Welcome to Texas Genealogy Trails! "Volunteers dedicated to putting free data online" Your Host for the Gillespie County, Texas Web Page is Jimmy Davis.  We know that whether you are a seasoned genealogist or just getting started, accurate information is a must.  That is what we are trying to provide.  You are welcome to submit information to help others in their search.  We also welcome corrections to information on this site. You may contact me at JWDavis78624@gmail.com   If interested in joining our group, view our Volunteer Information Page and contact Kim. [Basic webpage design knowledge and a desire to transcribe data is required] We regret that we cannot perform personal research for anyone.

The first known residents of Gillespie County were the Tonkawa Indians. By the nineteenth century, Comanches and Kiowas had also moved into the area. The future county was first settled by Europeans in 1846, when John O. Meusebach led a group of 120 Germans sponsored by the Adelsverein to the site of Fredericksburg, which became one in a series of German communities between the Texas coast and the Fisher-Miller Land Grant, originally the immigrants' ultimate destination.  A brief history is found in the article "A Glimpse of the Past."

Fredericksburg, on the Pinta Trail, and the surrounding rural areas grew quickly, and on December 15, 1847, 150 settlers petitioned the Texas legislature to establish a new county, which they suggested be named either "Pierdenales" or Germania. The legislature formally marked the new county off from Bexar and Travis counties on February 23, 1848, named it after Capt. Robert A. Gillespie, a hero of the recent Mexican War, and made Fredericksburg the county seat. Gillespie County originally included areas that today are parts of Blanco, Burnet, Llano, and Mason counties. It underwent the first of five boundary changes in 1858, when the legislature formed Mason and Blanco counties, changed the Llano County boundary and established the present northern and eastern boundaries of Gillespie County. The last change came in 1883, when the county's boundaries were redefined and its present limits set. President Lyndon Baines Johnson was born in Stonewall, in the eastern part of the county. The Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, which includes much of the former president's LBJ Ranch, is located just outside of Stonewall. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was born in a house that still stands on Main Street in Fredericksburg. Nimitz, who grew up in Fredericksburg and in nearby Kerrville accepted an appointment to the United States Naval Academy, rose to the rank of Fleet Admiral and commanded the Pacific War during World War II. Cities, Towns, and Communities Albert -- Bankersmith -- Cain City -- Cave Creek -- Crabapple -- Cherry Spring -- Doss -- Eckert -- Fredericksburg -- Grape Creek -- Grapetown --  Harper -- Hye -- Lange's Mill -- Loyal Valley -- Luckenbach -- Morris Ranch -- Rheingold -- Rocky Hill (Zodiac) -- Sandy -- Stonewall -- Tivydale -- Willow City ONLINE DATA Mockingbird State Bird                                  Additional Web Sites:   Website Updates: April 2011 - Obituaries (59); Births (12) May 2011 - Obituaries (115), Births (8), 1850 Census, News (1), Biographies (1), History (1) June 2011 - 1860 Census (Precinct 2, Partial), Births (7), Obituaries (185), List of Petitioners to Form Gillespie County, "Heroines of the Hills" A story of early pioneer women in Gillespie County July 2011 - 1860 Census (Precinct 2), 1860 Census (Precinct 3), Community Histories (23),  "Fisher-Miller Land Grant", "Fort Martin Scott", Biographies (4), "The Pinta Trail", John O. Meusebach story, "The Tonkawa Indians of Central Texas", Obituaries (80), Births (3) August 2011 - Obituaries (30), Births (6), Marriages (1), 1860 Census (Precinct 1), 1860 Census (Precinct 4), 1860 Census (Precinct 5), Note:  All of the 1860 Federal Census for Gillespie County is now complete., The 1870 Federal Census for Gillespie is in progress September 2011 - Obituaries (12), Births (4) October 2011 - Obituaries (56), Births (7), Marriages (3) November 2011 - Obituaries (7), Births (4), Marriages (1) December 2011 - Obituaries (55), Marriages (3), Births (7) January 2012 - Obituaries (32), Births (8), Marriages (1)   If you have information that you'd like to share about any town, family, county or subject, please send it to us and we'll make sure it gets posted to the right county.  We are looking for Census, Births, Deaths, Marriages, Biographies, Obituaries, and Newspaper Stories for this site.  Please contact us at the email address below.  Due to space limitation, we do not accept photographs unless they are of an historical nature.  You must own the copyright and give us permission to use the information; or the information must be from a public source.  No information will be included on this site without source information. Please, send additions or corrections to: JWDavis78624@gmail.com Always Updating...Always Free!   The Fredericksburg and Gillespie County genealogical group disbanded a few years ago, but there is a group of volunteers who are maintaining the site.  It is a reliable source for additional genealogical information in Fredericksburg and Gillespie County, Texas.  Contact them at: Fredericksburg & Gillespie County Genealogy   Click here to select another county Surrounding Counties Mason County - northwest Llano County - northeast Blanco County - east Kendall County - south Kerr County - southwest Kimble County - west Visit the national site of GENEALOGY TRAILS All data on this website is © Copyright 2009 by Genealogy Trails with full rights reserved for original submitters.