New: Cemetery Information

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Welcome to Galveston County, Texas Genealogical and Historical Research.

Although I am no longer a resident of Galveston, I was born and raised on the island and have a deep interest and love for the county with its rich and colorful history. 

I regret that I am unable to provide personal research or assistance.  I have placed as much information online as possible at this time, and am continually looking for new material.  If you have information you would like to contribute, I would be happy to hear from you.

Please take a few minutes and look through the pages.  It is my hope you will find something to help you in your journey through time.

Happy Hunting!

Ellen Pack

Note:  Because the1859-60 Galveston City Directory is not in text format, it is not included in the search.  Please follow the link to view those pages.

The Texas City Disaster - Wikipedia
Finding Passenger Arrival Records at the Port of Galveston, Texas.
Galveston and Texas History Center - Rosenburg Library, Galveston
Galveston Chamber of Commerce
Galveston Convention & Visitors Bureau
Galveston County Daily News
Galveston Co, TXGenWeb
Galveston Historical Foundation
Official Website Galveston, Texas
Official Website of the 1900 Storm
Port of Galveston

Search GOOGLE for more Galveston County Links

Map courtesy Library Of Congress

A Brief History

Galveston Island, the seat of Galveston County, lies in the Southeast portion of Texas on the Gulf of Mexico.

The Spanish were probably the first Europeans to inhabitant the island, and it is believed that it was the site where Cabeza de Vaca was shipwrecked in 1528. However, in the late 1600's French explorer Robert Cavelier La Salle claimed this area for King Louis and named it St. Louis. 

Serious settlement began in the 1830s.  The island was named for the Spanish governor Bernado de Galvez, and it was incorporated as a city in 1839.

For many years, the Port of Galveston was the largest seaort in Texas.  During the priod 1850 to about 1920, many thousands of immigrants entered the United States through the port, which became known as Little Ellis Isalnd.

Galveston has survived Union occupation, natural disasters, epidemics, and economic downturns.  Today, safe behind a vast seawall, the island is the home of a major medical university, a burn hospital, and fluroishing tourist trade.
 

Copyright Notice: All files on this site are copyrighted by their creator and/or contributor. They may be linked to but may not be reproduced on another site without specific permission from Ellen Pack <e.j.pack@natchezbelle.org> and/or their contributor. Although public information is not in and of itself copyrightable, the format in which they are presented, the notes and comments, etc., are. It is however, quite permissible to print or save the files to a personal computer for personal use ONLY.