Tuscaloosa County, Alabama Genealogy

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

Description
Tuscaloosa County was created on 6 February 1818 and was named for the Choctaw chief Tuskaloosa of a Muskogean-speaking tribe and paramount chief of the Mississippian culture. To form the word, they combined the Choctaw words "tushka" or "tashka" ("warrior") and "lusa" ("black"). Its county seat is Tuscaloosa. It is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Tuscaloosa County Courthouse 714 Greensboro Avenue, 2nd Fl, #214 Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 Phone: 205-349-3870 Tuscaloosa County Website Probate Judge has marriage and probate records from 1823.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator.

Bible Records

 * Tuscaloosa County, Alabama Bible Records at Access Genealogy
 * Tuscaloosa County, Alabama Bible Records at Alabama Genealogy
 * Tuscaloosa County Bible Records at USGenWeb Archives Project

Biographies

 * Northern Alabama, Historical and Biographical. Birmingham, Ala.: Smith and De Land, 1888. Pg. 168. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, HathiTrust.

Census Records
State Census


 * 1855   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1866  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1907, 1921, 1927  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Church Records

 * 1831-1994  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

List of Churches and Church Parishes


 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1889-1950 [[Media:2008 Loose Records FS Master Index Alphabetized PDF.pdf|Index to Estate and Divorce Circuit Court Loose Records]] by Tuscaloosa Genealogical Society - index
 * 1824 Tuscaloosa County Alabama 1824 Subpoena Book. Tuscaloosa County, Alabama : Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.

Directories

 * 1902-1903 Tucaloosa City Directory, 1902-1903, Vol I. 1903. by L Gardner. Tuscaloos, Ala.: The Times Company, Publishers. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library


 * 1940 Telephone Directoru, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 1940. n.p.: Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library


 * 1957 Telephone Directoru, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 1957. n.p.: Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African Americans


 * 1865-1872  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
 * Sellers, James B. Free Negroes of Tuscaloosa County Before the Thirteenth Amendment. Alabama Review. 23 April 1970: 110-27.
 * Sellers, James B.Slavery in Alabama. University, Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1950. WorldCat
 * Hallowed Grounds: Race, Slavery and the University of Alabama

Funeral Homes

 * Heritage Chapel Funeral Home in Tuscaloosa
 * Magnolia Chapel Funeral Homes in Northport and Tuscaloosa
 * Memory Chapel Funeral Home and Memory Hill Gardens in Tuscaloosa
 * Rainey Mortuary Service in Tuscaloosa
 * Tuscaloosa Memorial Park and Chapel in Tuscaloosa
 * Van Hoose and Steele Funeral Home in Tuscaloosa.
 * The Tuscaloosa Genealogical Society has worked with Stillman College to digitize bound records from the Van Hoose Steele Funeral Home. The Records Project has 11 volumes of Van Hoose Steele Funeral Home records dating from 1924 to 1970. Indexing is in progress.
 * Williams Service Funeral Home in Tuscaloosa

Land and Property Records
To place a grant or deed on a map within context of Tuscaloosa County see:


 * Boyd, Gregory A. Family Maps of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama: with Homesteads, Roads, Waterways, Towns, Cemeteries, Railroads, and More. Norman, Okla.: Arphax Pub. Co., 2006. This is a definitive work and can be used as an index to land grants. Digital version at HistoryGeo.com ($). Website includes surname index..

Online Land Indexes and Records

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Alabama (1799-1980)
 * Family Maps of Tuscaloosa County (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
 * Alabama Maps and Blueprints Collection at Alabama Department of Archives and History – maps can be browsed by location or subject

Military Records
Multiple Wars


 * ca.1918-ca.1962  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Civil War


 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index, images at partner site
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index, images at partner site
 * 1861-1865 Civil War Service Database at Alabama Department of Archives and History - index
 * 1861-1865  U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1861-1865  U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1871-1880   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1880-1930   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1907, 1921, 1927  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * Alabama Civil War and Reconstruction Newspapers at Alabama Department of Archives and History


 * - 2nd Regiment, Alabama Cavalry, Company D
 * - 5th Regiment, Alabama Cavalry, Company B
 * - 5th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company H "Warrior Guards"
 * - 11th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company G "North Port Rifles"
 * - 18th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company E (Confederate Stars)
 * - 20th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company K
 * - 32nd Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company I
 * - 36th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company D and K
 * - 41st Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company A, F and G
 * - 43rd Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company D, H, I and K
 * - 50th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company F, formerly Company D, 2nd Battalion
 * - 51st Regiment, Alabama Partisan Rangers, Company G

World War I


 * 1917-1919  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1917-1918 Alabama World War I Service Records at Alabama Department of Archives and History - alpha index by name and images
 * 1917-1918 Alabama World War I Gold Star Files at Alabama Department of Archives and History - alpha index by name and images

World War II


 * 1940-1945  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1940-1966 Alabama Active Military Service Reports at Alabama Department of Archives and History - alpha index by name and images

Civil War Pensions

The Tuscaloosa Genealogical Society has been involved in a long-term project to preserve and digitize 19th Century Circuit Court records. Books dating from 1822 and loose records dating mostly from the 1870s to 1950s are added monthly.

Newspapers

 * Alabama Civil War and Reconstruction Newspapers at Alabama Department of Archives and History
 * Alabama Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both and pay-to-access websites.
 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)

Other Records
Voter Registration


 * 1834-1981  at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection; index and some images

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1753–1999 Alabama Wills and Probate Records 1753-1999 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1800-1930 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1809-1985 (*) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images
 * 1830-1930 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1830-1976 (*) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1889-1950 [[Media:2008 Loose Records FS Master Index Alphabetized PDF.pdf|Index to Estate and Divorce Circuit Court Loose Records]] by Tuscaloosa Genealogical Society - index
 * 1920-1950 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * Tuscaloosa County Probate Records online search. Free registration required.

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records

 * 1865-1866 U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918 at Ancestry ($). Tuscaloosa County is in District 2.

Birth

 * 1881-1930  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1881-1930   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and some images
 * 1910-1922  Tuscaloosa County Birth Index 1910-1922 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

Marriage

 * 1733-2013 Alabama, United States Marriages at Findmypast ($)
 * 1800-1969 Alabama, U.S., Marriage Index, 1800-1969 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1802-1825 Alabama, U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1802-1825 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1809-1920 Alabama, U.S., Compiled Marriages from Selected Counties, 1809-1920 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1809-1950  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and some images
 * 1816-1957  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1818-1936 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1821-1833 Marriages, Vol. I at Southeastern Genealogy ($)
 * 1823-1895 Tuscaloosa County Marriage Index 1823-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

Death

 * 1881–1952  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1881-1974 Alabama, U.S., Deaths and Burials Index, 1881-1974 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1908-1922 Tuscaloosa County Death Index 1908-1922 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * 1908-1959 Alabama, U.S., Death Index, 1908-1959 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1908-1974  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Divorce

 * 1889-1950 [[Media:2008 Loose Records FS Master Index Alphabetized PDF.pdf|Index to Estate and Divorce Circuit Court Loose Records]] by Tuscaloosa Genealogical Society - index

Archives
Alabama Department of Archives and History 624 Washington Ave PO Box 300100 Montgomery, AL 36104 Phone: 334-242-4435 Email: [mailto:mark.palmer@archives.alabama.gov mark.palmer@archives.alabama.gov] Website Facebook West Alabama Heritage Learning Center 911 Main Avenue Northport, AL 35476 Phone: 205-764-1101 Email: [mailto:wahlc4@gmail.com wahlc4@gmail.com] Website Facebook

FamilySearch Centers

 * Jasper Alabama FamilySearch Center
 * Tuscaloosa Alabama FamilySearch Center
 * The Alabama Department of Archives and History - an affiliate library
 * Birmingham Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Tuscaloosa Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Tuscaloosa Library 1801 Jack Warner Parkway Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 Phone: 205-345-5820 Website Facebook Collections include materials of local, state, and regional history as well as microfilms of the Tuscaloosa News. Limited research requests are honored; copy fees apply.

Societies
Tuscaloosa Genealogical Society PO Box 20802 Tuscaloosa, AL 35402-0802 Website Facebook

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * USGenWeb Archives Project. Record transcriptions from Bibles, obituaries, court records and more.
 * Tuscaloosa County ALGenWeb. Record transcriptions and information pertinent to the county.
 * Tuscaloosa County, Alabama Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.