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United States Texas Counties UV Van Zandt County

Guide to Van Zandt County Texas genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

	Texas Online Records

adopted by Betty PhillipsBetty Miller

County Courthouse

Van Zandt County Courthouse
121 East Dallas Street Room 202
Canton, TX 75103
Phone: 903.567.6503 
Phone: 903-567-7555
Fax: 903-567-6722

County Clerk has birth and death records 1903,
marriage, land, probate and court records from
1848 and military discharge records from 1918;
District Clerk has divorce records from 1848^[1]

Sabine Lake (also known as Jordan's Saline) served as the Van Zandt County's first county seat from 1848-1850. The first courthouse was a crude log building. In 1850 the county seat was moved to Canton, where it has remained. Courthouses were built in Canton in 1850 and 1857. In 1896 a three-story courthouse with a bell tower was built. The current courthouse opened in 1939.

 
Van Zandt County Government website

History

Cherokees occupied the area under a grant from Mexico in 1822 and were removed in 1839. The first post office, grist mill and saw mill were set up in 1845. During the Civil War the county was popularly known as the "Free State of Van Zandt."

Parent County

1848--Van Zandt County was created 20 March 1848 from Henderson County. County seat: Canton ^[2]

Boundary Changes

1850 -- Wood county was created out of Van Zandt County.

Record Loss

Places / Localities

Populated Places

Ben Wheeler | Canton | Edgewood | Edom | Fruitvale | Grand Saline | Martin's Mill | Van | Wills Point

Neighboring Counties

• Henderson
• Hunt
• Kaufman
• Rains
• Smith
• Wood

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information.

Additional Cemetery Sources

• Cemetery Listings Cemeteries of Van Zandt County with photos and some bios of folks buried there from the Van Zandt County TXGenWeb site.
• Graveyards of Van Zandt County, SE Section, Vol. A ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• Graveyards of Van Zandt County, NE Section, Vol. B ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• Graveyards of Van Zandt County, NW Section, Vol. C ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• Graveyards of Van Zandt County, SW Section, Vol. D ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• Graveyards of Van Zandt County, Vol. E (Hillcrest, Haven of Memories and other cemeteries) ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society

Census

• Census Records - Van Zandt County-1860 ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• Census Records - Van Zandt County-1870 ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• Census Records - Van Zandt County-1880 ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• Census Records - Van Zandt County-1900 ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• "1890 in Van Zandt County"-Various County Records ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society [census substitute]

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

• Divorce Records of Van Zandt County, 1848-1920 ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• Van Zandt Co. Court Minutes, Vol. A & B 1848-1871 ~ Elvis Allen
• "Desperate Characters of Van Zandt County" ~ Cheryl Vaughan
• Reconstruction Records of Van Zandt County, 1867-1874: Voters Registration List 1867-1869, Occupation Taxes 1867-1874 & Poll Taxes for 1872

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 Van Zandt 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.

• Some History of Van Zandt County, 1919; reprinted, 1977, by Wentworth Manning. Digital book online from the Portal to Texas History.
• A History of Van Zandt County, 1976 by Margaret Elizabeth Hall.
• History of Van Zandt County, 1950, by William Samuel Mills.
• History of Van Zandt County, 1984, by the Van Zandt County History Book Committee.
• Historical Places in Van Zandt County Many Van Zandt County historical sites and research helps on Bobby Pearce's "Field Guide to Historical Sites in Van Zandt County".
• Van Zandt County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.
• Van Zandt County Histories and Biographies, Vol. I ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• Van Zandt County Histories and Biographies, Vol. II ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• "Daddy Said" ~ Elvis Allen

Maps

• Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site

Military

• Veterans of Van Zandt County Muster Rolls, Civil War Pensioners, 1890 Texas Union Soldier Schedule, World War I Casualties, World War I Draft Registrations (by town), World War II Veterans  with pictures, from the Van Zandt County TXGenWeb site.
  
• Civil War Veterans of Van Zandt County ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society

Newspapers

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Van Zandt County, Texas newspapers in online catalogs like:

• Zandt+county+Texas+Newspapers&qt=results_page WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Do a Van Zandt County, Texas Place-name search for these and other records in the Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).

• Canton Herald newspaper
• Van Banner newspaper
• Wills Point Chronicle
• Van Zandt County News
• Grand Saline Sun
• Edgewood Enterprise at http://smalltownpapers.com/newspapers/newspaper.php?id=121.
• Early Obituaries & Death Notices of Van Zandt County, Vol. I, 1884-1900 ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• Early Obituaries & Death Notices of Van Zandt County, Vol. II, 1901-1907 ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• Early Obituaries & Death Notices of Van Zandt County, Vol. III, 1908-1913 ~ Van Zandt 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.

School

• School Days in Van Zandt County, Vol. I ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• School Days in Van Zandt County, Vol. II ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• School Days in Van Zandt County, Vol. III ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society

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 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.
• Van Zandt County Marriage Book, Vol. I, 1848-1909 ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• Van Zandt County Marriage Book, Vol. II, 1909-1931 ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
• Van Zandt County Marriage Book, Vol. III, 1932-1950 ~ Van Zandt County Genealogical Society

Societies and Libraries

• Early Van Zandt County Doctors and Medical Society Minutes and read the minutes from the Medical Society's meetings of the early 1900s.

• OPHGR (Organization for the Preservation of Historical and Genealogical Records)
  P. Vinson, President
  Canton, TX
  email: ophgr1@gmail.com Website: http://www.ophgr.com
  These folks go to county courthouses, churches and other places where old documents and records are housed. They either scan the very old records with their oversized scanner or they transcribe those old documents and then publish them as books. Membership is $10.00/year if you have an email address and you get their Newsletter sent to you quarterly. Visit their web site for Publication Listings as well as membership information.
  They also host several workshops during the year. Topics include: Beginning Researcher, Internet Research, Beginner Computer Help as well as Native American/Melungeon/African American Research.

• Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
  P.O. Box 1388, Canton, Texas 75103-1388
  Phone: 903-567-5012
  email: vanzandtgensoc@etcable.net 
  We spent a week there this summer. The library they have is wonderful and the staff extremely helpful. The location is at the court house annex. They have published Graveyards of Van Zandt Co., Tx - Vol A-E,  Marriage Record Books of Van Zandt Co. The library is open from 9 am - 4 pm Monday thru Friday and 9 am - 1 pm Saturday - staffed by local volunteers who know about the county.

Family History Centers

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
• Wills Point Texas Family History Center

Web Sites

• TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county
• Miss B's Place. Some genealogical information concerning: Miller, Hickman, Edens, Christian, Payne, Teal, Long, Hollis, Ledbetter, Hodge, Heddins and Peebles.
• Betty's World Genealogical information on Betty's Families of Abney, Boxley, Bradberry, Breazeale, Brown, Carter, Middleton, Norman, Pickens, Phillips, Stone, Summers, Tinsley, Wade, Wills/Wells, and General Andrew Pickens
• Van Zandt County Genealogical Society:  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txvzcgs/vzgs.htm.  In addition to Society information, this site contains thousands of records and photographs.
• Family History Library Catalog

References

1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Van Zandt County, Texas. Page 675 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
2. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).

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