Early Texas Birth Records, 1838-1878

By: Jane Sumner, Alice D. Gracy, and Emma G.S. Gentry, Orig. Pub. 1978, Reprinted 2021, 150 pages, soft cover, Index, ISBN #0-89308-130-2.

Many persons believe that birth records in Texas were not kept until 1903. However, the Texas Constitution Convention of 1869 called for the registration of births, deaths and marriages in every organized county and such was set up by legislative action in 1873 and repealed in 1876. A few counties continued to keep birth records of which the number was 43 counties. Of these, 25 counties had their original books. Often when registering a child born during the years 1873-1878, the parents would list all of their previous children, hence there are many quite early dates, as early as 1838.