Tuesday, April 26th, 2022 in Uncategorized. No Comments
The Commissioners Court is the general governing body of the county. It functions as both the legislative and executive branch of county government. The Commissioners Court consists of the County Judge and four Commissioners. As a member of the Commissioners Court, a Commissioner conducts the general business of the county, including overseeing the budgetary and […]
Wednesday, March 9th, 2022 in collection highlights, County Clerk, District Clerk, genealogy, people, Portal to Texas History, research. No Comments
Naturalization is the process by which an alien becomes an American citizen. Prior to 1906, immigrants could file for naturalization in any court at the local, county, state or federal level. In Travis County, naturalization records can be found in the records of the District and County Courts and date from 1887-1906. In 1906, the […]
Wednesday, September 1st, 2021 in County Clerk, genealogy, Portal to Texas History, research. 10 Comments
What are vital statistics records? Vital statistics records are those that record the important events in human life, such as births, deaths, marriages, and divorces. Vital statistics records are valuable sources of information when researching your family history. These are the various types of records in Travis County and where to locate them. Marriage Records […]
Thursday, October 29th, 2020 in history of Travis County. No Comments
This mini-documentary about the history of the Travis County Poor Farm was produced by the Travis County Media Department in collaboration with the Travis County Archives.
Monday, August 31st, 2020 in collection highlights, history of Travis County, Portal to Texas History, research. No Comments
Convict leasing was a system of penal labor in which prisoner labor was leased to private parties. The practice began in Texas and other southern states shortly after the Civil War, when officials realized they had a large population of prisoners to care for and very little money. Leasing the inmates to private individuals appeared to offer […]
Thursday, August 6th, 2020 in collection highlights, history of Travis County, Portal to Texas History, research. No Comments
In Texas, one of the duties of the Commissioners’ Court is the construction and maintenance of county roads and bridges. County roads are public roads that are located outside of city limits but within the county boundaries. City roads are the responsibility of cities, and interstate highways and farm to market (FM) roads are the […]
Wednesday, July 29th, 2020 in collection highlights, explore Travis County, history of Travis County, Portal to Texas History, research. No Comments
In a series of posts, we will be highlighting some of Travis County’s lesser known records and the unique information they contain. Travis County Poor Farm Record: 1890-1900 (1 volume). Ledger includes an inventory of property belonging to the Travis County Poor Farm; list of paupers; list of hands hired; list of county convicts sent […]
Monday, May 18th, 2020 in collection highlights, collections, County Clerk, Portal to Texas History, research. 31 Comments
One of the most frequently asked questions we get asked at the Archives is: “Do you have a copy of my property survey?” The short answer is no, and here’s why. Land surveys are documents that establish the boundaries of a property. Surveys document boundaries when new parcels of land are being developed, and also […]
Wednesday, May 6th, 2020 in collections, County Clerk, Portal to Texas History, research. 20 Comments
What are deeds? Deeds are legal records that document the ownership and conveyance of property. Deeds record the transfer of real estate from the current owner (grantor) to a new owner (grantee). How do I search for deeds? The deed is one of the oldest and most common types of county records. Deed records in […]
Monday, April 6th, 2020 in history of Travis County, news, research. No Comments
During the fall of 1918 and the winter of 1919, an epidemic of influenza affected much of the civilized world. An estimated twenty-five million Americans experienced what became known as the Spanish flu; an estimated 550,000 died from the disease. More U.S. soldiers died from the 1918 flu than were killed in battle during the […]