Lawrence County, Alabama Genealogy

Guide to Lawrence County, Alabama ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
Probate Judge has marriage, divorce, probate and land records from 1810 Clerk Circuit Court has court records

Description
The County was named is in honor of J. Lawrence, a captain in the United States Navy from Vermont. The County has Moulton as its seat and the County was created February 6, 1818. The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

Parent County
1818--Lawrence County was created 6 February 1818 from the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw Cession of 1816. County seat: Moulton

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Alabama county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Alabama County Boundary Maps" (1799-1980) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
Lawrence County had a destructive courthouse fire in 1859.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Neighboring Counties

 * Colbert
 * Cullman
 * Franklin
 * Lauderdale
 * Limestone
 * Morgan
 * Winston

Biography

 * Northern Alabama, Historical and Biographical. Birmingham, Ala.: Smith and De Land, 1888. Digital version at . begins on page 66.

Cemeteries
The following web site has additional information on Lawrence county cemeteries.


 * Interment.net Alabama cemetery records by county.


 * Indexes for Lawrence County Cemetery Records at Lawrence County, Alabama Archives - free.


 * Cemetery Records: Barbour County with Cherokee &amp; Lawrence Counties Alabama, Vol. 3. 1966. Digital version at - free. Includes Hickory Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Mt. Hope Methodist Church Cemetery, Owens Cemetery, Rock Springs Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Smith Cemetery, Templeton Cemetery, Wear Cemetery, and Young Town Cemetery.


 * Douthat, James L. Wheeler Reservoir Cemeteries. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Mountain Press.$$

Census
State Census


 * 1866 - at FamilySearch — index

For individual censuses, see:


 * Parsly, Mrs. Lewis F. 1820 Census Lawrence County Alabama Territory. n.d. Digital version at - free.


 * 1820 State Census of Lawrence County, Alabama. Huntsville, Ala.: The Tennessee Valley Genealogical Society, Inc., 1977. Digital version at - free.

Church Records

 * Index for Lawrence County Churches at Lawrence County, Alabama Archives - free.

Court Records

 * 1818-1850 - Indexes for Lawrence County Minute Books 1818-1850 at Lawrence County, Alabama Archives - free.

Genealogy

 * Index for Lawrence County Family Files at Lawrence County, Alabama Archives - free.

Land and Property

 * 1818-1850 - Indexes for Lawrence County Deed Books 1818-1850 at Lawrence County, Alabama Archives - free.

Local Histories

 * Gentry, Dorothy. Life and Legend of Lawrence County Alabama. Tuscaloosa, Ala., 1962. Digital version at - free.

Loose Papers

 * Indexes for Lawrence County Loose Case Papers at Lawrence County, Alabama Archives - free.

Maps

 * Maps of Alabama (1799-1980)

Military

 * Revolutionary War to World War II - Indexes for Lawrence County Military Records at Lawrence County, Alabama Archives - free.

Civil War
Civil War service men from Lawrence County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies or regiments that were formed from men of Lawrence County.


 * - 4th Regiment, Alabama Cavalry (Roddy's), Company A and B
 * - 4th Regiment, Alabama Cavalry (Roddy's), Company D
 * - 5th Regiment, Alabama Cavalry, Company C
 * - 9th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company C "Pope Walker Guards"
 * - 16th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company B, F and I
 * - 27th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company D and I
 * - 35th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company C and H

Online Records
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * 1871-1880 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1907, 1921, 1927 - at FamilySearch — images

World War I

 * 1917-1919 - at FamilySearch — index

Newspapers

 * 1855-1905 - Indexes for Lawrence County Newspapers (Mostly Obituaries) 1855-1905 at Lawrence County, Alabama Archives - free.

Periodicals

 * Valley Leaves. 1966–. Published by the Tennessee Valley Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 1568, Huntsville, Alabama 35807. . Website identifies articles relating to (click "Search by County").

Probate Records

 * 1818-1850 - Indexes for Lawrence County Inventory and Will Books 1818-1850 at Lawrence County, Alabama Archives - free. Note: these will books are not at the Family History Library.
 * 1866-1880 Index to Wills of Lawrence Co., Alabama at USGenWeb.org. Contributed by Sandra Beaver.

Online Probate Records
 * 1753 – 1999 Alabama Wills and Probate Records 1753-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1809 – 1985 at FamilySearch — images

Taxation

 * 1848-1849 - Indexes for Lawrence County Tax Records 1848-1849 at Lawrence County, Alabama Archives - free.


 * 1865-1866 - U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918 at Ancestry ($). Lawrence County is in District 3.

Vital Records
See also How to order Alabama Vital Records

Birth Records

 * 1881-1900 - Lawrence County Birth Index 1881-1900. Batch at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1881 – 1930 at FamilySearch.org — index

Marriage Records

 * 1733-2013 - Alabama, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $


 * 1818-1947 - Indexes for Lawrence County Marriage Books 1818-1947 at Lawrence County, Alabama Archives - free.


 * To 1825 Index to Marriages at Ancestry – ($); Index. contains over 12,000 names. Each entry includes groom, bride, marriage date, county, and state. Every name is indexed so you can search for one name, or two names that are linked.


 * 1808, 1818–1884, 1888–1889, 1936–1969 Alabama, Marriage Collection, 1800–1969 at Ancestry – ($); Index. This collection is comprised of indexes created by several agencies - the Alabama Center for Health Statistics, Jordan Dodd of Liahona Research, and Hunting For Bears.


 * 1818–1884 "Alabama Marriages, 1809–1920" at Ancestry – ($); Index. This database is a collection of marriage records from the state. Researchers will find the names of both bride and groom along with the marriage date. The county where the ceremony was performed is also provided. Containing about 150,000 records and the names of nearly 300,000 men and women.


 * 1828-1928 - Lawrence County Marriage Books L-Q Index 1828-1928 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.


 * [hhttp://sites.rootsweb.com/~allawren/marriage.htm Marriages] at ALGenWeb - free


 * 1816 – 1957 at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1800 – 1969 Alabama, Marriage Collection, 1800-1969 at Ancestry.com — index $


 * 1809 – 1920 [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=4192 Alabama Marriages,


 * 1809-1920 (Selected Counties)] at Ancestry.com — index $

Death Records

 * 1881-1895 - Lawrence County Death Index 1881-1895. Batch at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1881–1974 Index to Deaths and Burials at Ancestry – ($); Index. Volunteers extracted the details in this index from microfilmed copies of church, civil, family, and other records of Alabama deaths and burials. details vary depending on the original record. Note that the number of available records can vary widely by county, and this database does not necessarily represent a comprehensive set of death records for the state during this time.


 * 1908–1959 Index to Deaths recorded by the state of Alabama at Ancestry – ($); Index. The index includes name of the deceased, county of death, date of death, and the state certificate number (volume and page).


 * 1908-1974 - at FamilySearch Historical Records Collection - free

Vital Record Substitutes
A free collection of obituaries and death notices from various funeral homes in the Lawrence County area has been put together by GenealogyBuffs.com:


 * Lawrence County, Alabama Obituary and Death Notices Collection


 * 1881 – 1952 at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1908 – 1974 at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1881 – 1974 Alabama, Deaths and Burials Index, 1881-1974 at Ancestry.com — index $


 * 1908 – 1959 [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5188 Alabama Deaths,


 * 1908-59] at Ancestry.com — index $

Voting Registers
Alabama Voting Registers for 1867 are available online at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. Lawrence County has one book.

Societies and Libraries
Tennessee Valley Genealogical Society P. O.  Box 1568 Huntsville, Alabama 35807 Publication: Valley Leaves Link

Lawrence County Archives 698 Main St. PO Box 728 Moulton, AL 35630 256-974-1757 Link

Lawrence County Historical Commission, Inc. P. O. Box 728 Moulton, AL 35650-0728 256-974-1757 Publication: Old Lawrence Reminiscences


 * List of Alabama Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Libraries
Lawrence County Public Library 401 College Street Moulton, Alabama 35650 Telephone: 256-974-

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Family History Centre Locator

Lawrence County Alabama Genealogy Websites

 * Lawrence County, AL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy


 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.




 * USGenWeb Archives Project~ contains record transcriptions from Bibles, obituaries, court records and more.


 * Lawrence County ALGenWeb~ record transcriptions and information pertinent to the county.


 * Lawrence County, Alabama Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)