Willacy County, TexasEdit This Page
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Texas Counties W Willacy County
Guide to Willacy County Texas genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
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Contents |
County Courthouse
Willacy County Courthouse
Courthouse Annex Building
190 North 3rd Street
Raymondville, Texas 78580
Phone: 956.689.2710
County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, probate and
court records from 1921 and land records from 1891[1]
Willacy County's first courthouse is now located in Kenedy County. When Willacy County was organized in 1911, Sarita was selected as the county seat. In 1917, construction began on a three-story Classic Revival style courthouse. In 1921, Kenedy County was organized out of the northern part of Willacy County; Sarita and the new courthouse were now part of Kenedy County. Raymondville was selected as the county seat; and construction began on a new courthouse, a Classic Revival style building is a grand three-story brick structure with limestone details. This courthouse continues to serve Willacy County.[2]
Willacy County Courthouse
County Clerk - Hon. Terry Flores
576 W. Main St.
Raymondville, Texas 78580
Office (956) 689-2710
Fax (956) 689-9849
Willacy County Government Website
History
Parent County
1911--Willacy County was created 11 March 1911 from Hidalgo and Cameron Counties. County seat: Sarita, 1911-1921; Raymondville, 1921-present. [3]
Boundary Changes
1921 -- Northern part of Willacy County became Kenedy County. [4]
Record Loss
Places / Localities
Populated Places
Bausell | Ellis | Lasara | Los Coyotes | Lyford | Porfirio | Port Mansfield | Raymondville | Santa Monica | San Perlita | Sebastian | Willamar
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 |
| WorldCat |
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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 Willacy 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.
- Texas' Last Frontier: A Brief History of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, 1917; reprinted, 1962; by Frank Cushman Pierce, Rio Grande Valley Historical Society.
- The Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, 1954, by J. Lee and Lillian J. Stambaugh.
- A Century of Service: The History of the Catholic Church in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, 1979, by Gilberto Rafael and Martha Oppert Cruz.
- Willacy County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.
Maps
Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site.
Military
Newspapers
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Willacy County, Texas newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Willacy County, Texas Place-name search for these and other records in the Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).
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.
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
Family History Centers
Web Sites
- TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county
References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Willacy County, Texas. Page 676 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ HistoricTexas.net: Willacy County http://www3.historictexas.net/willacy-county-texas
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ Handbook of Texas Online: Willacy County http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcw10
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- This page was last modified on 25 April 2013, at 17:02.
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