1969-1984 and other death record from the Ector County TXGenWeb site.
- Notrees, Texas Deaths 1967-2002 from the Ector County TXGenWeb site.
- Texas Death Index 1964 to 1998 Texas, Death Index, 1964-1998 (FamilySearch Historical Records) 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
- Permian Basin Genealogical Society
- Ector County Public Library
Southwest Genealogy Section - 2nd Floor
321 West 5th Street
Odessa, Texas 79761
(432)332-0633 website
Family History Centers
Web Sites
- Ector County Texas TXGenWeb site history, photos, cemeteries and more.
- OdessaHistory.com
- Family History Library Catalog
References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Ector County, Texas. Page 663 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 26 April 2013, at 00:54.
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