Howard County Texas Genealogy
| Howard County was established
by families from the East Coast, the South and foreign countries in the
1800's. Most making they're way to Howard County after the Civil
War. Howard County was formed from Bexar County in 1876.
While there were more people than
listed, in the first Federal Census forty-six names were officially
documented in Howard County in 1880. Of those forty-six names, twenty-four
were Texas Rangers. The other documented individuals were mostly herdsmen
and family members. Howard County has a short but proud history.
The year 1880 was only a short
one hundred twenty years ago. With the average life span of an individual
being seventy-five years, this is a short period of time in relation to
human history and the establishment of the United States. |
|
The English, in the 1620s, settled
Jamestown, Virginia and then a short time later Williamsburg, Virginia.
The settlers (Patriots) then fought their own government (England) for
our independence in the Revoluntary War (1776 to 1781) and then again in
The War of 1812. In mid 1800 the North and South fought the Civil
War. Texas, believe it or not, could have become part of Germany
in the 1800s.
Today... For many families it
has become too late to easily document their heritage. Within the past
25 years many of the family members with prior knowledge of where their
families migrated from have died. For many the best chance to document
their heritage is now. Soon it may be too late.
About 85% of the families in America
can trace there roots back to Virginia or Kentucky. |
So... Are your thinking of finding your Roots?
Now Is The Time To Start!
Tips To Start Your Search:
1. Check old Family Bibles and talk to all the
elders in your family. While many may not be of the generation to have
personal knowledge of those who came west, they will know some of the family
lore. A word of caution: Often family lore is incorrect. There is usually
a thread of truth in it, but family lore can sometimes have you looking
in the wrong places.
2. Visit the County Courthouses and look for family
member's Birth certificates, Death certificates, Marriage certificates,
Deeds for land grants or purchases, and Wills. Often these documents will
tell you where someone was born. Who a uncle, aunt, brother or sister
may have been, which can lead to another family who may have knowledge
of your heritage.
3. The Libraries in Midland and Abilene Texas both
have microfilm of the Federal Census back to the 1700's. Most major
Libraries have these microfilms on file for your use. The best Census starts
in 1850 where all members of the family living at the home were listed
by name. Before 1850, only the head of household was named and family members
were only counted. (i.e. free males age 1-10 = 3 or free females age 10-15
=2). If you have a general idea where your family came from in the USA
you can then check these census records. Often you can pin point the location
of your family during a certain time period. This can be a tedious
task taking many hours.
4. Once you have pin pointed, by family information
or research, where your families was from, you can visit Query sites on
the Internet and start making queries. Often you will find cousins you
didn't know existed and they have already documented much of your heritage
for you. They are usually glad to hear from you because you can fill in
some of their missing pieces of their heritage. Like, what happened to
that aunt or uncle, brother or sister? When making Queries always include
all the information you have. Also in the subject line put the family's
name. Don't use a subject like, "My Family Tree". You need surnames
and family member's names to catch the other query poster's eyes. Like:
"The John Adams Family 1840-1870". Also under surnames post all your known
surnames.
5. I have listed some good Free Links to
get your started.
6. Ok, Now it's time to get started!
7. Good Luck! |
