Bee County, Texas Genealogy

United States

Texas

Bee County

Guide to Bee County, Texas ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Texas Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Beeville Organized: 25 January 1858 Parent County(s): Goliad, Karnes, Live Oak, Refugio, San Patricio Neighboring Counties Goliad • Karnes • Live Oak • Refugio • San Patricio See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

The county was named for Barnard E. Bee, Sr., a secretary of state of the Republic of Texas. The county is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse

Bee County Courthouse
105 W Corpus Christi St
Beeville, TX 78102-5684
Phone: 361-621-1557
Bee County Website

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage, probate and land records from 1858 and court from 1876.
District has divorce records.

Bee County, Texas Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1903	1858	1903	1876	1858	1858	1829
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1903. General compliance by the 1930s.

Record Loss

1888 The second Bee County Courthouse (old courthouse), used at the time as a Masonic Lodge, burned in May 1888, nine years after it had served its usefulness as a courthouse. No record loss, as the records were safely stored in the new Courthouse that had opened in 1879. 1911 The third Bee County Courthouse, built in 1879, burned on January 15, 1911. Most of the county records were saved from the fire. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see: Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill at 24-7 Family History Circle. When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog. Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. List of counties in the United States with Record Loss

Boundary Changes

Parent County(s): Created from Goliad, Karnes, Live Oak, Refugio, and San Patricio counties on 8 December 1857. County Seat: Beeville Texas Individual County Chronologies - Newberry Library list of all boundary changes by county Texas Historical Borders - Map at Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; Also at: mapofus.org - animated maps illustrating Texas county boundary changes

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cities
Beeville (county seat)
Unincorporated communities
Mineral
Census-designated places
Blue Berry Hill Normanna Pawnee	Pettus Skidmore Tuleta	Tulsita Tynan

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Bee County, Texas online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find a Grave TX Gravestones TX Tombstone Transcription Project BillionGraves Cemeteries of TX USGenWeb Archives Bee TX GenWeb
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	FamilySearch Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Find a Grave FamilySearch Places
See Texas Cemeteries for more information.

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	910		—
1870	1,082		18.9%
1880	2,298		112.4%
1890	3,720		61.9%
1900	7,720		107.5%
1910	12,090		56.6%
1920	12,137		0.4%
1930	15,721		29.5%
1940	16,481		4.8%
1950	18,174		10.3%
1960	23,755		30.7%
1970	22,737		−4.3%
1980	26,030		14.5%
1990	25,135		−3.4%
2000	32,359		28.7%
2010	31,861		−1.5%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

• 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project

Texas

Church Records

• See Texas Church Records for more information.

• Christian Church Directory for Texas at ChurchFinder
• Catholic Parishes in Texas

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
  

Court Records

Online Court Indexes and Records

• County Records of Bee County Census, Land, Miscellaneous Records at Bee County, TXGenWeb

Directories

• 1970-2024 United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index, coverage may vary

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

African Americans

• 1865-1870 Texas, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1870 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images only
• Texas African American Griots at USGenWeb

Funeral Homes

Angelus Funeral Home in Beeville Galloway & Sons Funeral Home in Beeville Oak Park Memorial Funeral Chapel in Beeville Trevino Funeral Home in Beeville

Land and Property Records

• See Texas Land and Property for more information.

• Land Deeds of Bee County Partial List of Land Deeds at Bee County, TXGenWeb
• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Bee County and may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information.

• See Texas Local Histories for more information.

• Family Histories of Bee County, Texasat Bee County, TXGenWeb
• Historic Places of Bee County, Texas at Bee County, TXGenWeb
• History of Bee County, Texas at Bee County, TXGenWeb
• Bee County Courthouse History - historictexas.net

• Bee County Centennial, 1858–1958, by Grace Bauer.
• Historical Story of Bee County, Texas, 1973, by Camp Ezell. Read text version of this book online at beeville.net.
  
• A History of Bee County, 1939, by Mrs. I. C. Madray.
• History of Bee County, Texas, 1960, by Joseph Gustav Rountree.
• Family Histories of Bee County, Texasat Bee County, TXGenWeb
• Historic Places of Bee County, Texas at Bee County, TXGenWeb
• History of Bee County, Texas at Bee County, TXGenWeb
• Bee County History & Photographs - HistoricTexas.net
• Texas Indexes (about 20 counties) at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site
• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

• Veterans of Bee County, Texas at Bee County, TXGenWeb

Mexican-American War

• 1845-1848 US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War 1845-1848 at Ancestry — index ($)

Civil War

• 1861-1865 Texas, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images at partner site
• 1861-1865 Texas, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images at partner site
• 1838-1900 Texas Muster Roll Index Cards 1838-1900 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• Confederate Pension Applications at Texas State Library and Archives Commission

World War I

• 1917-1920 Texas, World War I Records, 1917-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship

• 1906-1989 Texas Naturalization Records, 1906-1989 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Newspapers

• 1800s-Current Texas, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Off-line Newspaper Information

• Texas Digital Newspaper Program at The Portal to Texas History

Obituaries

• Obituaries of Bee County, Texas Partial Listingat Bee County, TXGenWeb
• USGenWeb Archives Obituary Project at Texas

• Obituary Daily Times at Ancestry ($) Citations to over 15,000,000 obituaries including interactive search function

Probate Records

Probate records of Texas counties were kept by the probate clerk, usually in "probate minutes."

• See Texas Probate Records for more information.

• 1800-1990 Texas Probate Records, 1800-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images only
• 1800-2000 Texas Wills and Probate Records 1800-2000 Ancestry — index & images ($)
• Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records Ancestry ($)
• Full-Text Search - Wills and Probate Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry — index, click here for more information. ($)
• 1936-2007 United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records

• See Texas Taxation for more information.

• 1846-1910 Texas, County Tax Rolls 1846-1910 at Findmypast — index & images ($)

Vital Records

Vital Records of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths were recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. Copies can be obtained from the County Clerk's office, or order certified copies online or by mail at the Texas Vital Records State Department of Health. See Texas Vital Records for more information.

• Vital Records of Bee County, Texas Partial Listing of Birth, Death, Marriage, Divorce Recordsat Bee County, TXGenWeb

Birth

• 1840-1981 Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
• 1903-1935 Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
• 1903-1997 Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index; Key to Texas County Codes; Also at: Ancestry ($)
• 1926-1995 Texas Births, 1926-1995 at MyHeritage — index ($)

Marriage

• 1802-2010 Texas, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
• 1814-1909 and 1966 - 2011 Texas Marriage Collection 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1837-1965 Texas Marriages, 1837-1965 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
• 1837-1965 Texas, County Marriage Records, 1837-1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
• 1837-1973 Texas Marriages, 1837-1973 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
• 1837-1977 Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
• 1837-1977 Texas Select County Marriage Index 1837-1977 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1966-2010 Texas Marriages, 1966-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
• 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage — index ($)

Death

• 1890-1976 Texas Deaths, 1890-1976 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
• 1903-1973 Texas Deaths and Burials, 1903-1973 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
• 1903-1982 Texas Death Certificates 1903-1982 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1903-2000 Texas Death Index, 1903-2000 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
• 1964-1998 Texas Death Index, 1964-1998 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
• 1977-1986 Texas Deaths, 1977-1986 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Divorce

• 1966-2016 Texas Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage — index ($)
• 1968-2010 Texas Divorce Index, 1968-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
• 1968-2011 Texas Divorces 1968-2011 at Ancestry — index ($)

Research Facilities

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Beeville Texas FamilySearch Center
• Yorktown Kenedy Texas FamilySearch Center
• Joe Barnhart Bee county Library - an affiliate library
• New Braunfels Public LIbrary - West Side Community - an affiliate library

Libraries

• Barnhart Bee County Library
  110 W Corpus Christi St
  Beeville, TX 78102
  Phone: 361-362-4901
  Website
  
  

Societies

• South Texas Genealogical Society, Inc.
  PO Box 754
  Beeville, TX 78104-0754
  
  

Websites

• Bee County, TXGenWeb part of TX GenWeb
• Bee County USGenWeb Archives
• Cyndi's List Bee County
• FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

This table contains the dates the local or state government began recording in the county or county equivalent. Use substitute records for earlier dates. If you believe there is an error, email us at wikisupport@familysearch.org.

County boundary maps are currently unavailable. Download information instead.

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Users should verify which locations and dates are included in this collection.

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“Current” indicates records are available as recently as privacy laws allow. This date can change from year to year. To determine the exact dates available, contact the respective organization/repository.

FamilySearch affiliate libraries may have access to center-only databases, but do not always have all services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.