Records that survive
These are the record series from Harris 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.
Deeds and land
- Deed Record · County Clerk1837–1886
- Land Commissioners Minutes · County Clerk1838–1855
- Survey Record, Transcribed · County Surveyor1838–1945
- Application for Survey · County Surveyor1855–1945
- Land Commissioners Record · County Surveyor1860–1861
- Field Notes · County Surveyor1894–1946
- Maps and Plat Record · County Surveyor1897–1948
- Application for Oil and Gas Prospects · County Surveyor1915–1936
Wills and estates
- (Probate) Execution Docket · County Clerk1836–1856
- Probate Minutes · County Clerk1837–1886
- Probate Record · County Clerk1837–1882
- Probate Case Papers · County Clerk1906–1935
Naturalization
- Naturalization Record · County Clerk1886–1906
- (Naturalization) Declarations of Intention · County Clerk1891–1906
- District Court Minutes (55th District) (Naturalization Proceedings Only) · District Clerk1897–1903
Tax records
- Tax Rolls · Tax Assessor-Collector1837–1910
Court records
- County Court Civil Minutes · County Clerk1837–1840
- District Court Minutes (11th District) · District Clerk1837–1908
- District Court Criminal Minutes · District Clerk1872–1910
- District Court Criminal Minutes (Guilty Judgments) · District Clerk1886–1900
- District Court Criminal Minutes (Misdemeanor and Not Guilty Judgments) · District Clerk1894–1912
- District Court Minutes (61st District) · District Clerk1903–1907
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
- Harris 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: Harris 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, Harris" 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: Austin County, Liberty County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Austin County, Liberty County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1836, 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.