Shelby County, Texas Records

Shelby County, Texas (Map It) was created on March 17, 1836 as one of the original 23 counties. It was originally named Tenehaw County, it was created on November 11, 1835 from Nacogdoches County and San Augustine County, established as a municipality by Mexico. It was renamed to Shelby on January 18, 1836. This county was named for Isaac Shelby, a Revolutionary War soldier from Tennessee and governor of Kentucky (1792–1796) (1812–1816) .

Shelby County is bordered by Panola County (north), De Soto Parish, Louisiana (northeast), Sabine Parish, Louisiana (east), Sabine County (south), San Augustine County (south), Nacogdoches County (southwest), Rusk County (northwest).

Shelby County Cities and Towns include Center, Huxley, Joaquin, Tenaha, Timpson..

A Map of Shelby County, Texas contains detailed information about roads and boundaries, these maps may include rural communities, churches, and cemeteries.

Shelby County, Texas Courthouse Records

The Shelby County Courthouse is located in Center, Texas. Learn More About State of Texas Court, Tax, Land and Probate Records.

The Clerk's Office DOES NOT DO RESEARCH. Most staff will assist people in finding the materials, but it is up to the individual to do the research.

The following dates indicate what vital, land, probate, and court records are in Shelby county. The date listed for each record is usually the earliest registration filed. The date does not indicate that there are alot records for that year and does not mean that all such events were actually filed with the clerk.

Courthouse burned May 31, 1882 destroying all records. Tax lists were forwarded to Austin so still exist. Deed records were "reconstructed" by the county commissioners.

• Shelby County Clerk has Birth & Death Records from 1903, Marriage Records from 1882, Land Records from 1838, Probate Records from 1881 and Court Records from 1882. The County Clerk's office is the place where all transactions having to do with land are recorded and kept on file. They take marriage license applications, issues marriage licenses, files the license after the marriage, and maintains a permanent record of the marriage, surveys and plats of subdivisions, Armed Forces discharge papers for all veterans who reside in the county. Some naturalization records have been found with the deeds.
• Shelby County Tax Assessor-Collector Office is responsible for the the assessment of taxes on each property in the county and collection of that tax

Shelby County, Texas Census Records

• Learn More: State of Texas Census Records
• U.S. Federal Population Schedules: 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880 (free index), 1890 (fragmented), 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940
• Texas Census Substitute Records: 1820-1890
• State Population Schedules: Republic of Texas Poll Lists for 1846 
• U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedules: 1850 and 1860
• U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules: 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880
• Selected U.S. Federal Census Agriculture Schedules: 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880
• Selected U.S. Federal Census Industry Schedules: 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880
• Union Veterans Schedules: 1890

Shelby County, Texas Vital Records

• Learn More: State of Texas Vital Records
• Birth and Death Records: from 1903 to present.
• Marriage Records: available from the County Clerk
• Divorce Records: available from the Clerk of District Court
• Locations: Texas Department of State Health Services
• Vital Records Online: USAVital or Social Security Death Index
• Vital Records by Mail: Birth and Death Certificate Applications.
• In Person:  Texas Department of State Health Services, 1100 W. 49th Street, Austin, TX 78756; (888) 963-7111 or (512) 458-7111

Shelby County, Texas Resources

• Shelby County Historical Society, Museum and Genealogy Research Library
• Timpson Area Genealogical & Heritage Society
• Shelby Co. Records Available on Microfilm
• Shelby County, Texas Message Boards

Shelby County, Texas External Links

• Texas Historical Newspapers - Newspapers.com
• Historical Newspapers from Texas (1813 - 1993)
• Shelby County, Texas Books - Amazon
• Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1846-1910
• Shelby Co., Texas - FindaGrave
• Texas, Gonzalez de la Garza Genealogy Collection
• Shelby Co., Texas Almanac
• Texas county histories : a bibliography
• Shelby County History
• Shelby County, Texas Links - Cyndi's List
• Shelby Co. TXGenweb
• Shelby County, Texas Ancestry Database Collections
• Texas, Naturalization Records, 1906-1989
• Texas General Land Office Map Collection
• Shelby County, Texas Military Records