The publication herewith presented, an index to the probate cases filed in Runnels County, Texas, is No. 200 of the Texas series of counties. The publication is intended to meet the requirements of day-to-day usage by the officials of the county, attorneys, businessmen, and other citizens who have occasion to consult probate case records for the proper conduct of their affairs. The publication may be used by historials and genealogists to obtain references to unpublished source material.

The names of the deceased persons, minors, and other principals are arranged alphabetically, with reference to filing date of the case and the case number.Differentiation between probate cases assigned duplicate numbers is accomplished by the addition of a letter following the case number. Case numbers preceded by "Q" were assigned to previously unnumbered cases. The letters "L" and "E" were sometimes used by the clerk to indicate lunacy and epileptic cases. The following numbers in series 1-1600 were not used as case numbers: 2-11, 14, 22, 25, 28, 31, 32, 38, 39, 47, 56, 58, 64, 70, 71, 83, 84, 88, 93, 95, 97, 98, 105, 116, 118, 121, 122, 127, 129, 139, 146, 149, 156, 163, 177, 187, 194, 199, 200, 217, 364, 378, 445, 501, 585, 594, 650, 834, 904, 914, 984, 1026, 1556.

In Runnels County all probate records are in the custody of the county clerk. Case papers are filed in numerical sequence in separate file jackets in plainly marked steel file drawers in the vault adjacent to the clerk's office on the first floor of the courthouse.

Upon the creation of Runnels County in 1858 from Bexar County, the territory was attached to Brown County for judicial purposes until such time as Coleman County might be organized. Although Coleman County was organized in 1867, no probate records of the period 1867 to August 1876 were found extant in that county. Both Runnels and Coleman Counties were attached to Brown County for judicial purposes as late as April 4, 1871 (H.P.N. Gammel, Laws of Texas, VI. 921).

Probate records originating in the territory now Runnels County may be found among the probate records of Bexar County to 1858; for the period 1858 to 1876 probate jurisdiction was in Brown County, but all Brown County records were destroyed by fire in 1880. From 1876 to the organization of Runnels County on January 12, 1880, records are extant among probate records of Coleman County.

Obtaining copies of Probate Records

The probate records included in this site can be seen at the Runnels County Courthouse in the County Clerk's office.  The price for these records are $1.00 per page. Please note that some records contain numerous pages. If you want a certificate, they are $5.00 per case upon request.

To obtain a copy of these documents, visit in person or write to :

Runnels County
Clerk: Linda Bruchmiller
600 Courthouse Square
P.O. Box 189
Ballinger, Texas 76821-0189
(915) 365-2720

Please include the case number in all correspondence.

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