Georgia Probate Records

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This entry was originally written by the Johni Cerny and Robert S. Davis for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.

This article is part of
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the Georgia Family History Research series.
History of Georgia
Georgia Vital Records
Census Records for Georgia
Background Sources for Georgia
Georgia Maps
Georgia Land Records
Georgia Probate Records
Georgia Court Records
Georgia Tax Records
Georgia Cemetery Records
Georgia Church Records
Georgia Military Records
Georgia Periodicals, Newspapers, and Manuscript Collections
Georgia Archives, Libraries, and Societies
Georgia Immigration
Ethnic Groups of Georgia
Georgia County Resources
Map of Georgia


Prior to 1777, most estate matters were handled at the colonial capitol in Savannah. See Index to Probate Records of Colonial Georgia, 1733'1778 (Atlanta: R. J. Taylor, Jr. Foundation, 1983). Many of Georgia's colonial estate, colonial deed, mortgage, and deed of gift records survive at the Georgia Archives.

County ordinary courts kept probate records from 1777 to 1798 and began keeping them again in 1852. County inferior courts were responsible for probate matters from 1798 to 1868. Almost all pre-1900 county probate records are on microfilm at the Georgia Archives and the FHL. The archives also has many loose, original Georgia county records. Ted O. Brooke, In the Name of God, Amen, Georgia Wills, 1733'1860: An Index to Testator Wills (Atlanta: Pilgrim Press, 1976) is an index to Georgia wills.

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