Records that survive
These are the record series from Willacy 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 · County Clerk1921–1933
- Marriage Record · County Clerk1921–1950
- Death Certificates · County Clerk1929–1977
- Birth Certificates · County Clerk1933–1940
Deeds and land
- Survey Record · County Surveyor1923–1946
Wills and estates
- Probate Minutes · County Clerk1921–1935
- Scholastic Census (Willimar Isd) · Superintendent of Schools1932–1946
Military and pensions
- Discharge Record · County Clerk1944–1947
Schools
- Scholastic Census (Raymondville Isd) · Superintendent of Schools1931
- Scholastic Census (Santa Margarita Isd) · Superintendent of Schools1931–1946
- Scholastic Census (Sebastian Csd) · Superintendent of Schools1932–1946
- Scholastic Census (Lyford Isd) · Superintendent of Schools1939–1946
- Scholastic Census (San Perlita Csd) · Superintendent of Schools1939
- Scholastic Census · Superintendent of Schools1939–1946
- Scholastic Census (Lasara Isd) · Superintendent of Schools1940–1946
- Scholastic Census (El Sauz Isd) · Superintendent of Schools1941–1946
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
- Willacy 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: Willacy 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, Willacy" 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: Cameron County, Hidalgo County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Cameron County, Hidalgo County
Later formed partly from Willacy County: Kenedy County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1911, 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.