Abstracts of Title

Most of the abstracts of title have been individually donated. However, some belong to a specific collection.  This inventory contains all the abstracts of title in the Harris County Archives.

Inquest Records (1889 - 1956)

From 1876 – 1957 the Justices of the Peace in Harris County presided over inquests.  Texas law requires a determination of the cause and manner of death in all cases of accident, homicide, suicide, and undetermined death and in cases of natural death when the person is not under a doctor’s care.

 

Each JP court maintained its own inquest dockets.  The majority of the inquests were likely held in JP Precinct 1 since it was located in Houston.  Few inquests survive from the rural areas of the county.  The following table includes all the inquest dockets and is arranged by date.  The later dockets contain indexes.

 

In 1957 the Medical Examiner’s Office took over the inquest responsibilities.  Please see the Medical Examiner’s Finding Aid for further information.

Schools

Few records survive documenting the county school system in Harris County.  Those records that do exist pertain primarily to financial transactions and are scattered between county offices.  The pathfinder organizes the records by the office of record and chronologically.  The Bond Certification Records, created by the office of the Texas Attorney General and donated to the archives, are a rich resource for information about Houston, County, and Independent School Districts in Harris County.

American Schoolhouses, published by the United States Bureau of Education in 1911, documents school architecture of the time and is available in the Harris County Archives.

Scrapbooks

Scrapbooks compiled primarily of newspaper clippings by county offices and elected officials are an incredibly rich source for Harris County history.  Of note are the E. A. Squatty Lyons scrapbooks that span a period from 1943 to 1990 and contain not only newspaper clippings, but also campaign materials, invitations, certificates, programs, invitations, and other ephemera.  Other scrapbooks in the Harris County Archives include those created by the Auditor’s Office 1954 – 1993, the Hospital District 1938 – 1998 (media files post ca. 1960), County Attorney 1949 – 2001, County Judge Glenn A. Perry 1945 – 1950, Commissioner Jamie Bray 1971 – 1973, and Commissioner Jim Fonteno 1974 – 2002.