Gaines County, Texas Genealogy
Guide to Gaines County Texas ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Gaines County, Texas | |||||||||
| Map | |||||||||
 Location in the state of Texas, United States Genealogy | |||||||||
 Location of Texas in the U.S. | |||||||||
| Facts | |||||||||
| Founded | 21 August, 1876 | ||||||||
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| County Seat | Seminole | ||||||||
| Courthouse | |||||||||
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| Address | Gaines County Courthouse P. O. Box 847 101 South Main | ||||||||
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County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The county was named for James Gaines, a merchant who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence and was born in Culpeper County, Virginia in 1779. The County is located in the west-central area of the state.[1]
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Gaines County Courthouse
P. O. Box 847
101 South Main
Seminole, Texas 79360-4342
Phone: 915.758.4003
County Clerk has birth, death and court records
from 1903, marriage and probate records from
1848 and land records from 1843[2]
County Clerk
Physical Address:
101 South Main St
Seminole, Texas 79360
Phone: (432) 758-5411
Mailing Address:
101 South Main, Room 206
Seminole, Texas 79360
Phone: 432-758-4003
Fax: 432-758-1442
District Clerk
Physical & Mailing Address:
101 South Main, Room 311
Seminole, Texas 79360
Phone: 432-758-4013
Fax: 432-758-4036
Gaines County Government Website
Details: (Co Clk has b, m, d, bur, pro & ct rec from 1905 & land rec)
Gaines County, Texas Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1905 | 1905 | 1905 | 1905 | 1905 | 1905 | 1829 |
History[edit | edit source]
Parent County[edit | edit source]
1876--Gaines County was created 21 August 1876 from Bexar Land District.
- County seat: Seminole [4]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Places / Localities[edit | edit source]
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[5]
| Cities | ||
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| Towns | ||
| Census-designated places | ||
‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Andrews • Dawson • Lea County, New Mexico • Martin Terry • Yoakum
Resources[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information.
| Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
| FindAGrave | Family History Library | FindAGrave |
| Linkpendium | WorldCat | Tombstone Project |
| BillionGraves (name) | Cemeteries of TX | |
| GenWeb Archives | Texas Cemeteries | |
| BillionGraves | TX Gravestones | |
| Names in Stone | FamilySearch Places | |
| TXGenWeb | ||
| See Texas Cemeteries for more information. | ||
Census[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 8 | ||
| 1890 | 68 | 750.0% | |
| 1900 | 55 | −19.1% | |
| 1910 | 1,255 | 2,181.8% | |
| 1920 | 1,018 | −18.9% | |
| 1930 | 2,800 | 175.0% | |
| 1940 | 8,136 | 190.6% | |
| 1950 | 8,909 | 9.5% | |
| 1960 | 12,267 | 37.7% | |
| 1970 | 11,593 | −5.5% | |
| 1980 | 13,150 | 13.4% | |
| 1990 | 14,123 | 7.4% | |
| 2000 | 14,467 | 2.4% | |
| 2010 | 17,526 | 21.1% | |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | |||
Churches[edit | edit source]
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.
- Ashmore Baptist Church - Loop
- Loop Baptist Church - Loop
- Loop Church of Christ - Loop
- Apostolic Assembly - Seagraves
- Church of Christ - Seagraves
- Church of the Nazarene - Seagraves
- First Assembly of God - Seagraves
- First Baptist Church - Seagraves
- First United Methodist Church - Seagraves
- Mt. Olive Baptist Church - Seagraves
- St. Paul's Catholic Church - Seagraves
- Sendero Pathway Assembly of God - Seagraves
- Temple Baptist Chruch - Seagraves
- Templo Bautista Getsemani - Segraves
- Agape Church - Seminole
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - Seminole
- Family Harvest Church - Seminole
- Fifth Street Church of Christ - Seminole
- First Assembly of God - Seminole
- First Baptist Church of Seminole - Seminole
- First Methodist Church - Seminole
- First Presbyterian Church - Seminole
- First United Methodist Church - Seminole
- German Church of God - Seminole
- Gospel Mennonite Church - Seminole
- Sommerfeld Mennonite Church - Seminole
- South Seminole Baptist Church - Seminole
- St. James Catholic Church - Seminole
- West Side Church of Christ - Seminole
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court[edit | edit source]
Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]
- Boyer Funeral Home - Seminole
- Connally Funeral Home - Seagraves
- Head Family Funeral Home - Seagraves
- Mark A. Jones Funeral Home - Seagraves
- Ratliff Funeral Home - Seminole
- Singleton Funeral Home - Seminole
Land[edit | edit source]
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 FamilySearch Catalog lists microfilm copies of deeds, trust deeds, and mortgages of many counties.
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Gaines County, Texas Genealogy. 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.
Maps[edit | edit source]
for more resources
- Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site.
- FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
Military[edit | edit source]
- 1838 - 1900 - Texas Muster Roll Index Cards at Ancestry.com — index and images $
Mexican-American War[edit | edit source]
- 1845 - 1848 - US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War at Ancestry.com — index $
Civil War[edit | edit source]
- 1861 - 1865 Texas, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
- 1861 - 1865 Texas, Civil War Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
World War I[edit | edit source]
- 1917 - 1920 Texas, World War I Records, 1917-1920 at FamilySearch — index and images
- World War I Draft Registrations (A-L) - Gaines County, TXGenWeb site
- World War I Draft Registrations (M-Z) - Gaines County, TXGenWeb site
World War II[edit | edit source]
- World War II Enlistment Records - Gaines County, TXGenWeb site
Korean War[edit | edit source]
- Korean War Dead - Gaines County, TXGenWeb site
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Gaines County, Texas Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- TX Newspaper Abstracts (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Gaines County, Texas Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Places Search).
- Seminole Sentinel
- Texas Digital Newspaper Program at The Portal to Texas History
These newspapers are not in Gaines County but contain news about its residents:
Probate[edit | edit source]
Probate records of Texas, United States Genealogy 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.
Online Probate Indexes and Records
- 1800–1990 Texas Probate Records at FamilySearch — images
- 1800–2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records at Ancestry.com — index and images $
Taxation[edit | edit source]
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.
- 1846-1910 Texas, County Tax Rolls 1846-1910 at findmypast ($) — index and images
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents.
Certified birth and death certificates or birth and death verifications can be ordered online or by mail at the Texas Vital Records State Department of Health. Copies can also be obtained from the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred and are often less expensive.
Marriages records can be obtained from the county the marriage occurred. Only marriage verifications can be obtained from the Texas Vital Records State Department of Health.
See Texas Vital Records for more information about Vital records in Texas.
Birth[edit | edit source]
Online Birth Indexes and Records
- 1840 - 1981 Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981 — index - How to Use this Collection
- 1903 - 1935 Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 (images and index) - How to Use this Collection
- 1903 - 1997 Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 (index only) - How to Use this Collection
- 1905-1933 Gaines County Births - Gaines County, TXGenWeb site
- 1926-1995 Texas Births, 1926 - 1995 at MyHeritage ($) — index
Marriage[edit | edit source]
Online Marriage Indexes and Records
- 1802-2010 Texas, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
- 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 Texas Marriage Collection at Ancestry.com — index $
- 1837 - 1965 Texas, County Marriage Records, 1837-1965 — index and images - How to Use this Collection
- 1837 - 1973 Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973 — index - How to Use this Collection
- 1837 - 1977 Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977 — index - How to Use this Collection
- 1837-1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index at Ancestry.com — index $
- 1966 - 2010 Texas Marriages, 1966-2010 - FamilySearch record collection - How to Use this Collection
- 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index
Death[edit | edit source]
Online Death Indexes and Records
- 1890-1976 Texas Death Records 1890 – 1976 with images - How to Use this Collection 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.
- 1903 - 1973 Texas Deaths and Burials, 1903-1973 — index - How to Use this Collection
- 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates at Ancestry.com — index and images $
- 1910-1974 Gaines County Deaths - Gaines County, TXGenWeb site
- 1964 - 1998 Texas Death Index, 1964-1998 (no images) - How to Use this Collection Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.
- 1977 - 1986 Texas Deaths, 1977-1986 — index - How to Use this Collection
Divorce[edit | edit source]
- 1968-1978 Gaines County Divorces - Gaines County, TXGenWeb site
- 1968 - 2010 Texas Divorce Index 1968-2010 — index - How to Use this Collection
- 1968-2011 Texas Divorces at Ancestry.com — index $
- 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index
Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]
Permian Basin Genealogical Society
311 W. 4th
Odessa, Texas
Website
Texas State Genealogical Society
Website
Family History Centers
[edit | edit source]
Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries
- Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
- FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries
Websites[edit | edit source]
- TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county
- FamilySearch Catalog The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Gaines County, Texas," in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaines_County,_Texas. accessed 08/09/2019
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Gaines County, Texas. Page 664 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Gaines County, Texas . Page 658-677 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 655-665.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Freestone County, Texas," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freestone_County,_Texas, accessed 9 April 2019.
