Trinity County, Texas Genealogy

United States

Texas

Trinity County

Guide to Trinity 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: Groveton Organized: 01 April 1850 Parent County(s): Houston Neighboring Counties Angelina • Houston • Polk • San Jacinto • Walker See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

The county was named for the Trinity River. The county is located in the east-central area of the state. The first Anglo-American settler arrived in 1844.

County Courthouse

Trinity County Courthouse
162 W First St
Groveton, TX 75845
Phone: 936-642-1746
Trinity County Courthouse

The Courthouse burned 1876. Some deeds refiled.
County Clerk has birth records from 1911, death records from 1919, marriage and land records from 1876, divorce records from 1920, probate and court records.
County Judge has school records.

Trinity 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
1911	1876	1911	1887	1876	1876	1829
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1903. General compliance by the 1930s.

Record Loss

1872, 1876--Courthouses and most county records were destroyed by fire in December 1872 and February 1876. 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 Houston County, on 11 February 1850. County Seat: Groveton 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 Groveton Pennington Trinity

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
Groveton (county seat)	Trinity
Unincorporated communities
Apple Springs Barnes Switch Bennett Brush Prairie Carlisle Cedar Creek Centerville Centralia Chita Crete Friday Glendale	Helmic Iris Josserand Lacy Magee Bend Moccasin Gap Nigton Nogalus Prairie North Cedar Pagoda Pennington‡ Red Branch	Scrub Creek Sebastopol South Groveton Sulphur Sulphur Springs Thompson Thornton Trevat Vair Westville White Rock Woodlake
Census-designated places
Westwood
Ghost towns
Antioch Bohemian Boonetown	Friendship Groveton Front McGinty	Nathan Saron Sumpter

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

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Trinity 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 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

• 1850-1930 USGenWeb Census Project Texas 1850 - 1930

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	4,392		—
1870	4,141		−5.7%
1880	4,915		18.7%
1890	7,648		55.6%
1900	10,976		43.5%
1910	12,768		16.3%
1920	13,623		6.7%
1930	13,637		0.1%
1940	13,705		0.5%
1950	10,040		−26.7%
1960	7,539		−24.9%
1970	7,628		1.2%
1980	9,450		23.9%
1990	11,445		21.1%
2000	13,779		20.4%
2010	14,585		5.8%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

• 1860 Trinity County Census Images at TXGenWeb Archives Project

• 1900 Federal Census Trinity County at TXGenWeb Archives Project

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
  

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 American

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

Funeral Homes

Emanuel Funeral Homes in Trinity Waller-Thornton Funeral Home in Trinity

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 Trinity County and may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information.

• See Texas Local Histories for more information.
• Trinity County Beginnings, 1986, edited by Patricia B. and Joseph W. Hensley for theTrinity County Book Committee.
• A History of Trinity, 1984, by the Trinity Historical Society.
• 1827-1928 A History Of Trinity County Texas, 1827 to 1928, 1966, by Flora Gatlin Bowles. Read the book online from The Portal to Texas History.
• Trinity County History from the Handbook of Texas Online.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Trinity County Maps at TXGenWeb
• Texas Counties Map. Click on the county to go to the Texas Genweb site
• 1914 Map of Angelina, Gregg, Harrison, Cherokee, Houston, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith & Trinity at www.rootsweb.com
  
• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

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

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
• 1899-1975 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

• East Texas News
• 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

• Trinity County Obituaries at TXGenWeb
• USGenWeb Archives Obituary Project at Texas
• Obituary Daily Times at 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 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• Trinity County Probate Record Books at TXGenWeb Archives Project
• Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records at Ancestry ($)
• 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 ($)
• 1837-1965 Texas Marriages, 1837-1965 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
• 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

• Cleveland Texas FamilySearch Center
• Conroe Texas FamilySearch Center
• Lufkin Texas FamilySearch Center
• Huntsville Texas Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

Blanche K Werner Public Library
203 Prospect Dr
Trinity, TX 75862
Phone: 936-594-2087
Website

Websites

• Trinity TX GenWeb part of TXGenWeb
• Trinity 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.

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.