Records that survive
These are the record series from Bexar County that were microfilmed for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC), with the office that kept each and the earliest and latest years filmed. A span can include gaps. Not every county, or every record in a county, was filmed.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Record · County Clerk1837–1926
Deeds and land
- Contracts, Agreements, and Receipts · County Surveyor1736–1836
- Land Grants · County Surveyor1736–1836
- Mission Records · County Surveyor1736–1836
- Protocols · County Surveyor1736–1836
- Wills and Estates · County Surveyor1736–1838
- Land Records, Miscellaneous · County Surveyor1755–1842
- Powers of Attorney · County Surveyor1770–1836
- Lands Outside Bexar · County Surveyor1778–1833
- Rebel Property · County Surveyor1813–1819
- Deed Record · County Clerk1837–1889
- Deed Record (Spanish) · County Clerk1877–1889
Wills and estates
- Probate Minutes · County Clerk1837–1913
- Probate Record · County Clerk1837–1859
- (Probate) Administration Bond Record · County Clerk1848–1882
- (Probate) Exhibits · County Clerk1864–1883
- (Probate) Will Record · County Clerk1865–1883
Naturalization
- Naturalization Papers · District Clerk1850–1906
- (Naturalization) Declarations of Intention · County Clerk1852–1906
- (Naturalization) Declarations of Intention · District Clerk1884–1892
- Naturalization Record · County Clerk1899–1906
Tax records
- Tax Rolls · Tax Assessor-Collector1837–1910
Court records
- District Court Civil Minutes (2nd, 4th, 14th, 18th, 22nd, 23rd, and 37th Districts) · District Clerk1836–1907
- Commissioners Court Minutes · County Clerk1846–1909
- County Court Criminal Minutes · County Clerk1876–1881
- District Court Civil Minutes (45th District) · District Clerk1889–1907
- District Court Civil Minutes (57th District) · District Clerk1899–1907
Other records
- Miscellaneous Papers · County Clerk1824–1885
See every reel at the Texas State Library
Source: Texas State Library and Archives Commission, County Records on Microfilm. Texas began statewide registration of births and deaths in 1903, though many went unrecorded until the 1920s.
Where to find the records
- Find Bexar County's official website
We haven't checked this county's website yet, so this opens a web search. Look for an address ending in .gov, then find the county clerk, the district clerk and the Texas General Land Office.
- The county clerk
Deeds, marriage licenses and probate records (wills and estates), plus copies of births and deaths for many counties.
- The district clerk
District court cases, including divorces, and in many counties naturalizations.
- The Texas General Land Office
In Austin: the original files for nearly all land granted from the public domain, from Spanish and Mexican grants through the Republic and the state, since Texas kept its public land.
- Texas State Library: Bexar County records on microfilmfree
Every filmed series with its reel numbers. The film can be used in Austin or borrowed through interlibrary loan at many libraries.
- Texas General Land Office: Search Our Collectionsfree
The Land Grant Database and surname index: search original Texas land grants by name and county.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Texas, Bexar" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: A Spanish colonial municipality, made one of the Republic of Texas's original counties in 1836
Later formed partly from Bexar County: Atascosa County, Bandera County, Comal County, Gillespie County, Guadalupe County, Karnes County, Kerr County, Kinney County, Medina County, Robertson County, Uvalde County, Webb County, Wilson County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1824, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Texas land was granted by the state, not the federal government, so an ancestor who received land directly from the government will usually have a file at the General Land Office as well as deeds in the county.