Refugio County, Texas Genealogy
Guide to Refugio County Texas ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Refugio County, Texas | |||||||
| Map | |||||||
 Location in the state of Texas, United States Genealogy | |||||||
 Location of Texas in the U.S. | |||||||
| Facts | |||||||
| Founded | 17 March, 1836 | ||||||
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| County Seat | Refugio | ||||||
| Courthouse | |||||||
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| Address | Refugio County Courthouse 808 Commerce Street Refugio, TX 78377-0704 | ||||||
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Contents
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The County was named for the original municipality of Refugio.[1] The County is located in the southeast area of the state.[2]
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Refugio County Courthouse
808 Commerce Street
Refugio, TX 78377-0704
Phone: 361.526.2727
County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903,
marriage records from 1851, probate records from 1840,
court records from 1881 and land records from 1835[3]
County Clerk
P.O. Box 704
Refugio 78377
Phone: 361-526-2233
County and District Clerk
P.O. Box 736
Refugio 78377
Phone: 361-526-5942
Refugio County, Texas Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1903 | 1851 | 1903 | 1881 | 1835 | 1840 | 1829 |
General compliance by the 1930s. | ||||||
History[edit | edit source]
1836--The battle of Refugio occurred in 1836, just prior to the Goliad Massacre.
Parent County[edit | edit source]
1836--Refugio County was created 17 March 1836 from an Old Mexican Municipality.
- County seat: Refugio [5]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
See an interactive map of Refugio County border changes.
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
1879--Many records were destroyed in a courthouse fire in January 1879.
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:[6]
| Cities | ||
| Towns | ||
|
||
| Census-designated places | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Aransas • Bee • Calhoun • Goliad • San Patricio • Victoria
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 | Names in Stone | |
| TXGenWeb | FamilySearch Places | |
| See Texas Cemeteries for more information. | ||
Census[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1850 | 288 | — |
| 1860 | 1,600 | 455.6% |
| 1870 | 2,324 | 45.3% |
| 1880 | 1,585 | −31.8% |
| 1890 | 1,239 | −21.8% |
| 1900 | 1,641 | 32.4% |
| 1910 | 2,814 | 71.5% |
| 1920 | 4,050 | 43.9% |
| 1930 | 7,691 | 89.9% |
| 1940 | 10,383 | 35.0% |
| 1950 | 10,113 | −2.6% |
| 1960 | 10,975 | 8.5% |
| 1970 | 9,494 | −13.5% |
| 1980 | 9,289 | −2.2% |
| 1990 | 7,976 | −14.1% |
| 2000 | 7,828 | −1.9% |
| 2010 | 7,383 | −5.7% |
| 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.
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Refugio 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 Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site.
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
Military[edit | edit source]
- 1838 - 1900 - Texas Muster Roll Index Cards 1838-1900 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
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
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 Refugio County, Texas Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- TX Newspaper Abstracts (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Census Diggins 1830-1930
- Do a Refugio County, Texas Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Places Search).
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 Records
- 1800 – 1990 Texas Probate Records 1800-1990 at FamilySearch — images
- 1800 – 2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records 1800-2000 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 ($) — index and images
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Birth[edit | edit source]
- 1903-1935 - Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1926-1995 Texas Births, 1926 - 1995 at MyHeritage ($) — index
Marriage[edit | edit source]
- 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 $
- 1966-2006 Texas Marriage Records 1966-2006 (index) - Hidden Ancestors
- 1966-2010 Texas, Marriages, 1966-2010 - FamilySearch record collection
- 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index
Death[edit | edit source]
- 1890-1976 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. - 1903-1973 Texas Deaths and Burials 1903-1973 at FamilySearch.org — index
- 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
- 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]
- 1960-2005 Texas Divorce Records 1968 - 2005 (index) - Hidden Ancestors
- 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]
Refugio County Historical Society
Refugio County Museum
102 West St.
Refugio, TX 78377
Telephone Number:361-526-5555
Website
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
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 Libraries
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Refugio County 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]
- ↑ Genealogytrails contributors, "Refugio, Texas" in "http://genealogytrails.com/tex/gulfcoast/refugio/. accessed 11/25/2019
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Refugio, Texas" in "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugio_County,_Texas. accessed 11/25/2019
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Refugio 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), Refugio 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, "Refugio County, Texas," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugio_County,_Texas, Last accessed 19 August 2019.
