Wood County, TexasEdit This Page
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Guide to Wood County Texas genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
Adopted by Betty Miller and Betty Phillips
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Contents |
County Courthouse
Wood County Courthouse
PO Box 338
Quitman, TX 75783-0338
Phone: 903.763.2711
County Clerk has birth and death records Clerk has birth
and death records from 1903, marriage,land and probate
records from 1879, cemetery and court records, military
records from 1918; District Clerk has divorce records[1]
Wood County has had four courthouses. They were built in 1851, 1854, 1883 and 1925, the current courthouse.
History
The area was originally Caddo Indian country. The first settler arrived in 1824, the first school opened in 1852 and the first newspaper was published in 1845.
Parent County
1850--Wood County was created 5 February 1850 from Van Zandt County. County seat: Quitman [2]
Boundary Changes
1870--A western section of Wood County was used to form the new Rains County. [3]
Record Loss
1878--Courthouse and all county records were destroyed by fire in December 1878.
Places / Localities
Populated Places
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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| WorldCat | ||
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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 Wood 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.
- Wood County, 1850–1900, 1976, by the Wood County Historical Society.An overview of Wood County, Texas from roughly 1850 to 1900, includes historical sketches of various aspects of life in the county as well as anecdotes. Genealogical information and documentation are also included for pioneer families in the area. Read the book on line from The Portal to Texas History.
- History of Mineola, Texas; "Gateway to the Pines", 1973 by Lucille Jones. Read the book online from The Portal to Texas History.
- Wood County History from The Handbook of Texas Online.
Maps
- Texas Land Survey Maps for Wood County, Texas (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
- Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site
Military
Newspapers
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Wood County, Texas newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Wood 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
Vital Records
- 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
OPHGR Organization for the Preservation of Historical and Genealogical Records, Canton, TX
P. Vinson, President; email Website
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.
Web Sites
- 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.
- TEXAS GenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county.
- Family History Library Catalog
References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Wood County, Texas. Page 676 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ Handbook of Texas Online: Wood County http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcw15
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- This page was last modified on 25 April 2013, at 18:56.
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