Texas Fast Facts and Key Resources

• Statehood: 1845

• Republic of Texas established: 1836

• First federal census:1850

• Statewide birth and death records begin:1903

• Statewide marriage records begin: 1966

• State-land state Counties:254

• Contact for vital records: Texas Vital Statistics Department of State Health Services Box 12040 Austin, TX 78711 (888) 963-7111 <www.dshs.state.tx.us/vs>

Web Sites

• Cyndi’s List: Texas

<cyndislist.com/tx.htm>

• Galveston Immigration Database

<www.tsm-elissa.org/immigration-main.htm>

• Gammell’s Laws of Texas, 1822-1911

<texinfo.library.unt.edu/lawsoftexas>

• Handbook of Texas Online

<www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online>

• Texas GenWeb Project

<rootsweb.com/~txgenweb>

• Texas Newspaper Project

<www.cah.utexas.edu/newspapers/tnp.html>

Resources

• The Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists edited by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack and Erin Nevius (Family Tree Books)

• The First Census of Texas, 1829-1836 by Marion Day Mullins (National Genealogical Society, out of print)

• Genealogical Records in Texas by Imogene Kinard Kennedy and J. Leon Kennedy (Genealogical Publishing Co.)

• A Guide to Genealogical Resources in the Texas State Archives by Jean Carefoot (Texas State Library, out of print) A Guide to Texas Research by Joe E. Ericson and Carolyn R. Ericson (Ericson Books)

• Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans by T.R. Fehrenbach (Da Capo Press)

• Research in Texas by Lloyd deWitt Bockstruck (National Genealogical Society)

Libraries and Archives

• Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research

5300 Caroline St., Houston, TX 77004, (832) 393-2600, <hpl.lib.tx.us/clayton>

• Dallas Public Library

1515 Young St., Dallas, TX 75201, (214) 670-1400, <dallaslibrary.org>

• Fort Worth Public Library

500 W. Third St., Fort Worth, TX 76102, (817) 871-7701, <www.fortworthgov.org/library>

• Houston Public Library, Texas and Local History Department

500 McKinney St., Julia Ideson Building, Houston, TX 77002, (832) 393-1658, <www.hpl.lib.tx.us>

• NARA Southwest Region

501 W Felix St., Building 1, Fort Worth, TX 76115, (817) 831-5620, <archives.gov/facilities/tx/fort_worth.html>

• Texas General Land Office

1700 N. Congress Ave., Suite 800, Austin, TX 78701, (800) 998-4456, <www.glo.state.tx.us>

• Texas Military Forces Museum

Box 5218, Austin, TX 78763, (512) 782-6967, <www.texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.org>

• Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Box 12927, Austin, TX 78711, (512) 463-5480, <www.tsl.state.tx.us>

• University of Texas Center for American History

From the October 2006 issue of Family Tree Magazine.