Red River County, Texas Genealogy

United States Texas  Counties R  Red River County

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

County Courthouse
Red River County Courthouse 200 North Walnut Street Clarksville, TX 75426 Phone: 903.427.2401 County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage records from 1845, probate and land records from 1835; District Clerk has divorce and court records

Red River County has had five courthouses. The fifth and current courthouse was built in 1885.

Red River County Government Website

Parent County
1836--Red River County was created 17 March 1836 from an Old Mexican Municipality. LaGrange (now called Madras) was named temporary county seat in 1837, until Clarksville was selected as the county seat in 1838. County seat:Clarksville 

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Red River County border changes.

Places / Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog

Populated Places
Annona | Avery | Bagwell | Bogata | Clarksville | Detroit | Deport (mostly in Lamar County) | English | Maple

Neighboring Counties
Bowie • Choctaw County, Oklahoma • Delta • Franklin • Hopkins • Lamar • McCurtain County, Oklahoma • Morris • Titus

African American

 * Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1870(images) - FamilySearch

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

Additional Cemetery Sources

 * Red River County Cemetery Index ~  photos and transcriptions  ~  TXGenWeb
 * Red River County Cemetery Photographs ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Burials, Cemetery and Death Records for Red River County, Texas, by Lawrence and Sue Dale.
 * Index to burials in Red River County, Texas, by Lawrence and Sue Dale, has names, birth date and death date and cemetery where buried. Available from the authors
 * Index to Cemeteries in Red River County, Texas, by Lawrence and Sue Dale, contains all 216 known cemeteries in the county and other names that they are known as, directions to get to them, GPS coordinates, total known burials in each, legal descriptions. Available from the authors
 * 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
 * Texas Escapes Listing of Texas cemeteries with transcriptions and lots of pictures.

Census

 * 1850 Census
 * 1860 Census
 * 1870 Census
 * 1880 Census
 * 1900 Census
 * 1930 Census Index
 * 1890 Union Veterans Census

Church

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

Local Histories

 * Gateway to Texas, History of Red River County, by Martha Sue Stroud. Available from the author
 * Bible Records of Red River County, Texas Genealogical Members, Volume * Bible Records of the following families: Meyer, Lee, Turk, Myers, McCain, Low, Jones, McCuiston, Hall, Johnson, Pinson, Young, Strawn, Turner, Rose, Seale, Smith, Claiborne, Williams, Dyers, Strange, Benton and Hufford. Available from the Red River County Texas Genealogical Society
 * Reflections of Red River County 1830's-1890 by Marion Butts. Available from the Red River Co Genealogy Society
 * Red River County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.
 * Biographies ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Red River County Published Sources ~ TXGenWeb
 * Texas Museums ~  List of all museums in Texas  ~  Hidden Ancestors

Maps

 * Texas Land Survey Maps for (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Red River County Map ~  TXGenWeb
 * 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 Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 - FamilySearch
 * Texas, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 - FamilySearch
 * Confederate Pension Applications ~ Texas State Library and Archives Commission
 * Civil War Dead buried in Red River County, Texas, by Lawrence and Sue Dale. Contains all notes from cemetery records, 374 individuals, most without formal Civil War markers. Available from the authors
 * 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

 * Wikipedia has a list of online newspaper archives for Texas.
 * 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 The Paris News from 1925 that may include residents from Red River County.

Obituaries

 * Red River County Obituaries ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 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

 * 1838 Tax List ~  TXGenWeb
 * Index to Wills Book A ~  TXGenWeb
 * Index to Wills Book B ~  TXGenWeb
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records ~  Ancestry.com  (subscription)
 * Texas, Probate Records, 1800-1990 (images) - FamilySearch

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


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

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * Texas Marriage Records 1966 - 2005  -  Hidden Ancestors
 * Texas County Marriage Records, 1837-1977 - FamilySearch. Index to a variety of marriage records (registers, licenses, intentions to marry, etc.) from select counties in Texas. 
 * Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973  -  FamilySearch record collection
 * Texas, Marriages, 1966-2010  -  FamilySearch record collection
 * 1814 - 1909 and 1966 - 2011 Texas Marriage Collection 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 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 Family Search and is tied to images of the Texas death certificates. Few certificates are available prior to 1903.
 * Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
 * 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   ~  Hidden Ancestors
 * 1968 - 2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry.com — index $


 * USGenWeb Census Project ~ Texas 1850 - 1930

Societies and Libraries
Red River County Public Library 307 N Walnut St Clarksville, TX 75426 Phone: (903) 427-3991 Website

Red River County, TX Genealogical Society P. O. Box 516 Clarksville, TX 75426-2720 Website


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

Web Sites

 * Red River County Archives ~  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Red River 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.