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Galveston County, Texas
Map
Location in the state of Texas
Location of Texas in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	May 15, 1838
County Seat	Galveston
Courthouse

County Courthouse

Galveston County Courthouse
722 Moody
Galveston, TX 77550
Phone: 409.766.2210

County Clerk has birth and death records,
Clerk has birth and death records 1903 -1910
and 1941-1951, marriage, probate and land
records from 1838 and court records from 1875^[1]

History

Galveston Island was the temporary seat of government of the Republic of Texas during the Texas Revolution.

Parent County

1838--Galveston County was created 15 May 1838 from Brazoria and Liberty Counties. County seat: Galveston ^[2]

Boundary Changes

See an interactive map of Galveston County border changes.

Record Loss

Galveston is a very low-lying area in Texas, the county seat being largely on an island, and thus it is vulnerable to weather disasters, mainly being hurricanes, and occasionally, tornadoes.

In September 1900, Galveston suffered what is to this day the worst United States hurricane disaster in terms of loss of life. That storm, known as the Galveston Hurricane, killed over 6,000 people. The hurricane also for all practical purposes swept the island clean, although some structures did survive.

Therefore, unless the record or a duplicate copy or other item that recorded the same data was moved to an inland area prior to September 1900, it is likely the record was destroyed in the hurricane. One should check in nearby counties for any such replications of any records from the Galveston area prior to 1900, such as neighboring counties, regional offices of churches, and other similar repositories, for records from this county.

Since 1900, a seawall was built along the outward facing shore, and subsequent hurricanes, including Ike in 2008, did somewhat less damage as the seawall for the ost part has kept the storm surge produced by any hurricane from overwashing the island by and large. In fact, one can drive along the seawall itself which will give any visitor an idea of just how serious the 1900 disaster really was.

Places / Localities

Populated Places

Cities

Bayou Vista
Clear Lake Shores
Dickinson
Friendswood
Galveston
Hitchcock
Jamaica Beach
Kemah
La Marque
League City
Santa Fe
Texas City

Villages

Tiki Island

Census-designated places

Bacliff
Bolivar Peninsula
San Leon

Unincorporated areas

Algoa
Bayview
Crystal Beach
Gilchrist
High Island
Port Bolivar

Neighboring Counties

• Brazoria
• Chambers
• Harris

Resources

African American

• Texas African American Griots  ~  USGenWeb
• AfriGeneas  ~  African Ancestored Genealogy
• Texas African American Genealogy  ~  Access Genealogy

Cemeteries

• Rosewood Cemetery  ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
• Barbers Cemetery  ~  TXGenWeb
• Beth Jacob Cemetery, Galveston BillionGraves
• Campbell Bayou Cemetery  ~  TXGenWeb
• Crystal Beach Community Cemetery  ~  TXGenWeb
• Lakeview Cemetery, Galveston BillionGraves
• Municipal Cemetery, Galveston BillionGraves
• Magnolia Cemetery  ~  TXGenWeb
• San Leon Cemetery  ~  TXGenWeb
• Trinity Columbarium  ~  TXGenWeb
• Port Bolivar Cemetery  ~  TXGenWeb
• Fairview Cemetery  ~  TXGenWeb
• Dickinson Cemetery  ~  TXGenWeb
• 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
• Cemetery Junction  ~  Links to cemetery transcriptions

Census

• 1850 Federal Census  ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
• 1900 Federal Census  ~  USGenWeb Archives Project

Church

• Texas Christian Church Directory ~ ChurchAngel
• Catholic Parishes in Texas

Court

Land

Original Land Owners Of Texas  ~  Galveston County  ~  TXGenWeb

Local Histories

• Texas Museums  ~  List of all museums in Texas  ~  Hidden Ancestors

Maps

• 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

Civil War

Civil War Battle

The following Civil War battle was fought in Galveston County.

• October 4, 1862 = Galveston I^[3]
• January 1, 1863 = Galveston II^[4]

Map showing Civil War battles in Texas.

• Confederate Indigent Families  ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
• 1864 Muster List, Easley's  ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
• 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

• Home Town News  -  Texas Newspaper Index with links
• Newslink  -  Texas Newspaper List (sorted by publication frequency)
• The Olden Times   -   Historic Texas News Online
• Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Galveston newspapers from the early 1800's that covered local news on Galveston County residents as well as residents from surrounding counties.

Obituaries

• Galveston 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

• Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records  ~  Ancestry.com  (subscription)

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.
• Texas Marriage Records  1966 - 2005  ~  Hidden Ancestors
• Texas Divorce Records  1968 - 2005   ~  Hidden Ancestors
• USGenWeb Census Project ~ Texas  1850 - 1930

Societies and Libraries

Dickinson Public Library
1837 Hwy 517 E
Dickinson, TX 77539
Phone: (281) 534-3812

Friendswood Public Library
416 S Friendswood Dr
Friendswood, TX 77546
Phone: (281) 482-7135
Website

Rosenberg Library
2310 Sealy Ave
Galveston, TX 77550
Phone: (409) 763-8854
Website

Genevieve Miller Hitchcock Public Library
8005 Barry Ave
Hitchcock, TX 77563
Phone: (409) 986-7814
Website

La Marque Public Library
1011 Bayou Rd
La Marque, TX 77568
Phone: (409) 938-9270
Website

Helen Hall Library
100 W Walker St
League City, TX 77573
Phone: (281) 554-1111
Website

Mae S Bruce Library
13302 6th St
Santa Fe, TX 77510
Phone: (409) 925-5540
Website

Moore Memorial Public Library
1701 9th Ave N
Texas City, TX 77590
Phone: (409) 643-5970
Website

Family History Centers

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
• Friendswood Texas Family History Center

505 Deseret Dr
Friendswood, Galveston, Texas, United States
Phone: 281-996-9346
Hours: T 10am-2pm & 6pm-9pm; Th 10am-2pm; F 11am-3pm; Sat (2nd) 11am-3pm.
Closed: Thanksgiving week, two weeks at christmas

• Galveston Texas Family History Center

3300 77th St
Galveston, Galveston, Texas, United States
Phone: 409-744-7938
Hours: T, Sat by appt; W 7pm-9pm

• League City Texas Family History Center

4655 S Shore Blvd
League City, Galveston, Texas, United States
Phone: 281-535-3034
Hours: T-Th 7pm-9pm; Sat 10am-12pm

Society Hill  ~  Links and addresses to Texas genealogical and historical societies

Web Sites

• Galveston County Archives  ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
• Galveston County  ~  TXGenWeb
• TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the 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

1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Galveston County, Texas. Page 664 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).
3. ↑ Heritage Preservation Services, Civil War Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 9 August, 2012)
4. ↑ Heritage Preservation Services, Civil War Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 9 August, 2012)