Leon County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties L  Leon County

Guide to Leon County Texas ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
Leon County Courthouse PO Box 98 Centerville, TX 75833-0098 Phone: 903.536.2352 County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage records from 1885, probate records from 1846, court and land records

The original Courthouse and County Seat was at Leona. It was organized July 13, 1846. The first court was held at the home of Moses Campbell and then a log courthouse was built. After a heated battle, which included the killing of one man and the wounding of another, the County Seat was moved to Centerville in October 1850.

History
Named for: This county was named for Martin de Leon, a native of Tamaulipas, Mexico who was born in 1765.

Parent County
1846--Leon County was created 17 March 1846 from Robertson County. County seat: Centerville

Record Loss
1885--A fire on the night of November 9, 1885 destroyed the courthouse. After the ashes and debris were cleared away, it was found that the brick remained in good condition and that the brick and two large safes left standing could be refurbished. Many records were lost and I do not know what the contents of the safes were. Most of the records for the county were destroyed.

Places / Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog



Populated Places

 * Buffalo, located near the Freestone County line, is the largest community in Leon Co.
 * Centerville, the County Seat
 * Hilltop Lakes
 * Jewett
 * Malvern
 * Marquez
 * Middleton
 * Normangee
 * Nineveh
 * Oakwood
 * Red Branch

Neighboring Counties
Anderson • Brazos • Freestone • Houston • Limestone • Madison • Robertson

Cemeteries
Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information.


 * Brushy Cemetery, Marques BillionGraves
 * Leon Co. Cemetery Index

Local Histories

 * A Memorial and Biographical History of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon Counties, Texas, 1883. Digital book on line from the Portal to Texas History.

Maps



 * Texas Land Survey Maps for (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site.

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 (index)- FamilySearch
 * Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 (images and index) - FamilySearch
 * Texas, Births and Christenings, 1840-1981 - FamilySearch

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * Marriage Records Brides 1895 - 1910 and various years indexed by brides -  Leon County
 * Marriage Records Grooms 1895 - 1910 and various years indexed by grooms - Leon County
 * Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977 ~ FamilySearch records collection 
 * Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973  ~  FamilySearch record collection
 * Texas, Marriages, 1966-2010  ~  FamilySearch record collection
 * 1837 - 1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index 1837-1977 at Ancestry.com — index $

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records

Original Death Records on Microfilm
 * 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 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 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903 - 1973 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1903 - 1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Divorce

 * Texas Divorce Records 1968 - 2005  (index)  -  Hidden Ancestors
 * 1968-2010 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1968 - 2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $

Societies and Libraries
Leon Co. Genealogical Society P.O. Box 400 Centerville, TX 75833 903-536-2710 Hours of operation: 1PM to 4PM Monday through Friday

Web Sites

 * TXGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the county