Texas County Genealogy Records

Texas County genealogy records are held at the courthouse in Houston, Missouri, not to be confused with the Texas city of the same name. The Recorder of Deeds and Circuit Clerk both maintain records from 1845, when the county was organized. Texas County was formed on February 14, 1845, from Shannon and Wright Counties, and was named for the Republic of Texas, which had recently been annexed. This south-central Missouri county sits deep in the Ozarks, and its settlers came largely from the upper South and Appalachian regions. The Texas County Historical Society, the Ozarks Genealogical Society, and statewide online databases round out the research picture.

Texas County Recorder of Deeds

The Texas County Recorder of Deeds is at 519 N. Grand Ave., Houston, MO 65483, phone 417-967-2112. Marriage records go back to 1845 and land records to the same year. The county was organized on February 14, 1845, so the earliest documents in this office are nearly 180 years old. The Recorder holds marriage licenses, warranty deeds, quitclaim deeds, deeds of trust, mortgages, and subdivision plats covering the full history of Texas County.

Marriage records from the 1845 through 1880 period often list both parties and the license date, and some early licenses include parents' names. This is especially helpful when you need to confirm a maiden name or work back to the previous generation. Land records tell the story of how property moved through Texas County families over time. In a rural Ozark county where many families farmed the same ground for generations, deed records can document a continuous chain of ownership that confirms relationships and places families in specific township locations. Military discharge records (DD-214 forms) are also on file with the Recorder.

Standard Missouri recording fees apply: $24 for the first page and $3 for each additional page. Document copies cost $1.00 per page. Marriage licenses require both parties to appear in person with valid photo ID and a Social Security number. The fee is $46.00. Licenses are valid for 30 days statewide with no waiting period.

Note: Call 417-967-2112 before visiting to confirm current hours and ask which older records are available for in-person review.

Texas County Court Records

The Texas County Circuit Clerk maintains court records for the 25th Judicial Circuit. The courthouse is in Houston, Missouri. Court and divorce records date from 1846, and probate records go back to 1846 as well. Probate files are among the most valuable genealogy records because they identify heirs, describe the estate, name guardians for minor children, and establish family relationships that no other record type documents as completely. A single probate file from the 1870s might name every child of an ancestor, including married daughters who changed their surnames and are otherwise invisible in county records.

Civil court records include divorce cases, debt matters, land disputes, guardianship proceedings, and equity cases. Texas County's Ozark location means many land disputes arose over timber rights, mill operations, and uncertain land boundaries, so civil case files can be unexpectedly useful for genealogy. Naturalization records for immigrants who settled in Texas County are also held by the Circuit Clerk. Any European immigrant families who arrived in this part of the Ozarks in the late 1800s may have naturalization records on file.

Cases filed after November 12, 2003 can be searched at no cost at Missouri Case.net. For older records, contact the Circuit Clerk in Houston, Missouri, or plan an in-person research visit.

Note: Juvenile records are closed under Missouri law and are not available to genealogy researchers.

Vital Records for Texas County

The Texas County Health Department holds local vital records. Birth certificates are available from 1920 and death certificates from 1980. Certified copies require valid photo ID and eligible requestor status. Birth certificate copies are $15.00 each. Death certificates are typically $14.00 for the first copy and $11.00 for each additional copy ordered at the same time.

The County Clerk maintained birth and death records from 1883 to 1894. Coverage was not complete during that period because statewide registration was not yet required by law. Still, these records are worth checking for Texas County ancestors born or who died during that decade. The Missouri Bureau of Vital Records at 930 Wildwood Dr., Jefferson City, (573) 751-6387, handles statewide requests at $15.00 per certified copy.

The free Missouri Digital Heritage database covers death certificates statewide from 1910 through 1969. More than 9 million records are indexed and searchable at no cost. If an ancestor died in Texas County during that period, you can likely find their death certificate online without any fee or formal request.

Texas County Research Resources

The Texas County Historical Society is at P.O. Box 121, Houston, MO 65483, phone 417-967-2550. The Society holds donated family papers, photographs, local histories, and records that are not available through government offices. They are a good contact for anyone researching long-established Ozark families in the county. The Ozarks Genealogical Society is a regional organization that covers multiple counties in southwest and south-central Missouri and may hold Texas County material alongside records from neighboring counties.

The Texas County MOGenWeb page is a free volunteer-maintained resource with transcribed records, cemetery indexes, family histories, and obituaries.

MOGenWeb pages for deep Ozark counties like Texas often hold compiled records and community histories for rural townships that are not documented elsewhere.

The published "History of Laclede, Camden, Dallas, Webster, Wright, Texas, Pulaski, Phelps and Dent Counties" from 1889 covers Texas County families in a multi-county regional history. It includes biographical sketches for many of the early settlers and is available through the library, interlibrary loan, FamilySearch, and Google Books in digitized form. Federal census records for Texas County from 1850 through 1940 are fully indexed on FamilySearch and Ancestry and name every household member with ages and birthplaces.

Online Records for Texas County

Missouri Digital Heritage holds death certificates from 1910 to 1969, pre-1910 birth and death records, land records, and military records for Texas County. No account or fee is required. The Missouri State Archives holds microfilm of Texas County records and can help identify what is available before you make a research trip to Jefferson City.

FamilySearch at familysearch.org is the best free starting point for Texas County census research. Records from 1850 through 1940 are fully indexed. Missouri mortality schedules from 1850 through 1880 list residents who died in the year before each census and are worth checking for any ancestor who died in those years. Some Texas County probate and land record images from the 1800s have also been posted on FamilySearch.

The Missouri State Genealogical Association connects researchers with local and regional societies. For Texas County research, the Ozarks Genealogical Society is a useful regional resource that holds publications and research files covering this part of south-central Missouri.

Note: Texas County courthouse records are believed to be intact from 1845 onward with no known major fire or flood losses.