Clay County Texas Obituaries — 1909 Wichita Death Records

This page preserves a set of Clay County Texas obituaries transcribed from the Wichita community area of the county and dated to 1909. It is one of the most widely cited pages in this entire archive, referenced by outside sources across six different language editions as a primary genealogical source.

The History of Clay County, Texas

Clay County was marked off from Cooke County on December 24, 1857, and named for Kentucky statesman Henry Clay. Fewer than 110 people lived in the new county as of the 1860 census. Henrietta, the county seat, was largely abandoned during the Civil War in late 1862, and permanent resettlement did not resume until the early 1870s.

Clay County Texas Obituaries: The 1909 Wichita Records

These Clay County Texas obituaries record deaths in the Wichita community area of the county during 1909, transcribed directly from the original notices. Alongside the county's broader obituary records, this set has become a frequently cited reference point for researchers tracing families in this part of North Texas.

Using These Obituary Records for Research

Because Clay County Texas obituaries from this period are not always indexed elsewhere, these transcriptions often surface names and dates that are hard to find in other obituary records. Cross-reference any name found here against the county's census and cemetery indexes for a fuller picture of the family.

Why a Wichita Falls Paper Covers Clay County

These 1909 notices come from a regional daily published in nearby Wichita Falls rather than a Clay County paper. That is why they reach residents across a wider area than the county itself. Regional dailies carried death notices from the surrounding counties, so a family may appear there and nowhere else. The transcription keeps the paper's own wording and spelling.

Browse the Clay County Collection

• More obituaries: 1907, 1908, and 1911.
• Marriage and divorce records: 1908, 1909, 1911.
• Newspaper archive: the Henrietta Independent, 1897, and the Wichita Daily Times' Personal Mention columns for 1907 and 1908.
• 1890 census
• Benvenue (Byers Field) Cemetery and Blue Grove Cemetery
• History of Clay County and Clay County Schools from the county museum collection.
• Churches of Henrietta, Texas
• Surname index and genealogical societies

See the complete Clay County records index for every page in the collection.