Refugio County, Texas Genealogy

United States

Texas

Refugio County

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
Location of Texas in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	17 March, 1836
County Seat	Refugio
Courthouse
Address	Refugio County Courthouse 808 Commerce Street Refugio, TX 78377-0704
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County Information

County Courthouse

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

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

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1903	1851	1903	1881	1835	1840	1829
Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1903. General compliance by the 1930s.

History

1836--The battle of Refugio occurred in 1836, just prior to the Goliad Massacre.

Parent County

1836--Refugio County was created 17 March 1836 from an Old Mexican Municipality.

• County seat: Refugio

Boundary Changes

See an interactive map of Refugio County border changes.

Record Loss

1879--Many records were destroyed in a courthouse fire in January 1879.

Places / Localities

Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog

• Refugio

Populated Places

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:

Cities
Austwell
Towns
Bayside	Refugio (county seat)	Woodsboro
Census-designated places
Tivoli
Ghost towns
Copano	St. Mary's of Aransas

Neighboring Counties

Aransas  • Bee  • Calhoun  • Goliad  • San Patricio  • Victoria

Resources

Cemeteries

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		Epodunk
See Texas Cemeteries for more information.

Land

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

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

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site.

Military

• 1838 - 1900 - Texas Muster Roll Index Cards 1838-1900 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Mexican-American War

• 1845 - 1848 - US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War 1845-1848 at Ancestry.com — index $

Civil War

• 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

• 1917 - 1920 - Texas, World War I Records, 1917-1920 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

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 Place-name Search).

Probate

Probate records of Texas 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 $

Vital Records

Birth

• 1903-1935 - Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage

• 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

Death

• 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

• 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 $

Societies and Libraries

Refugio County Historical Society
Refugio County Museum
102 West St.
Refugio, TX 78377
Telephone Number:361-526-5555
Website

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

• For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map

Websites

• 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.