Ancestry.com Texas

Did you know?

Free access to Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) records that have been digitized by Ancestry is available to Texas residents. 


Go to https://www.tsl.texas.gov/arc/ancestry and follow the instructions given on that page!  I have a membership with Ancestry.com, but I followed these steps to successfully create a free account for access to these Texas records only for my husband.

1.  Enter your Texas zip code at the bottom of the web page linked to above, and click Submit.

2. This will open a page like the one below.  Do a search first - ideally a last name - as you need to search for something to get to the next page, in order to create the free account.  I chose to search a unique last name in my family tree (my native Houstonian mother's maiden name, as her grandfather by that name settled in Texas about 1880).  Enter your search term, and then click the Search button:

3.  You will get a page with some results.  None may pertain to your family, but at this stage, it does not matter.  Click on the name of the result (NOT on "View image"!).  In this case, I actually got a relevant result - Anton Guokas is my great-grandfather's brother, so I clicked on "Texas, Prison Employee Ledgers, 1861-1938" opposite his name:

4.  At this point, you should see a screen inviting you to create a free account. Click the link to sign up with your e-mail address.  Do not click on any “Start A Free Trial” button. If you have an existing Ancestry.com Texas or paid account you may proceed to the “Sign In” link in the upper right corner.

5.  Enter your name and e-mail address, create a password (no rules!), and click the Continue button:

6. You can now access the result you clicked on, and view its image, save it and create a family tree, print it, and in some cases share it, and search for other records from TSLAC.  You'll see your name appearing in the upper right corner.  Note, however, that you can't access many of the links below it on the right without a paid Ancestry.com account.  Some, such as the 1940 Census and the Find A Grave index, ARE free, but most will required a paid membership.

For more information, check the Frequently Asked Questions on the Ancestry.com Texas web page.  To avoid frustration getting lots of results for records you can't access without a paid membership, it is recommended that you go to the Ancestry.com Texas web page, enter your zip code, and then sign in in the upper right-hand corner each time you use the site..

Preserving Texas' Civil War Records

The theme for Archives Month in Texas is about preserving Civil War records in Texas. While we do not have any Civil War records here at the Dick Smith Library we do have books in the Local History Room that can help you research the Civil War in Texas and there are several websites you can search for records. We do have in the Local History Room Index to Applications for Texas Confederate Pensions. The book is organized into three sections: 1. Index to Approved Pension Applications; 2. Index to Residents of the Confederate home and the Confederate Woman's Home; 3. Index to Rejected Pension Applications. The listings are alphabetical and give the application number and county of residence. The Local History Room also has several books on Texas units that served in the Confederate forces. The Texas Library and Archives Commission has a searchable database of Confederate Pension Applications located here: https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/apps/arc/pensions/ The site is searchable by name or application number and the search can be limited by county. None of the pension applications are digitized, so you would have to order copies of the application from the archives. The State Archives also has a Confederate Indigent Families List, this was aid paid to families of those serving in the Confederate forces. Instructions on using the list can be found here:
https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc/cif/index.html

At the federal level the National Archives is working on digitizing the 1.28 million case files from the families of deceased Civil War Union soldiers. An excellent short video about the project with views of some of the records is at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWV9ObQUDRc&feature=youtu.be
The pension records are online at http://www.fold3.com/
To read the interesting story of one woman's attempt to keep her widow's pension see this article written by one of the volunteers working on the project: http://blogs.archives.gov/prologue/?p=10707
The National park Service has an excellent Civil War website: http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/index.htm One of my favorite features is the "Find a Person" search box at the bottom of the page. This allows you to search the 6.3 million records in the soldiers and sailors database. The database is searchable by name, unit, state, battle, and keyword to name a few of the available search terms. This does link to digitized records. information is also given for the units such as when and where they were formed, sometimes even listing in which county they were formed. Members of the units are also listed and the battles the unit fought.

Hopefully these sources will help you get started on your own research.