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Texas Counties T Tom Green County
Guide to Tom Green County Texas genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Tom Green County, Texas | |||||||||
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 Location in the state of Texas | |||||||||
 Location of Texas in the U.S. | |||||||||
| Facts | |||||||||
| Founded | March 13, 1874 | ||||||||
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| County Seat | San Angelo | ||||||||
| Courthouse | |||||||||
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Contents |
County Courthouse
Tom Green County has had four courthouses and two county seats. When the county was first organized, the town of Ben Flickin was chosen as the county seat. After the town was destroyed by a flood in 1882, the county seat was moved to the larger and more centrally located San Angelo, where the second Tom Green Courthouse was completed in 1884.[1] The current courthouse was built in 1928.
Tom Green County Courthouse
124 W. Beauregard
San Angelo, TX 76905-5835
Tom Green County Government website
Tom Green County Courthouse
124 West Beauregard Avenue
San Angelo, Texas 76903-5850
Phone: 915.659.6553
County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903,
marriage, probate and court records from 1875 and
land records from 1860[2]
History
The original Tom Green County extended to the Pecos River and covered 12,500 square miles. Twelve other counties have been created from this area. The first white settler arrived in 1864. Ben Ficklin was almost washed away in 1882.
Parent County
1874--Tom Green County was created 13 March 1874 from Bexar Land District. County seat: San Angelo [3]
Boundary Changes
1876 -- When Tom Green County was created in 1874, the county had no northern boundary. On 21 August 1876, a northern boundary was created - drawn from the northwest corner of Runnels County to the New Mexico state line and cutting off territory for 54 counties to the north of Tom Green County.
Record Loss
1882 -- Ben Flicken, then the county seat, was destroyed by flood.
1886 -- The second floor of the Tom Green County Courthouse caught fire on June 28, 1886, possibly from mice eating matches. The fire started in the office of the Clerk of District Courts. Many of the records in the clerk's office were destroyed. [4]
Places / Localities
Populated Places
Ben Flickin | Carlsbad | Christoval | Grape Creek | Knickerbocker | Mereta | San Angelo | Tankersley | Vancourt | Veribest | Wall | Water Valley
Neighboring Counties
Resources
African American
- Texas African American Griots Project ~ USGenWeb
- AfriGeneas ~ African Ancestor Genealogy
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. | ||
Additional Cemetery Sources
- Tom Green County Cemeteries ~ TXGenWeb
- Cemetery Books available from the San Angelo Genealogical and Historical Society:
- Belvedere Memorial Park Cemetery book, 1993, 110 pages including index.
- Calvary Catholic Cemetery book, 49 pages including an index.
- Fairmount Cemetery book, 2001, 710 pages including surname index.
- Tombstone Transcription Project ~ Partial transcription of cemetery tombstones ~ USGenWeb
- Texas Historic Cemeteries ~ Partial indexes to historic cemeteries
- African American Cemeteries Online ~ Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries
- Texas Escapes Listing of Texas cemeteries with transcriptions and lots of pictures.
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.
- Texas Christian Church Directory ~ ChurchAngel
- Catholic Parishes in Texas
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 Tom Green 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.
- The History of Tom Green County, Texas, 1931 by Julia Grace Bitner.
- No Country For Dull Men, Excerpts from the San Angelo Standard, 1884-1885, published by the San Angelo Genealogical and Historical Society, 2010. 327 pages including name and subject index, 1880 images of San Angelo, area maps, and 1880 plot maps of San Angelo, Midland and Sherwood, Texas. Available from the San Angelo Genealogical and Historical Society
- 1890 Records of Tom Green County, Texas, Includes the 1890 tax list (property by residents living outside Tom Green County, unrendered property, railroads), marriages for the year 1890, probate records for the year 1890, plus the 1890 census of servicemen and widows. Published by the San Angelo Genealogical and Historical Society, 1990, 161 pages including index. Available from the San Angelo Genealogical and Historical Society
- Tom Green County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.
- Texas Museums ~ List of all museums in Texas ~ Hidden Ancestors
Maps
- Texas Land Survey Maps for Tom Green County, Texas (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
- Texas Formation Maps 1834-1931 ~ TXGenWeb
- Texas Census Maps 1836-1930 ~ TXGenWeb
- Historical Maps ~ From the Republic to the Turn of the Century ~ Hidden Ancestors
- Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site
Military
- Camps and Forts of Tom Green County ~ TXGenWeb
- Military Resources ~ Links to research Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom ~ Hidden Ancestors
- Fallen Heroes ~ Partial Index of casualties from Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom ~ Hidden Ancestors
- Honoring Our Veterans ~ Partial index of veterans from Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom ~ Hidden Ancestors
Newspapers
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Tom Green County, Texas newspapers in online catalogs like:
- Green+county+Texas+Newspapers&qt=results_page WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Tom Green County, Texas Place-name search for these and other records in the Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).
- San Angelo Standard Times
- Christoval Observer
- San Angelo Enterprise
- Home Town News - Texas Newspaper Index with links
- Newslink - Texas Newspaper List (sorted by publication frequency)
- The Olden Times - Historic Texas News Online
Obituaries
- Tom Green County Obituaries ~ TXGenWeb
- Obituary Resources ~ Links to research and locate obituaries ~ Hidden Ancestors
- USGenWeb Archives Obituary Project ~ Texas
- Afrigeneas ~ African American death notices, obituaries and funeral programs compiled by users from current newspapers and historical sources
- Obituary Depot ~ Texas Newspaper Citations
- Obituary Project ~ Hidden Ancestors
- Obituary Daily Times ~ Citations to over 15,000,000 obituaries including interactive search function
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.
- Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records ~ Ancestry.com (subscription)
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.
- 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. - Texas Marriage Records 1966 - 2005 ~ Hidden Ancestors
- Texas Divorce Records 1968 - 2005 ~ Hidden Ancestors
- USGenWeb Census Project ~ Texas 1850 - 1930
Societies and Libraries
Societies
- San Angelo Genealogical and Historical Society
P.O. Box 3453
San Angelo, TX 76902-3453 website
- Tom Green County Historical Society
P.O. Box 5602
San Angelo, TX 76903 website
- Society Hill ~ Links and addresses to Texas genealogical and historical societies
Libraries
- Tom Green County Library System
113 W Beauregard Ave
San Angelo, TX 76903
Phone: (325) 655-7321
Website
Family History Centers
Web Sites
- Tom Green County ~ TXGenWeb
- Tom Green County Archives ~ TXGenWeb Archives
- TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
- Hidden Ancestors Information on Texas genealogy research as well as genealogy research in general.
- USGenWeb Texas Archives Vital statistics, maps, obituaries, Bible records, tombstone transcriptions and many other records.
- Family History Library Catalog
References
- ↑ Handbook of Texas Online: Tom Green County http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hct07
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Tom Green County, Texas. Page 674 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ GenDisasters.com San Angelo, TX Tom Green County Courthouse Fire, Jun 1886 http://www3.gendisasters.com/texas/17830/san-angelo-tx-tom-green-county-courthouse-fire-jun-1886
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- This page was last modified on 26 April 2013, at 02:22.
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