Alabama, Montgomery County Court Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
The collection covers the years 1870 to 1950.

Record Description
The records consist of digital images of circuit and city court case files including primarily divorces and disputed estates. They also includes chancery court case files. Chancery courts are courts of equity, so they hear primarily property disputes, often including disputed estates and sales of slaves.

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The place of residence
 * The approximate death, divorce, or court date
 * The name of the deceased

Compare the information you find in the records to what you already know about your ancestors to determine which record is about your ancestor. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example:


 * Use court records to identify heirs and relatives.
 * You may be able to use the record to learn about adoptions or guardianship of any minor children and dependents.
 * Use the document (such as the will) or the recording dates to approximate a death date.
 * You may be able to use the record to learn about land transactions.

For a summary of this information see the wiki article: United_States,_How_to_Use_the_Records_Summary_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records)

Record History
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.

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

Record Reliability
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.

Related Wiki Articles
Alabama Probate Records

Related Websites
Montgomery County Alabama Court Records

Alabama Public Records

This section of the article is incomplete. You can help FamilySearch Wiki by supplying links to related websites here.

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection

 * United States. Bureau of the Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: September 29, 2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B, line 71.
 * Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Fernandez Jimenez, 1 Feb. 1910, San Pedro Apóstol, Cuahimalpa, Distrito Federal, Mexico, film number 0227023.

Sources of information for This Collection
Alabama. Montgomery County Court Records. Montgomery County Circuit Court. Montgomery, Alabama.