Donley County, Texas Genealogy
Guide to Donley County Texas ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Donley County, Texas | |||||||||
| Map | |||||||||
 Location in the state of Texas, United States Genealogy | |||||||||
 Location of Texas in the U.S. | |||||||||
| Facts | |||||||||
| Founded | 21 August, 1876 | ||||||||
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| County Seat | Clarendon | ||||||||
| Courthouse | |||||||||
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| Address | Donley County Courthouse 300 S Sally Clarendon, TX 79226 | ||||||||
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Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 History
- 3 Places/Localities
- 4 Resources
- 5 Societies and Libraries
- 6 Websites
- 7 References
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The county was named for Stockton P. Donley, justice of the state supreme court. The County is located in the northwest area of the state.[1]
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Donley County Courthouse
300 S Sally
Clarendon, TX 79226
Phone: 806.874.3436
County Clerk has birth records from 1877,
marriage and land recordsfrom 1882,
death records from 1903, probate records from
1923 and military discharge records from 1919[2]
The current Donley County courthouse, a Romanesque Revival design building, was opened in November 1891. The courthouse was restored in 2003. It is the oldest functioning courthouse in the Texas Panhandle and is a recorded Texas Historic Landmark. [3]
Donley County Courthouse
300 S. Sully
Clarendon, TX 79226
County Clerk
PO Drawer U
Courthouse Annex
Clarendon, TX 79226
(806) 874-3436
FAX (806) 874-3351
Donley County Government website
Donley County, Texas Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1877 | 1882 | 1903 | 1882 | 1882 | 1923 | 1829 |
History[edit | edit source]
1882--Originally named Wegefarth County and organized in 1882, the county was renamed Donley.
Parent County[edit | edit source]
1876--Donley County was created 21 August 1876 from Bexar Land District, but was not organized until 1882. [5]
- County seat: Clarendon [6]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Places/Localities[edit | edit source]
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:[7]
| Cities | ||
|
||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Armstrong • Briscoe • Carson • Collingsworth • Gray • Hall • Wheeler
Resources[edit | edit source]
African American[edit | edit source]
- 1865-1870--Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records(images) - FamilySearch
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 | TX Gravestones | |
| TXGenWeb | Interment | |
| Names in Stone | FamilySearch Places | |
| See Texas Cemeteries for more information. | ||
Census[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 160 | ||
| 1890 | 1,056 | 560.0% | |
| 1900 | 2,756 | 161.0% | |
| 1910 | 5,284 | 91.7% | |
| 1920 | 8,035 | 52.1% | |
| 1930 | 10,262 | 27.7% | |
| 1940 | 7,487 | −27.0% | |
| 1950 | 6,216 | −17.0% | |
| 1960 | 4,449 | −28.4% | |
| 1970 | 3,641 | −18.2% | |
| 1980 | 4,075 | 11.9% | |
| 1990 | 3,696 | −9.3% | |
| 2000 | 3,828 | 3.6% | |
| 2010 | 3,677 | −3.9% | |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | |||
- 1880 Federal Census - images - USGenWeb Archives Project
Church[edit | edit source]
Baptist[edit | edit source]
Calvary Baptist Church 806-874-3156
Highway 287, Clarendon TX 79226
First Baptist Church 806-874-3833
300 South Bugbee, Clarendon TX 79226
First Baptist Church 806-874-3326
222 Sherwood Blvd, Clarendon TX 79226
First Baptist Church 806-856-5370
Main Street, Hedley TX 79237
Christian[edit | edit source]
First Christian Church 806-874-3212
120 East 3rd, Clarendon TX 79226
Church Of Christ[edit | edit source]
Church of Christ 806-874-2495
300 South Carhart, Clarendon, TX y79226
Methodist[edit | edit source]
First United Methodist Church 806-874-3367
420 South Jefferson, Clarendon TX 79226
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.
- Original Land Owners of Texas - USGenWeb Archives Project
Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]
- 1906-1989 Texas, Naturalization Records — index and images
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Donley 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.
- Donley County: Land O' Promise, 1975, by Virginia Browder.
- Donley County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.
Maps[edit | edit source]
for more resources
Texas Counties Map.TXGenWeb site.
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
Military[edit | edit source]
- 1838 - 1900 - Texas Muster Roll Index Cards at Ancestry.com — index and images $
- 1908 - Camp San Lantham United American Veterans - USGenWeb Archives
Mexican-American War[edit | edit source]
- 1845 - 1848 US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War at Ancestry.com — index $
Civil War[edit | edit source]
Online Records
- 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
- Confederate Pension Applications - USGenWeb Archives Project
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 Donley County, Texas Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- TX Newspaper Abstracts (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Census Diggins 1830-1930
- Do a Donley 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 at FamilySearch — images
- 1800–2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records 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 ($) — index and images
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents.
Certified birth and death certificates or birth and death verifications can be ordered online or by mail at the Texas Vital Records State Department of Health. Copies can also be obtained from the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred and are often less expensive. You can also order them online through a third party company.
Marriages records can be obtained from the county the marriage occurred. Only marriage verifications can be obtained from the Texas Vital Records State Department of Health.
See Texas Vital Records for more information about Vital records in Texas.
Birth[edit | edit source]
Online Birth Indexes and Records
- 1903-1935 Texas, Birth Certificates (images and index) - FamilySearch
- 1903-1997 Texas Birth Index (index) - FamilySearch
- 1926-1995 Texas Births, 1926 - 1995 at MyHeritage ($) — index
Marriage[edit | edit source]
Online Marriage Indexes and Records
- 1802-2010 Texas, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
- 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 Texas Marriage Collection 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 at Ancestry.com — index $
- 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index
Death[edit | edit source]
Online Death Indexes and Records
- 1890-1976Texas Death Records [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.
- 1903-1973 Texas Deaths and Burials (index) - FamilySearch
- 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates at Ancestry.com — index and images $
- 1903-2000 Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000 (index) - FamilySearch
- 1964-1998Texas Death Index [no images] Name index to Texas Statewide Death Certificates or four million people who have died since 1964.
- 1977-1986 Texas Deaths at FamilySearch.org — index
Divorce[edit | edit source]
- 1968-2005 Texas Divorce Records (index) Hidden Ancestors
- 1968-2010 Texas Divorce Index at FamilySearch.org — index
- 1968-2011 Texas Divorces at Ancestry.com — index $
- 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage ($) — index
Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]
Donley County Genealogical Society
PO Box 116
Clarendon 79226
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]
- USGenWeb project - May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
- USGenWeb Archives Project - transcriptions and photographs
- TXGenWeb Donley 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]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Donley County, Texas," in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donley_County,_Texas. accessed 07/30/2019
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Donley County, Texas. Page 663 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ HistoricTexas.net: Donley County http://www3.historictexas.net/donley-county-texas
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Donley 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.
- ↑ Handbook of Texas Online: Donley County http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcd10
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Donley County, Texas," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donley_County,_Texas, accessed 3 April 2019.
