Alabama, Montgomery County Court Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The collection contains images of circuit and city court case files which includes divorces and disputed estates. They also include chancery court case files. Chancery courts are courts of equity, meaning the cases are primarily property disputes, often including disputed estates and sales of slaves. The collection covers the years 1870 to 1950. Wills usually mention the names of heirs and frequently specify how those heirs are related. Wills may also list names of children and married names of daughters. Probate records may not give an exact death date, but the death most often occurred within a few months of the date of probate.

Probate records of Alabama have been kept by the probate court since the counties were created. These courts have records of estate, guardianship, and juvenile cases. The Gandrud and Jones Alabama Records Collection includes some of these records.

These records were created with the intent to determine lawful ownership of family possessions and estates in the event of death or divorce.

The death date, residence, and other facts that were current at the time are quite reliable, though there is still a chance of misinformation. The records may omit the names of deceased family members and those who have previously received an inheritance, or the spouse mentioned may not be the parent of the children mentioned.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The records usually contain the following information:
 * The names of interested individuals
 * The court date
 * The name of the court
 * The location of the court
 * Details of the dispute or case
 * Monies assessed or exchanged
 * Names of witnesses

How Do I Search the Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the individual
 * The date of the event or the name of a parent or spouse

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select the County
 * 2) Select the Record Type, Date Range and Volume to view the images.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the information to find other records such as birth, christening, census, land and death records
 * Use the information to find additional family members. Witnesses or bondsmen were usually relatives
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names, or even initials

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Alabama.
 * Alabama Guided Research
 * Alabama Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.