Fayette County, Georgia Genealogy

United States Georgia  Fayette County

Guide to Fayette County Georgia genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Fayette county's original courthouse was built in 1825 and is the oldest standing courthouse in Georgia. It is located at the intersections of GA Highways 85 and 54, "on the Square." Read more about it here: georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/courthouses/fayetteoldCH.htm

Fayette County Courthouse 200 Courthouse Square Fayetteville, GA 30214-2198 Phone: 770.461.6041 Probate Court has birth, marriage, death and probate records. Clerk Superior Court has divorce, court and land records. Beginning Dates for Government Records

History


The county is named after Revolutionary War hero, the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834).

Parent County
1821--Fayette County was created 15 May 1821 from Creek Indian Lands. County seat: Fayetteville

Boundary Changes
Several neighboring counties were created in part from Fayette County lands: DeKalb (1822), Campbell (1828 - consolidated with Fulton County in 1932), Spalding (1851) and Clayton (1858).

Record Loss
1983 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:


 * Burned Counties Research
 * http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=2424

Populated Places
The main cities and towns in Fayette county are Brooks, Fayetteville (county seat) Peachtree City, Tyrone and Woolsey.

Neighboring Counties

 * Clayton
 * Coweta
 * Fulton
 * Spalding

Cemeteries
Fayette county contains dozens of church, family and municipal cemeties in various states of upkeep. Many of the cemeteries are being transcribed and are available online:


 * Findagrave.com www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi
 * Billiongraves.com billiongraves.com/pages/search/#country=United+States&amp;state=Georgia&amp;county=Fayette&amp;search_text=&amp;action=search_cemetery
 * Rootsweb: www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gafayett/cemeteries/cemeteries.htm
 * The GA Genweb Tombstone Transcription Project usgwtombstones.org/georgia/fayette.html
 * For a more complete list, see Linkpendium's Fayette County Georgia: Cemeteries page: www.linkpendium.com/genealogy/USA/GA/Fayette/cem/

Baptist
Fayetteville Baptist Church


 * 1903 - Fayetteville Baptist Church Baptism Index 1903. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Methodist
Fayetteville Methodist Church


 * 1869-1885 - Fayetteville Methodist Church Marriage Index 1869-1885. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1869-1895 - Fayetteville Methodist Church Marriage Index 1869-1895. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Probate Records

 * Wills 1828-1897 (abstracts) Georgia Pioneers
 * Wills 1830-1850 (abstracts) Georgia Pioneers
 * Mixed Records, inventories, returns, etc. 1837-1845; 1851-1856 Georgia Pioneers

Marriage

 * 1823-1849 - Fayette County Marriage Books A and B Index 1823-1849. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1849-1881 - Fayette County Marriage Books C and E Index 1849-1881. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1881-1892 - Fayette County Marriage Book F Index 1881-1892. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1892-1912 - Fayette County Marriage Books G and H Index 1892-1912. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Death
"The Georgia Archives has a few 'Georgia Death Certificates from 1919 through 1927. The collection also includes a number of certificates from 1914-1918, with the bulk dating from 1917 and 1918. The Georgia Archives would like to thank the Genealogical Society of Utah for their partnership in scanning and indexing these records.' Search them here: cdm.georgiaarchives.org:2011/cdm/landingpage/collection/gadeaths"
 * 1859-60, 1869-70, 1879-80 - Mortality Schedules at Ancestry ($).

The Georgia Archives maintains a "Virtual Vault" of digitized records. They can be found here: cdm.georgiaarchives.org:2011/cdm/

Vital Record Substitutes
Because Georgia did not require statewide recording of birth records until 1919, the WWI and WWII Draft Registration cards are an excellent alternative for men born between the years 1886 and 1896 for the WWI draft and 1877 and 1900 for the WWII "Old Man's Draft."

Search the WWI Draft here: familysearch.org/search/collection/1968530

The WWII draft cards are available on ancestry.com search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx ($) and fold3.com. www.fold3.com/title_765/wwii_old_mans_draft_registration_cards/ ($)

Genealogy Societies and Libraries
The Fayette County Historical Society is an active organization in Fayetteville. You can learn more about them here: fayettehistoricalsociety.com/

Family History Centers
There are two LDS Family History Centers near Fayette County, Georgia:

The Jonesboro Family History Center:

familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Jonesboro_Georgia_Family_History_Center#Center_Contacts_and_Hours

The Newnan Family History Center:

familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Newnan_Georgia_Family_History_Center


 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Fayette County, Georgia Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Georgia Pioneers Georgia Pioneers
 * The New Georgia Encyclopedia has an excellent thumbnail sketch of Fayette county here: www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/fayette-county
 * The New Georgia Encyclopedia has an excellent thumbnail sketch of Fayette county here: www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/fayette-county