Hopkins County, Texas Genealogy

United States

Texas

Hopkins County

Guide to Hopkins 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: Sulphur Springs Organized: 13 July, 1846 Parent County(s): Lamar, Nacogdoches Neighboring Counties Delta • Franklin • Hunt • Rains • Red River • Wood See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

The county was named for the family of David Hopkins, an early settler in the area. The county is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse

Hopkins County Courthouse
118 Church St
Sulphur Springs, TX 75482
Phone: 903-438-4006
Hopkins County Website

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1903, marriage, probate, court and land records from 1846.
District Clerk has divorce records.

Hopkins 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	1846	1903	1846	1846	1846	1829
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1903. General compliance by the 1930s.

Record Loss

1894--Hopkins County Courthouse destroyed by fire on February 10, 1894. Nearly all of the records were saved. Those destroyed were in the office of Judge Morris. The fire additionally destroyed the jail, part of the Courthouse square and the offices of the Hopkins County Echo newspaper. 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 Lamar and Nacogdoches Counties, on 25 March 1846. County Seat: Sulphur Springs 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 Brashear Miller Grove Sulphur Bluff Sulphur Springs

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
Cumby	Sulphur Springs (county seat)
Towns
Como	Tira
Unincorporated communities
Addran Birthright Brashear	Dike Gafford Pickton	Saltillo Sulphur Bluff
Ghost towns
Dillon	Who'd Thought It

History Timeline

• 1846-1870: Tarrant;
  
• 1870-present: Sulphur Springssent
• 1870 - Southwestern Corner of Hopkins County was given to Rains County; land north of the South Sulphur River was given to Delta County.
  1871 - Small part of the northeastern corner of Hopkins County was given to Lamar County.
  
  

Resources

Biographies

• Hopkins County Biographies at USGenWeb Archives Project

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Hopkins County, Texas online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find a Grave BillionGraves Tombstone Transcription Project TX Gravestones Photo Project Cemeteries of TX USGenWeb Archives TXGenWeb Interment.net 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.	%±
1850	2,623	—
1860	7,745	195.3%
1870	12,651	63.3%
1880	15,461	22.2%
1890	20,572	33.1%
1900	27,950	35.9%
1910	31,038	11.0%
1920	34,791	12.1%
1930	29,410	−15.5%
1940	30,264	2.9%
1950	23,490	−22.4%
1960	18,594	−20.8%
1970	20,710	11.4%
1980	25,247	21.9%
1990	28,833	14.2%
2000	31,960	10.8%
2010	35,161	10.0%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

• 1850 Census Index at USGenWeb Archives Project
• 1860 Hopkins County Census at TXGenWeb
• 1870 Mortality Schedule at TXGenWeb
• 1900 Enumeration Districts at TXGenWeb

• 1930 Enumeration Districts at TXGenWeb

Church Records

• See Texas Church Records for more information.

• Hopkins County Church Records and News at TXGenWeb
• 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
  

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
• African American Griots at USGenWeb

• Texas African American Genealogy at Access Genealogy

Funeral Homes

Green Leaf Mortuary, LLC in Murray-Orwosky Funeral Home in West Oaks Funeral Home in Sulfur Springs

Land and Property Records

• See Texas Land and Property for more information.

Online Land Indexes and Records

• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Local Histories

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

• See Texas Local Histories for more information.

• Hopkins County and Our Heritage by Florene Chapman Adams
• Hopkins County Histories at USGenWeb Archives Project
• Texas Indexes (about 20 counties) at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Texas Land Survey Maps for Hopkins County (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo ($). Free surname search.
• 1845 Hopkins County Map at TXGenWeb
• 1851 Hopkins County Map at TXGenWeb
• 1885 Hopkins County Land Map at TXGenWeb
• Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the TXGenWeb site.
• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

Texas Revolution

• 1835 - 1845 Index to the Military Rolls of the Republic of Texas 1835-1845 at Texas State Historical Association
• 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
• 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

Newspapers

• w3newspapers-Texas Newspaper Index with links
• Newslink-Texas Newspaper List (sorted by publication frequency)
• The Olden Times - Historic Texas News Online
• 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 ($)

Obituaries

• Hopkins County Obituaries - USGenWeb Archives Project
• Hopkins County Obituaries - TXGenWeb
• USGenWeb Archives Obituary Project - Texas
• Obituary Daily Times - Citations to over 15,000,000 obituaries including interactive search function at Ancestry ($)

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 ($)
• Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records at Ancestry ($)
• 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.

Birth

• 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 ($)
• "Marriage records prior to 1836, if extant, may be in custody of the Roman Catholic church" according to Ancestry Texas Marriages 1824-2019 
• 1814-2011 Texas Marriage Collection 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 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 ($)
• 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

• 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project Texas; 1850-1930
• 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

• Heath Texas FamilySearch Center
• Franklin County Genealogical Society - an affiliate library
• Hopkins County Genealogical Society Research Library - an affiliate library
• Mt Pleasant Texas Public Library - an affiliate library
• W Walworth Harrison Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

• Sulphur Springs Public Library
  611 Davis St N
  Sulphur Springs, TX 75482
  Phone: 903-885-4926
  Website

Societies

• Hopkins County Genealogical Society
  611 North Davis
  PO Box 624
  Sulphur Springs, TX 75482
  Phone: 903-885-8523
  Email: hcgstx@suddenlinkmail.com
  Website
  
  
• Hopkins County Historical Society
  416 N. Jackson
  PO Box 1066
  Sulphur Springs, TX 75483
  Phone: 903-885-2387
  
  

Websites

• Hopkins TX GenWeb part of TXGenWeb
• Hopkins USGWArchives part of USGWArchives Texas Counties
• Hopkins County Genealogy and Family History Links - Linkpendium.com
• Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce
• 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.