Yoakum County, Texas Genealogy

United States

Texas

Yoakum County

Guide to Yoakum 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: Plains Organized: 1907 Parent County(s): Young Neighboring Counties Cochran • Gaines • Hockley • Lea (NM) • Terry See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

The county was named for Henderson King Yoakum, a Texas historian. The county is located in the northwest area of the state.

County Courthouse

Yoakum County Courthouse
Cowboy Way & Avenue G
Plains, TX 79355
Phone: 806-456-2721
Yoakum County Website

County Clerk has birth records from 1878, marriage and death records from 1908, probate records from 1907, court records from 1930 and land records from 1898.
District Clerk has divorce records.

Yoakum 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
1878	1908	1908	1930	1898	1907	1829
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1903. General compliance by the 1930s.

Record Loss

1926-- All county records were stored in a vault and were saved but the Yoakum County Courthouse was destroyed by fire in December 1926. 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 Young county, on 21 August 1876. County Seat: Plains 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 Plains

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:

Towns
Denver City‡ (county seat)	Plains
Unincorporated communities
Allred

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

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Yoakum 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 US GenWeb Census Project Texas1850 - 1930

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1890	4		—
1900	26		550.0%
1910	602		2,215.4%
1920	504		−16.3%
1930	1,263		150.6%
1940	5,354		323.9%
1950	4,339		−19.0%
1960	8,032		85.1%
1970	7,344		−8.6%
1980	8,299		13.0%
1990	8,786		5.9%
2000	7,322		−16.7%
2010	7,879		7.6%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records

• See Texas Church Records for more information.

• Catholic Parishes in Texas
• 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

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

• See Texas Local Histories for more information.

• Yoakum County Memories
• Yoakum County Historical Markers

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• 1902 Yoakum County from Historic Map Works
• 1940 Yoakum County General Highway Map
• 1961 Yoakum County General Highway Map
• 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
• 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

World War II

• Yoakum County WWII Casualties

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

• 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 ($)
• 1814-2011 Texas Marriage Collection 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 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

• 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

• Hobbs New Mexico FamilySearch Center
• Seminole Texas FamilySearch Center

Libraries

• Yoakum County/Cecil Bickley Library
  205 W 4th St
  Denver City, TX 79323
  Phone: 806-592-2754
  Website
  
  
• Yoakum County Library
  910 Ave E
  Plains, TX 79355
  Phone: 806-456-8725
  Website
  
  

Societies

• Yoakum County Historical Commission
  Box 960
  Plains, TX 79355
  Website

Websites

• Yoakum TX GenWeb part of TXGenWeb
• Yoakum 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.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

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

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.

“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.