Records that survive
These are the record series from Van Zandt 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 Clerk1848–1941
- Marriage Record (Freedmen) · County Clerk1865–1867
- Divorce Minutes · District Clerk1899–1935
- Death Record · County Clerk1903–1967
- Death Certificates · County Clerk1928–1936
Deeds and land
- Deed Record · County Clerk1848–1901
- Deed of Trust Record · County Clerk1861–1879
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Papers · County Clerk1848–1895
- Probate Record · County Clerk1850–1892
- (Probate) Accounts of Sale · County Clerk1877–1884
- (Probate) Annual Reports · County Clerk1877–1885
- (Probate) Bonds and Oaths · County Clerk1877–1884
- (Probate) Will Record · County Clerk1878–1897
Naturalization
- Naturalization Record · District Clerk1907–1912
- (Naturalization) Declarations of Intention · District Clerk1910–1920
Tax records
- Tax Rolls · Tax Assessor-Collector1848–1910
- Assessment Record · County Clerk1867
Court records
- District Court Minutes · District Clerk1848–1932
- District Court Civil Case Papers · District Clerk1860–1930
Schools
- Scholastic Census (Ben Wheeler Isd) · Superintendent of Schools1921–1936
- Scholastic Census (Black Students) · Superintendent of Schools1923–1946
Other records
- Fee Book · County Clerk1848–1854
- Official Bonds and Oaths · County Clerk1880–1886
- Prisoner Register · County Clerk1890–1917
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 Van Zandt 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: Van Zandt 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, Van Zandt" 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: Land not yet in any county
Later formed partly from Van Zandt County: Rains County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1848, 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.