Records that survive
These are the record series from Dallas 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
- (Death Record) Inquest Record · Justice of the Peace, Precinct #1, Place #11889–1968
- (Death Record) Inquest Record · Justice of the Peace, Precinct #1, Place #21901–1969
- (Death Record) Inquest Record · Justice of the Peace, Precinct #71910–1953
- (Death Record) Inquest Record · Justice of the Peace, Precinct #2, Place #11959–1969
- (Death Record) Inquest Record · Justice of the Peace, Precinct #61959–1969
Naturalization
- Naturalization Case Papers · District Clerk1872–1912
- (Naturalization) Declarations of Intention · District Clerk1889–1903
Tax records
- Tax Roll · Tax Assessor-Collector1846–1910
- Calvary Hill Cemetery Burial Index File · Tax Assessor-Collector1926–1985
- Interment Record · Tax Assessor-Collector1926–1945
Court records
- District Court Civil Case Papers · District Clerk1846–1938
- District Court Civil Minutes, District Court #14 · District Clerk1846–1939
- District Court Civil Minutes, District Court #44 · District Clerk1889–1940
- District Court Civil Minutes, District Court #68 · District Clerk1909–1939
- District Court Civil Minutes, District Court #95 · District Clerk1923–1939
- District Court Civil Minutes, District Court #101 · District Clerk1925–1939
- District Court Civil Minutes, District Court #116 · District Clerk1930–1939
Other records
- Law, Petitions to Practice · District Clerk1872–1912
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 Dallas 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: Dallas 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, Dallas" 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: Nacogdoches County, Robertson County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Nacogdoches County, Robertson County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1846, 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.