Records that survive
These are the record series from Gonzales 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 Clerk1829–1955
- Death Record · County Clerk1907–1971
- Death Record (City) · County Clerk1917–1964
- Divorce Record · District Clerk1927–1958
- (Marriage) Notice of Intention to Marry · County Clerk1929–1930
- Birth Record (Amendments) · County Clerk1961–1994
Deeds and land
- (Deed) Board of Land Commissioners · County Clerk1836–1855
- Deed Record · County Clerk1837–1993
- Land District Record · County Surveyor1838–1855
- Field Notes · County Surveyor1892–1923
- Private Survey Records · County Surveyor1924–1947
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Papers · County Clerk1832–1890
- Probate Minutes · County Clerk1838–1935
Naturalization
- Naturalization Record · District Clerk1887–1929
- (Naturalization) Declarations of Intention · District Clerk1906–1929
Tax records
- Tax Rolls · Tax Assessor-Collector1837–1910
- City of Gonzales City Council Minutes · Tax Assessor-Collector1847–1941
Court records
- Ayuntamiento Minutes · District Clerk1834–1835
- District Court Civil Final Record · District Clerk1838–1861
- District Court Civil Minutes · District Clerk1838–1934
- District Court Civil Case Papers · District Clerk1841–1931
- Commissioners’ Court Minutes · County Clerk1857–1871
- District Court Criminal Docket · District Clerk1866–1930
- County Court Civil Docket · County Clerk1867–1869
- District Court Civil Execution Docket · District Clerk1897–1928
Other records
- Spanish-Mexican Records (Pre-Republic Archives) · District Clerk1834–1835
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
- Gonzales 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: Gonzales 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, Gonzales" 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 Mexican municipality, made one of the Republic of Texas's original counties in 1836
Later formed partly from Gonzales County: Caldwell County, Comal County, DeWitt County, Guadalupe County, Lavaca County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1832, 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.