Hardin County, Texas Genealogy

United States

Texas

Hardin County

Guide to Hardin 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: Kountze Organized: August 2, 1858 Parent County(s): Jefferson, Liberty, Tyler Neighboring Counties Jasper • Jefferson • Liberty • Orange • Polk • Tyler See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

The county was named for the family of William Hardin from Liberty County, Texas. The county is located in the east-central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Hardin County Courthouse
300 W Monroe St
Kountze, TX 77625
Phone: 409-246-5200
Hardin County Website

County Clerk has birth records from 1892, marriage, death and land records from 1859 and probate records from 1888.
District Clerk has divorce records

Hardin 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
1892	1859	1859	1879	1859	1888	1829
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1903. General compliance by the 1930s.

Record Loss

1886 The County Courthouse at Hardin, Texas caught fire on August 8, 1886. Some records were destroyed including the assessment rolls of the county, surveyor's records, and the county judge's records, including the probate records. The only records that may have been saved were those that were stored in an iron safe. After the fire, the county seat was moved from Hardin to Kountze. 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 Jefferson, Liberty and Tyler Counties, on 22 January 1858. County Seat: Kountze 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

Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog

• Kountze
• Loeb
• Silsbee
• Sour Lake

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
Kountze (county seat) Lumberton	Rose Hill Acres Silsbee	Sour Lake
Unincorporated communities
Batson Honey Island	Saratoga Thicket	Village Mills Votaw
Census-designated places
Pinewood Estates	Wildwood‡
Ghost towns
Bragg

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

History Timeline

• 1858-1887 County Seat was Hardin
• 1887-present County Seat is Kountze

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Hardin County, Texas online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find a Grave BillionGraves TX Gravestones Photo Project Tombstone Transcription Project Cemeteries of TX USGenWeb Archives TXGenWeb Names in Stone
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	1,353	—
1870	1,460	7.9%
1880	1,870	28.1%
1890	3,956	111.6%
1900	5,049	27.6%
1910	12,947	156.4%
1920	15,983	23.4%
1930	13,936	−12.8%
1940	15,875	13.9%
1950	19,535	23.1%
1960	24,629	26.1%
1970	29,996	21.8%
1980	40,721	35.8%
1990	41,320	1.5%
2000	48,073	16.3%
2010	54,635	13.7%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records

• See Texas Church Records for more information.

List of Churches and Church Parishes

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

Directories

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

Funeral Homes

Faith & Family Funeral Services in Batson Farmer Funeral Home in Silsbee Lumberton Family Funeral Home, LLC. in Lumberton

Land and Property Records

• See Texas Land and Property for more information.

• 1849-1920 Texas, Hardin County, Deed Records, 1840-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Local Histories

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

• See Texas Local Histories for more information.

1832 The first Anglo-American settlement was in 1832.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Texas Land Survey Maps for Hardin County (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($) Free surname search.
• 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

• 1838-1900 Texas Muster Roll Index Cards at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Mexican-American War

• 1845-1848 US American Volunteer Soldiers Mexican War 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
• 1861-1865 Hardin County, Civil War Pensions, 1899-1940 - Confederate

World War I

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

Newspapers

• Texas Digital Newspaper Program at The Portal to Texas History
• 1800s-Current Texas, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)

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 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 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.

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 ($)
• 1926-1995 Texas Births, 1926-1995 at MyHeritage — index ($)
• 1882-1939 Texas, Hardin County, Registers of Births, 1882-1939 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Marriage

• 1802-2010 Texas, United States Marriages at Findmypast ($) — index ($)
• 1814-2011 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 ($)
• 1908-1948 Texas, Hardin County Clerk, Death Records, 1908-1948 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
• 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

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

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

• Beaumont Texas FamilySearch Center
• Buna Texas FamilySearch Center
• Silsbee Texas FamilySearch Center
• Hardin County Genealogy Society of Texas - an affiliate library
• Marion & Ed Hughes Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

Hardin County Genealogy Library
220 W Main St
Kountze, TX
Phone: 409-767-0423
Website

Websites

• Hardin TX GenWeb part of TXGenWeb
• Hardin USGWArchives part of USGWArchives Texas Counties
• Frontier Times Magazine
• Historic Texas
• 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.