Hardin County, Texas Genealogy
Guide to Hardin County Texas ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Hardin County, Texas | |||||||
| Map | |||||||
 Location in the state of Texas, United States Genealogy | |||||||
 Location of Texas in the U.S. | |||||||
| Facts | |||||||
| Founded | 22 January, 1858 | ||||||
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| County Seat | Kountze | ||||||
| Courthouse | |||||||
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| Address | Hardin County Courthouse PO Box 38 Kountze, TX 77625 | ||||||
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County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The county was named for the family of William Hardin from Liberty County, Texas. The County is located in the east-central area of the state.[1]
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Hardin County Courthouse
PO Box 38
Kountze, TX 77625
Phone:409.246.5185
County Clerk has birth records from 1892,
marriage, death and land records from 1859
and probate records from 1888; District Clerk
has divorce records[2]
County Clerk
P.O. Box 38
Kountze 77625
Phone: 409-246-5185
District Clerk
P.O. Box 2997
Kountze
Phone: 409-246-5150
Hardin County, Texas Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1892 | 1859 | 1859 | 1879 | 1859 | 1888 | 1829 |
General compliance by the 1930s. | ||||||
History[edit | edit source]
1832--The first Anglo-American settlement was in 1832.
Parent County[edit | edit source]
1858--Hardin County was created 22 January 1858 from Jefferson and Liberty Counties.
- County seat:
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
1886 -- The County Courthouse at Hardin, Texas caught fire on August 8, 1886. Some records were destroyed including the assessment rolls of the county, surveyor's records, and the county judge's records, including the probate records. The only records that may have been saved were those that were stored in an iron safe. After the fire, the county seat was moved from Hardin to Kountze.[6]
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:[7]
| Cities | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Census-designated places | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Jasper • Jefferson • Liberty • Orange • Polk • Tyler
Resources[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
| 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 | FamilySearch Places | |
| TXGenWeb | ||
| Names in Stone | ||
| See Texas Cemeteries for more information. | ||
Census[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1860 | 1,353 | — |
| 1870 | 1,460 | 7.9% |
| 1880 | 1,870 | 28.1% |
| 1890 | 3,956 | 111.6% |
| 1900 | 5,049 | 27.6% |
| 1910 | 12,947 | 156.4% |
| 1920 | 15,983 | 23.4% |
| 1930 | 13,936 | −12.8% |
| 1940 | 15,875 | 13.9% |
| 1950 | 19,535 | 23.1% |
| 1960 | 24,629 | 26.1% |
| 1970 | 29,996 | 21.8% |
| 1980 | 40,721 | 35.8% |
| 1990 | 41,320 | 1.5% |
| 2000 | 48,073 | 16.3% |
| 2010 | 54,635 | 13.7% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
Church[edit | edit source]
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court[edit | edit source]
Land[edit | edit source]
- 1840-1920: Texas, Hardin County, Deed Records, 1840-1920 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
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 Hardin 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 Land Survey Maps for Hardin County, Texas Genealogy (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
- Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb 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
- 1861 - 1865 - Hardin County, Civil War Pensions, 1899-1940 - Confederate
World War I[edit | edit source]
- 1917 - 1920 Texas, World War I Records, 1917-1920 at FamilySearch — index and images
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Hardin County, Texas Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- TX Newspaper Abstracts (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Hardin County, Texas Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Places Search).
Online Newspapers
- Texas Digital Newspaper Program at The Portal to Texas History
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 ($) — index and images
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents.
Certified birth and death certificates or birth and death verifications can be ordered online or by mail at the Texas Vital Records State Department of Health. Copies can also be obtained from the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred and are often less expensive.
Marriages records can be obtained from the county the marriage occurred. Only marriage verifications can be obtained from the Texas Vital Records State Department of Health.
See Texas Vital Records for more information about Vital records in Texas.
Birth[edit | edit source]
Online Birth Indexes and Records
- 1840 - 1981 Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981 — index - How to Use this Collection
- 1903 - 1935 Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 (images and index) - How to Use this Collection
- 1903 - 1997 Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 (index only) - How to Use this Collection
- 1926-1995 Texas Births, 1926 - 1995 at MyHeritage ($) — index
- 1882-1939 Texas, Hardin County, Registers of Births, 1882-1939 - at FamilySearch - images and index - How to Use this Collection
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 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 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 1837-1977 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 Deaths, 1890-1976 - FamilySearch - 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 1903-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
- 1908-1948 Texas, Hardin County Clerk, Death Records, 1908-1948 - FamilySearch - How to use this collection — index
- 1964-1998 Texas Death Index, 1964-1998 - FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection — index. 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]
- 1968-2005 Texas Divorce Records 1968 - 2005 (index) - Hidden Ancestors
- 1968 - 2010 Texas Divorce Index 1968-2010 — index - How to Use this Collection
- 1968-2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $
- 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index
Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]
Hardin County Genealogy Library
220 W. Main St.
Kountze, Texas
409-767-0423
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]
- Hardin County, Texas TXGenWeb
- 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, "Hardin County, Texas," in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardin_County,_Texas. accessed 10/01/2019
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Hardin County, Texas. Page 665 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Hardin 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).
- ↑ Hardin, Texas - Handbook of Texas Online http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hrh11
- ↑ Hardin, TX Hardin County Courthouse Fire, Aug 1886 http://www.gendisasters.com/texas/17587/hardin-tx-hardin-county-courthouse-fire-aug-1886
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Hardin County, Texas," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardin_County,_Texas, accessed 20 May 2019.
