Rains County, Texas Genealogy
Guide to Rains County Texas ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Rains County, Texas | |||||||
| Map | |||||||
 Location in the state of Texas, United States Genealogy | |||||||
 Location of Texas in the U.S. | |||||||
| Facts | |||||||
| Founded | 9 June, 1870 | ||||||
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| County Seat | Emory | ||||||
| Courthouse | |||||||
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| Address | Rains County Courthouse PO Box 187 Emory, TX 75440-0187 | ||||||
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County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The County was named for Emory Rains, a Texas state legislator. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.[1]
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Rains County Courthouse
PO Box 187;
Emory, TX 75440-0187
Phone: 903.473.2461
County Clerk has birth records from 1902, divorce records
from 1903, marriage, divorce and land records from 1880
and probate records from 1894[2]
County Clerk
P.O. Box 1150
Emory 75440
Phone: 903-473-5000
Fax: 903-473-5086
District Clerk
P.O. Box 187
Emory 75440
Phone: 903-473-5000 (Ext: 101)
Fax: 903-473-5008
Rains County's first courthouse was a log building. It was used until a two-room courthouse was built in 1871; this second courthouse burned in 1879. The log building was again used as a temporary courthouse until two-story building could be built in 1884. The 1884 courthouse burned in 1908. Rains County's current courthouse, shown at right, is the county's fourth Courthouse. It was built in 1908.
Rains County Courthouse
167 E. Quitman Street
P. O. Box 158
Emory, Texas 75440
Rains County Government Website
Rains County, Texas Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1902 | 1880 | 1902 | 1880 | 1880 | 1894 | 1829 |
General compliance by the 1930s. | ||||||
History[edit | edit source]
1840's--The first Anglo-American arrived in the 1840's.
Parent County[edit | edit source]
1870--Rains County was created 9 June 1870 from Hopkins, Hunt, and Wood Counties.
- County seat: Emory [4]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
1879 - Rains County Courthouse, built in 1871, burned; All county records were destroyed.
1908 - Rains County Courthouse, built in 1884, burned. County records were save in a fireproof vault.
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 | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
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‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Hopkins • Hunt • Van Zandt • Wood
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 | Interment | |
| TXGenWeb | FamilySearch Places | |
| Names in Stone | ||
| See Texas Cemeteries for more information. | ||
- Emory Cemetery Association - Rains County TXGenWeb
Census[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1880 | 3,035 | — |
| 1890 | 3,909 | 28.8% |
| 1900 | 6,127 | 56.7% |
| 1910 | 6,787 | 10.8% |
| 1920 | 8,099 | 19.3% |
| 1930 | 7,114 | −12.2% |
| 1940 | 7,334 | 3.1% |
| 1950 | 4,266 | −41.8% |
| 1960 | 2,993 | −29.8% |
| 1970 | 3,752 | 25.4% |
| 1980 | 4,839 | 29.0% |
| 1990 | 6,715 | 38.8% |
| 2000 | 9,139 | 36.1% |
| 2010 | 10,914 | 19.4% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
Church[edit | edit source]
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court[edit | edit source]
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.
- Original Land Owners of Texas - USGenWeb Archives Project
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Rains 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.
- Early Days in Texas and Rains County, 1917 by William Oscar Hebison and Ambrose Fitzgerald.
- 100th Anniversary of Rains County, 1970
- Rains County History from the Handbook of Texas Online
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 1838-1900 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
- 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
Mexican-American War[edit | edit source]
- 1845 - 1848 - US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War 1845-1848 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
- Confederate Pension Applications ~ Texas State Library and Archives Commission
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 Rains County, Texas Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- TX Newspaper Abstracts (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Rains County, Texas Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Places Search).
- Rains County Leader Newspaper
- 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 – 2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records 1800-2000 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
- 1800 – 1990 Texas Probate Records 1800-1990 at FamilySearch — images
- Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records ~ Ancestry.com (subscription)
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 ($) — index and images
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Birth[edit | edit source]
Online Birth Indexes and Records
- 1840 - 1981 Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981 - FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
- 1903 - 1935 Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 - FamilySearch (images and index) - How to Use this Collection
- 1903 - 1997 Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 - FamilySearch (index only) - How to Use this Collection
- 1926-1995 Texas Births, 1926 - 1995 at MyHeritage ($) — 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 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $
- 1837-1965 Texas, County Marriage Records, 1837-1965 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1837-1973 Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973 at FamilySearch — index
- 1837-1977 Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977 at FamilySearch — index
- 1837-1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index 1837-1977 at Ancestry.com — index $
- 1966 - 2010 Texas Marriages, 1966-2010 - FamilySearch - FamilySearch record collection - How to Use this Collection
- 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index
Death[edit | edit source]
Online Death Indexes and Records
- 1890-1976 Texas Death Records 1890 – 1976 - FamilySearch with images - How to Use this Collection
Name index and images of statewide death certificates, 1890-1976. The name index has been created by Family Search and is tied to images of the Texas death certificates. Few certificates are available prior to 1903. - 1890-1976 Footnote.com ($) has Texas Death Certificates 1890-1976 available online.
- 1903 - 1973 Texas Deaths and Burials, 1903-1973 - FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
- 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
- 1903 - 2000 Texas Death Index, 1903-2000 - FamilySearch (index) - How to Use this Collection
- 1964-1998 Texas Death Index 1964 to 1998 [no images] Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.
- 1977-1986 Texas Deaths 1977-1986 at FamilySearch.org — index
Divorce
[edit | edit source]
- 1968-2005 Texas Divorce Records 1968 - 2005 (index) - Hidden Ancestors
- 1968 - 2010 Texas Divorce Index 1968-2010 - FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
- 1968-2010 Texas Divorce Index 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
- 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]
Organization for the Preservation of Historical and Genealogical Records
OPHGR
email:[1] P Vinson President
Canton, TX
Website
[2]
This group will go to county courthouses, churches and other places where old documents and records are housed. They either scan the very old records or they transcribe those old documents.
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]
- Rains County - USGenWeb Archives Project
- Rains County TXGenWeb
- 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, "Rains, Texas" in "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rains_County,_Texas. accessed 11/25/2019
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Rains County, Texas. Page 672 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Rains 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, "Rains County, Texas," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rains_County,_Texas, Last accessed 19 August 2019.
Rains county; PO Box 187; Emory, TX 75440-0187; Ph. 903.473.2461 Details: (Co Clk has b rec from 1902, d rec from 1903, m, div & land rec from 1880 & pro rec from 1894)
