Alabama County Resources
This entry was originally written by Robert S. Davis and Mary Bess Paluzzi for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
County level records have been microfilmed and are available at the Alabama Department of Archives and History and the FHL. County records vary widely from county to county in both quality and quantity. Some have been carefully preserved while others have been much abused and neglected. Some records have simply disappeared. Other scattered records are now preserved by the Alabama Department of Archives and History, the University of Alabama Library, and the Samford University Library.
North Alabama counties of Blount, Cullman, Lawrence, Madison, Morgan, and St. Clair have local archives. See Marcia K. Smith Collier's Alabama County Data and Resources (see Background Sources for Alabama). The Genealogical Society of Utah is now microfilming 'loose papers' in Alabama counties for researching through the FHL.
Ten Alabama counties have had significant destruction of records by fire. These 'burned' counties and counties that have had less destructive fires are indicated on the chart. However, not all records were lost.
Between 1935 and 1945 the Historical Records Survey conducted a preliminary inventory of fifteen county archives; see Alabama Historical Records Survey, Inventory of the County Archives of Alabama (Birmingham: Alabama Historical Records Survey, 1838'1942). Each county's volume contains a historical sketch of the county followed by a description and history of each county office as well as an inventory of each office's records. The counties that were surveyed include Clay, Colbert, Conecuh, Cullman, Greene, Hale, Lauderdale, Lowndes, Madison, Marengo, Sumter, Talladega, Wilcox, and Winston. Unfortunately, the inventory has never been updated, revised, or expanded to include counties not originally surveyed. The University of Alabama Library's special collections department also has inventories of the DeKalb and Cherokee county courthouse holdings compiled in 1979.
In the chart that follows, former names of counties are indicated and the addresses listed are for county courthouses. Court records are at the circuit court at the county seat, although no survey has been completed for all counties. Land and probate records come in a variety of forms for each county. Many are on microfilm (see discussion in those sections above). Three counties have two county seats. Record availability on the chart is drawn from the Alabama Archives and History's information on county records. To keep current with county record changes and holdings, check www.archives.state.al.us/referenc/procount.html.
Map | County | County Address | Date Formed | Parent County(ies) | Birth | Marriage | Death | Land | Probate | Court |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F4 | Autauga | 176 W. Fifth St., Prattville 36067 | 1818 | Montgomery | 1908 | 1839 | 1908 | 1819 | 1824 | ? |
Baine | 1866 (abolished 1867) | Blount/Calhoun/Cherokee/DeKalb/Marshall/St. Clair | ||||||||
Baker | 1868 (renamed Chilton, 1874) | |||||||||
K2 | Baldwin | P.O. Box 459, Bay Minette 36507 | 1809 | Washington/ | 1886 | 1810 | 1886 | 1809 | 1809 | ? |
H7 | Barbour/Clayton Division | 1 Court Sq., Clayton 36016 and Barbour/Eufaula Division, Broad St. Eufaula 36027 | 1832 | Creek cession/Pike/Bullock/Russell | 1881 | 1838 | 1881 | 1833 | 1820 | ? |
Benton | 1832 (renamed Calhoun, 1858) | |||||||||
E4 | Bibb | 8 Courthouse Sq. West, Ste. A, Centreville 35042 | 1818 | Monroe/Montgomery(Cahawba) | 1900 | 1818 | 1900 | 1818 | 1818 | ? |
Blaine | 1868 (renamed Etowah) | |||||||||
B5 | Blount | 220 Second Ave., Rm 106, Oneonta 35121 | 1818 | Creek cession | 1820 | 1818 | 1829 | ? | ||
G6 | Bullock | 217 N. Prairie St., Rm 106, Union Springs 36089 | 1866 | Barbour/Macon/Montgomery/Pike | 1867 | 1867 | 1867 | ? | ||
H4 | Butler | 700 Court Sq., Greenville 36037 | 1819 | Conecuh/Monroe | 1894 | 1853 | 1894 | 1853 | 1853 | ? |
Record loss, 1853. | ||||||||||
C6 | Calhoun | 1702 Noble St., Ste. 102, Anniston 36201 | 1832 | Creek cession(Benton, 1858) | 1919 | 1834 | 1919 | 1832 | 1891 | 1835 |
Record loss, 1861 and 1865. | ||||||||||
E7 | Chambers | Court Sq., Lafayette 36862 | 1832 | Creek cession | 1853 | 1833 | 1833 | ? | ||
B7 | Cherokee | 100 Main St., Centre 35960 | 1836 | Cherokee cession | 1899 | 1882 | 1882 | 1882 | ? | |
Record loss, 1882 and 1895. | ||||||||||
E4 | Chilton | 2nd Ave./P.O. Box 501 , Clanton 35045 | 1868 | Autauga/Bibb/Perry/Shelby (Baker) | 1908'19 | 1870 | 1908'19 | 1868 | 1887 | ? |
Record loss, 1870. | ||||||||||
G1 | Choctaw | 117 S. Mulberry, Butler 36904 | 1847 | Sumter/Washington | 1881'93 | 1871 | 1881'93 | 1871 | 1871 | ? |
Record loss, 1859 and 1871. | ||||||||||
H2 | Clarke | P.O. Box 548, Grove Hill 36451 | 1812 | Washington | 1908 | 1814 | 1908 | 1812 | 1813 | ? |
D6 | Clay | Courthouse Sq./P.O. Box 1120, Ashland 36251 | 1866 | Randolph/Talladega | 1920 | 1872 | 1920 | 1875 | 1876 | 1876 |
Record loss, 1875. | ||||||||||
C7 | Cleburne | 406 Vickery St., Heflin 36264 | 1866 | Calhoun/Randolph/Talladega | 1867 | 1867 | ? | |||
J6 | Coffee/Elba Division | 230 N. Court St., Elba 36232 | 1841 | Dale | 1908 | 1866 | 1920 | 1851 | 1862 | ? |
Record loss, 1851 and 1863 | ||||||||||
J6 | Coffee/Enterprise Division | N. Edward St., Enterprise 36330 | 1907 | 1907 | 1907 | |||||
A2 | Colbert | 201 N. Main, Tuscumbia 35674 | 1867 | reorganized 1869(Franklin) | 1881 | 1867 | 1881 | 1867 | 1861 | 1867 |
J4 | Conecuh | Court Sq./P.O. Box 149, Evergreen 36401 | 1818 | Monroe | 1881 | 1866 | 1881 | 1866 | 1866 | 1881 |
Record loss, 1868, 1875, 1885, 1895. | ||||||||||
E5 | Coosa | P.O. Box 218, Rockford 35136 | 1832 | Creek cession | 1878 | 1834 | 1920 | 1832 | 1834 | ? |
Record loss, 1900. | ||||||||||
Cotaco | 1818 (renamed Morgan, 1821) | |||||||||
J5 | Covington | 1 Court Sq./P.O. Drawer 789, Andalusia 36420 | 1821 | Henry | 1889 | 1895 | 1909 | 1881 | 1882 | ? |
H5 | Crenshaw | Glenwood Ave., Luverne 36049 | 1865 | Butler/Coffee/Pike/Covington/Lowndes | 1882 | 1868 | 1871 | ? | ||
Record loss, 1898. | ||||||||||
B4 | Cullman | 500 2nd Ave. S.W./P.O. Box 237, Cullman 35055 | 1877 | Blount/Morgan/Winston | 1877 | 1877 | 1887 | 1877 | 1877 | ? |
H7 | Dale | P.O. Box 580, Ozark 36361 | 1824 | Covington/Henry | 1919 | 1884 | 1920 | 1895 | 1895 | ? |
Record loss, 1869, 1884. | ||||||||||
F4 | Dallas | 105 Lauderdale St., Selma 36701 | 1818 | Montgomery | 1922 | 1818 | 1922 | 1818 | 1821 | ? |
A6 | DeKalb | 301 Grand Ave. S.W., Ste. 200, Fort Payne 35967 | 1836 | Cherokee cession | 1885 | 1836 | 1885 | 1835 | 1848 | ? |
F5 | Elmore | P.O. Box 280, Wetumpka 36092 | 1866 | Autauga/Coosa/Montgomery/Tallapoosa | 1884 | 1867 | 1927 | 1867 | 1867 | ? |
J3 | Escambia | Belleville Ave./P.O. Box 557, Brewton 36427 | 1868 | Baldwin/Conecuh | 1909 | 1879 | 1909 | 1868 | 1868 | ? |
Record loss, 1868. | ||||||||||
B6 | Etowah | 800 Forrest Ave., Gadsden 35901 | 1868 | (as Blaine; renamed 1868 Blount/Calhoun/Dekalb/Marshall/St. Clair | 1894 | 1867 | 1898 | 1867 | 1867 | ? |
C2 | Fayette | 113 Temple Ave./P.O. Box 509, Fayette 35555 | 1824 | Marion/Pickens/Tuscaloosa | 1884 | 1866 | 1899 | 1824 | 1851 | ? |
Record loss, 1866 and 1916. | ||||||||||
A2 | Franklin | 410 Jackson St./P.O. Box 70, Russellville 35653 | 1818 | Cherokee and Chickasaw cession | 1916 | 1897 | 1890'1930 | 1890 | 1890 | ? |
Record loss, 1890. | ||||||||||
J6 | Geneva | P.O. Box 430, Geneva 36340 | 1868 | Dale/Henry/Coffee | 1912 | 1898 | 1912 | 1898 | 1883 | ? |
Record loss, 1898. | ||||||||||
E2 | Greene | Main and Prairie/P.O. Box 790, Eutaw 35462 | 1819 | Marengo/Tuscaloosa | 1912 | 1823 | 1909 | 1819 | 1820 | 1867 |
Record loss, 1868. | ||||||||||
E2 | Hale | 1001 Main St., Greensboro 36744 | 1867 | Greene/Marengo/Perry | 1881 | 1867 | 1881 | 1867 | 1867 | 1865 |
Hancock | 1850 (renamed Winston, 1858) | |||||||||
H7 | Henry | P.O. Box 457, Abbeville 36310 | 1819 | Conecuh | 1931 | 1823 | 1930 | 1819 | 1822 | ? |
J7 | Houston | 100 North Oates St., Dothan 36302 | 1903 | Dale/Geneva/Henry | 1908 | 1903 | 1908 | 1903 | 1903 | ? |
A6 | Jackson | Courthouse Sq./P.O. Box 128, Scottsboro 35768 | 1819 | Cherokee cession | 1851 | 1819 | 1866 | ? | ||
Record loss, 1864, 1920. | ||||||||||
C4 | Jefferson | 716 N. 21st St., Birmingham 35203 and 1801 Third Ave. N., Bessemer 35020 | 1819 | Blount | 1881 | 1823* | 1881 | 1819 | 1819 | ? |
*Also for Bessemer starting in 1916; record loss, 1870 | ||||||||||
Jones | 1867 (renamed Sanford, 1868; renamed Lamar, 1877) | |||||||||
C2 | Lamar | Pond St./P.O. Box 338, Vernon 35592 | 1867 | Marion/Fayette/Pickens(Jones) (Sanford) | 1867 | 1867 | 1867 | ? | ||
A3 | Lauderdale | South Court St./P.O. Box 1059, Florence 35631 | 1818 | Cherokee and Chickasaw cession | 1880 | 1820 | 1890 | 1818 | 1818 | 1858 |
A3 | Lawrence | 14330 Court St., Moulton 35650 | 1818 | Cherokee and Chickasaw cession | ------ | 1818 | ------ | 1818 | 1818 | ? |
F7 | Lee | 215 Ninth St./P.O. Box 2266, Opelika 36803 | 1866 | Chambers/Macon Russell/Tallapoosa | 1916 | 1867 | 1916 | 1863 | 1861 | ? |
A4 | Limestone | Courthouse Sq./P.O. Box 1145, Athens 35611 | 1818 | Cherokee and Chickasaw cession | 1881 | 1832 | 1881 | 1818 | 1818 | ? |
Record loss, 1862. | ||||||||||
G4 | Lowndes | P.O. Box 5, Hayneville 36040 | 1830 | Butler/Dallas/Montgomery | 1881 | 1830 | 1881 | 1830 | 1830 | 1830 |
F6 | Macon | Courthouse Sq., Tuskegee 36083 | 1832 | Creek cession | 1928 | 1834 | 1928 | 1837 | 1834 | ? |
A5 | Madison | 100 Northside Sq., Huntsville 35801 | 1808 | Cherokee and Chickasaw cession | 1881 | 1809 | 1881 | 1810 | 1818 | 1820 |
G2 | Marengo | 101 E. Coats Ave. P.O. 48066, Linden 36748 | 1818 | Choctaw cession | 1881 | 1819 | 1906 | 1820 | 1818 | 1917 |
Record loss, 1848, 1965. | ||||||||||
B2 | Marion | Military St., Hamilton 35570 | 1818 | Tuscaloosa | 1902 | 1887 | 1902 | 1887 | 1887 | 1917 |
Record loss, 1887. | ||||||||||
A5 | Marshall | 425 Gunter Ave., Guntersville 35976 | 1836 | Blount/Jackson/Cherokee cession | 1836 | 1836 | 1836 | ? | ||
K2 | Mobile | 109 Government St./P.O. Box 7, Mobile 36601 | 1812 | Mississippi Territory | 1871 | 1813 | 1820 | 1812 | 1814 | ? |
Record loss, 1823, 1840, 1872. | ||||||||||
H3 | Monroe | P.O. Box 665, Monroeville 36460 | 1815 | Creek cession/Washington | 1881 | 1833 | 1908 | 1833 | 1833 | ? |
Record loss, 1833. | ||||||||||
G5 | Montgomery | 251 S. Lawrence St./P.O. Box 223, Montgomery 36104 | 1816 | Monroe | 1908 | 1817 | 1908 | 1816 | 1819 | ? |
A4 | Morgan | 302 Lee St. N.E./P.O. Box 848, Decatur 35602 | 1818 | (as Cotaco;renamed, 1821) Cherokee cession | 1983 | 1821 | 1893 | 1818 | 1818 | ? |
F3 | Perry | P.O. Box 478, Marion 36756 | 1819 | Montgomery | 1908 | 1820 | 1908 | 1819 | 1821 | ? |
D2 | Pickens | 100 Phoenix Ave./Box 370, Carrollton 35447 | 1820 | Tuscaloosa | 1903 | 1876 | 1903 | 1876 | 1876 | ? |
Record loss, 1864 and 1876. | ||||||||||
H6 | Pike | Church Street, Troy 36081 | 1821 | Henry/Montgomery | 1881 | 1833 | 1881 | 1830 | 1830 | ? |
Record loss, 1828. | ||||||||||
D7 | Randolph | Main Street/P.O. Box 249, Wedowee 36278 | 1832 | Creek cession | 1886 | 1896 | 1886 | 1897 | 1897 | ? |
Record loss, 1896. | ||||||||||
F7 | Russell | P.O. Box 700, Phenix City 36868 | 1832 | Creek cession | 1934* | 1934* | 1934* | 1832 | 1837 | ? |
*Also births, marriages, and death for Seale'1913, 1934, 1913 respectively. | ||||||||||
C5 | St. Clair | 129 Fifth Ave., Ashville 35953 and Cogswell Ave. Pell City 35125 | 1818 | Shelby | 1893 | 1819 | 1818 | 1819 | ? | |
Births, marriages, and deaths for Pell City-1916, 1903, 1896 respectively. | ||||||||||
Sanford | 1867 | (as Jones; renamed Sanford, 1868; renamed Lamar, 1877) | ||||||||
D5 | Shelby | Main St., Columbiana 35051 | 1818 | Montgomery | 1819 | 1819 | ? | |||
F2 | Sumter | Marshall St., Livingston 35470 | 1832 | Choctaw Cession | 1888 | 1833 | 1881 | 1825 | 1828 | 1876 |
Record loss, 1901. | ||||||||||
D5 | Talladega | P.O. Drawer 755, Talladega 35160 | 1832 | Creek Cession | 1897 | 1834 | 1897 | 1833 | 1833 | 1833 |
E6 | Tallapoosa | 125 N. Broadnax St., Dadeville 36853 | 1832 | Creek Cession | 1834 | ------ | 1832 | 1838 | ? | |
D3 | Tuscaloosa | 714 Greensboro Ave./P.O. Box 67, Tuscaloosa 35402 | 1823 | Cherokee and Choctaw Cession | 1880 | 1823 | 1880 | 1823 | 1821 | ? |
C3 | Walker | 19th St./P.O. Box 502, Jasper 35502 | 1823'77 | Marion/Tuscaloosa | 1929 | 1877 | 1890 | 1877 | 1877 | ? |
Record loss, 1865, 1877, 1896, 1932. | ||||||||||
J1 | Washington | P.O. Box 549, Chatom 36518 | 1800 | Mississippi Territory/Baldwin | 1908 | 1826 | 1908 | 1786 | 1820 | ? |
G3 | Wilcox | P.O. Box 688, Camden 36726 | 1819 | Monroe/Dallas | 1905 | 1820 | 1905 | 1820 | 1820 | ? |
B3 | Winston | P.O. Box 27, Double Springs 35553 | 1850 | Walker | 1889 | 1891 | 1912* | 1891 | 1891 | 1892 |
*Also Haleyville 1920. |