Records that survive
These are the record series from Galveston 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 Clerk1838–1907
Deeds and land
- Deed Record · County Clerk1838–1886
Wills and estates
- (Probate) Will Record · County Clerk1838–1879
- Probate Minutes · County Clerk1838–1906
- (Probate) Administration Bonds · County Clerk1848–1879
- (Probate) Inventory Record · County Clerk1848–1874
- (Probate) Returns of Sale · County Clerk1848–1879
Naturalization
- (Naturalization) Declarations of Intention · District Clerk1860–1906
- (Naturalization) Declarations of Intention · County Clerk1876–1906
Court records
- District Court Civil Minutes · District Clerk1839–1909
- District Court General Docket · District Clerk1840–1913
- County Court Civil Minutes · County Clerk1867–1908
Other records
- Voter Registration List · County Clerk1853–1873
- Census · County Clerk1880
- Voter Registration List (Galveston City) · County Clerk1894
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
- Galveston County official website
Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the county clerk, the district clerk and the Texas General Land Office, and any online record search the county offers.
- 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: Galveston 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, Galveston" 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: Brazoria County, Harrisburg County (now HARRIS), Liberty County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Brazoria County, Liberty County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1838, 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.