Sumter County, Alabama Genealogy

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

Description
Sumter County was created on 18 December 1832 and was named for General Thomas Sumter, of South Carolina. Its county seat is Livingston. It is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Sumter County Courthouse 115 Franklin St PO Box 936 Livingston, AL 35470 Phone: 205-652-2291 Fax: 205-652-1010 Sumter County Website Probate Judge has a few birth records from 1888-1918, marriage and probate record from 1833, land records and historical voters maps

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

Biographies

 * Northern Alabama, Historical and Biographical. Birmingham, Ala.: Smith and De Land, 1888. Pg. 215. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, HathiTrust.

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

 * 1839-1937 (*); Probate Judge at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1840-1950 (*) at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images; ''Also at: Ancestry($)
 * 1840-1950 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1840-1851 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1871-1953 (*); Probate Judge at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * Sumter County, Alabama Records, 1833-1841; v. 01. 1961. By Nelle Morris Jenkins. Sumter County, Alabama : Sumter County, Alabama. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * Sumter County, Alabama Records, 1833-1841; v. 02. 1962. By Nelle Morris Jenkins. Sumter County, Alabama : Sumter County, Alabama. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American
 * 1865-1872  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1867-1895 Sumter County Colored Marriage Books 2-7 Index 1867-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

Funeral Homes

 * Bumpers Funeral Home and Monument Company in York
 * Hardaway Funeral Services in York
 * McInnis Mortuary in Livingston
 * Weatherly Funeral Home in York

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


 * Boyd, Gregory A. Family Maps of Sumter County, Alabama: with Homesteads, Roads, Waterways, Towns, Cemeteries, Railroads, and More. Norman, Okla.: Arphax Pub. Co., 2007. 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

Local Histories

 * Pioneer Families of Sumter County, Alabama, Vol I. By Nelle Morris Jenkins. Tuscaloosa, AL: Willo Publishing Co., 1961. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Alabama (1799-1980)
 * Family Maps of Sumter 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


 * - 5th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company B
 * - 5th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company F "Cahaba Rifles"
 * - 36th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company A
 * - 40th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company A and C

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

Newspapers

 * Alabama Civil War and Reconstruction Newspapers at Alabama Department of Archives and History
 * 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 images

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1753–1999 Alabama Wills and Probate Records 1753-1999 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1809-1985 (*) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images
 * 1828-1938 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1830-1976 (*) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1832-1953 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1833-1860 (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1833-1946 (*); Orphans' and Probate Courts at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1839-1937 (*); Probate Judge at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1871-1917 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1871-1932 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1871-1935 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1871-1953 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

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 ($). Sumter 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
 * 1913-1919  Sumter County Marriage Index 1913-1919 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * Dec 1916–May 1918 Index for White Birth Records at ALGenWeb, for the original record book at the Alabama State Archives

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
 * 1833-1895 Sumter County Marriage Books 1-6 Index 1833-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * Marriages at ALGenWeb

Death

 * 1881–1952 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1881-1974 Alabama, U.S., Deaths and Burials Index, 1881-1974 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1908-1959 Alabama, U.S., Death Index, 1908-1959 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1908-1974 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1913-1918 - Sumter County Death Index 1913-1918 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * Sumter County Deaths at ALGenWeb

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

FamilySearch Centers

 * Demopolis Alabama FamilySearch Center
 * Tuscaloosa Alabama FamilySearch Center
 * The Alabama Department of Archives and History - an affiliate library

Libraries
Hightower Memorial Library 630 Avenue A York, AL 36925 Phone: 205-392-2004 Email: [mailto:hmlibrary28@gmail.com hmlibrary28@gmail.com] Facebook Julia Tutwiler Library UWA Station 12 100 US Highway 11 Livingston, AL 35470 Phone: 205-652-3613 Email: [mailto:uwalibrary@uwa.edu uwalibrary@uwa.edu] Website Facebook Ruby Pickens Tartt Public Library 201 Monroe St Livingston, AL 35470 Phone: 205-652-2349 Email: [mailto:rptlibrary@bellsouth.net rptlibrary@bellsouth.net] Website Facebook

Societies
Sumter County Historical Society 207 N Washington St PO Box 213 Livingston, AL 35470 Phone: 205-652-4015 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.
 * Sumter County ALGenWeb. Record transcriptions and information pertinent to the county.
 * Sumter 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.