Jefferson County, Alabama Genealogy

United States   Alabama    |Jefferson County

County Courthouse
Jefferson county has two official County seats - Birmingham and Bessemer.

Birmingham
Jefferson County Courthouse 716 Richard Arrington, Jr. Blvd. N., Birmingham, AL 35203 Phone: (205) 325-5355 Probate Judge has marriage records from 1818 Probate Records from 1870 and land records for 1820

Bessemer
Bessemer County Courthouse 1801 3rd Avenue Bessemer, AL 35020 Phone: (205) 481-4110

Parent County
1819--Jefferson County was created 13 December 1819 from Blount County. County seat: Birmingham

Record Loss
1870 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following article on the Burned Counties Research

and also comparable article by Michael John Neill at the Ancestry.com blog site.

Cities
Adamsville | Bessemer | Birmingham | Brighton | Center Point | Clay | Fairfield | Fultondale | Gardendale | Graysville | Helena | Homewood | Hoover | Hueytown | Irondale | Leeds | Lipscomb | Midfield | Mountain Brook | Pinson | Pleasant Grove | Sumiton | Tarrant | Trussville | Vestavia Hills | Warrior

Towns
Argo | Brookside | Cardiff | County Line | Kimberly | Maytown | McCalla | Morris | Mulga | North Johns | Sylvan Springs | Trafford | West Jefferson

Census Designations
Chalkville | Concord | Edgewater | Forestdale | Grayson Valley | McDonald Chapel | Minor | Mount Olive | Rock Creek

Neighboring Counties
Bibb | Blount | Saint Clair | Shelby | Tuscaloosa | Walker

African American

 * 1896-1935 - in "Alabama, County Marriages, 1809-1950," at FamilySearch.org - free.

Biographies

 * The Book of Birmingham and Alabama. Birmingham, Ala.: The Birmingham Ledger Publishers, 1914. Digital version at - free. Includes bios and photographs.
 * DuBose, John Witherspoon. Jefferson County and Birmingham Alabama, Historical and Biographical. Birmingham, Ala.: Teeple and Smith, 1887. Digital version at - free.

Cemeteries

 * Adams Cemetery
 * Adger Cemetery
 * Atwood Cemetery
 * Bagley Bend Cemetery
 * Bass Cemetery
 * Bass Cemetery
 * Beth-El Cemetery
 * Bibb Cemetery
 * Bivens Chapel Cemetery
 * Brewer Cemetery
 * Brighton Cemetery
 * Bush Cemetery
 * Cahaba Heights Cemetery
 * Cain Creek Cemetery
 * Cardiff Cemetery
 * Castle Heights Memorial Gardens
 * Cedar Hill Cemetery
 * Creel Cemetery
 * Crooked Creek Cemetery
 * Crumley Chapel Cemetery
 * Dug Hill Cemetery
 * Earltown Cemetery
 * East Lake Cemetery
 * Edward Cemetery
 * Elmwood Cemetery
 * Emanuel Cemetery
 * Fairington Cemetery
 * Forest Crest Cemetery
 * Forest Hill Cemetery
 * Fraternal Cemetery
 * George Cemetery
 * George Washington Memorial Gardens Cemetery
 * Glasgow Hill Cemetery
 * Grace Hill Cemetery
 * Greenwood Cemetery
 * Higgins Cemetery
 * Highland Memorial Gardens
 * Hodges Cemetery
 * Hughes Cemetery
 * Inglenook Cemetery
 * Jefferson Garden of Memories
 * Jefferson Memorial Gardens
 * Joley Cemetery
 * Knesses Israel Cemetery
 * Lakeview Cemetery
 * Lawler Cemetery
 * Lincoln Cemetery
 * Linn Cemetery
 * Linns Crossing Cemetery
 * Maben Cemetery
 * Martin Luther King Junior Memorial Cemetery
 * Mason Cemetery
 * Massey Cemetery
 * Massey Pioneer Cemetery
 * McCombs Cemetery
 * McElwain Cemetery
 * Midway Cemetery
 * Moncrief Cemetery
 * Morris Cemetery
 * Mount Calvary Cemetery
 * Mount Hebron Cemetery
 * Mount Hebron Cemetery (starting with Armstrong)
 * Mount Nebo Cemetery
 * Mount Olive Cemetery
 * Mount Zion Cemetery
 * Narl Cemetery
 * New Horizon Memorial Gardens
 * Oak Hill Cemetery
 * Oakdale Cemetery
 * Oakland Cemetery
 * Pine Hill Cemetery
 * Pinson Cemetery
 * Prescott Cemetery
 * Providence Cemetery
 * Reed Cemetery
 * Roberts Cemetery
 * Sadlers Cemetery
 * Saint Michaels Cemetery
 * Salter Cemetery
 * Salter Cemetery (starts w/Cirillo)
 * Shadowlawn Memorial Park
 * Shady Grove Cemetery
 * Sheritt Cemetery
 * Shiloh Cemetery
 * Smithson Cemetery
 * Taylors Chapel Cemetery
 * Toadvine Cemetery
 * Trussville Cemetery
 * Union Cemetery (A)
 * Union Cemetery (B)
 * Union Cemetery (C)
 * Union Cemetery (D)
 * Union Cemetery (E Christian Union)
 * Union Cemetery (F)
 * Union Cemetery (G)
 * Union Grove Cemetery
 * Union Grove Cemetery
 * Union Hill Cemetery
 * Union Hill Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery
 * Valhalla Cemetery
 * Valley Creek Cemetery (starting w/B)
 * Valley Creek Cemetery (starting w/D)
 * Village Falls Cemetery
 * Virginia Mines Cemetery
 * Walkers Chapel Cemetery
 * Weaver Cemetery
 * Wise Cemetery

BillionGraves:


 * Jefferson Memorial Gardens, Trussville
 * New Hope Cemetery, Irondale
 * Reed Cemetery, Birmingham
 * Taylors Chapel Cemtery, Clay

Additional Jefferson County cemeteries are included in Alabama Cemetery Records and  at FamilySearch Books Online - free.

Baptists

 * Hageness, MariLee Beatty. Mount Hebron Church Minutes 1819-1857. Leeds, Jefferson County, Alabama. Anniston, Ala.: MLH Research, 1998. Digital version at - free.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Birmingham
 * McCalla

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


 * Boyd, Gregory A. Family Maps of Jefferson 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 free surname index..

Local Histories

 * DuBose, John Witherspoon. Jefferson County and Birmingham Alabama, Historical and Biographical. Birmingham, Ala.: Teeple and Smith, 1887. Digital version at - free.

Newspapers

 * Obituary Index : Birmingham Area Newspapers (Birmingham News, May 1929 - January 1980;  Birminham World, September 1940 - December 1996; Methodist Christian Advocate / Alabama Christian Advocate, January 1929 - December 1979; Shelby County Reporter, January 1932 - December 1979)
 * Alabama Citizen - full-text digital issues in Google News Archive; covers 1913-1918

Vital Records

 * 1928-1949 - in "Alabama, County Marriages, 1809-1950," at FamilySearch.org - free.

Yearbooks

 * Birmingham Southern College: 1914-2008 (via the Internet Archive)
 * Howard College Student Catalogs (formerly Samford College): 1847-1908 (via the Internet Archive)

Societies and Libraries
Genealogy Southern History Department Birmingham Public Library 2100 Park Place Birmingham, AL 35203

Family History Center

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Bessemer Alabama Family History Center


 * 831 Briarwood Dr Bessemer, Jefferson, Alabama, United States Phone: 205-425-7928 Hours: Wed 5pm-9pm other hours by appointment 919-1939


 * Birmingham Alabama Family History Center


 * 2780 Altadena Rd Birmingham, Jefferson, Alabama, United States Phone: 205-967-7279 Hours: Tues 10am-4pm; Wed 10am-8pm; Sat 10am-2pm. Closures: All holidays and first and fifth Sat of every month


 * Birmingham 2nd Alabama Family History Center


 * 1337 Old Springville Rd, Birmingham, Alabama 35235 Phone: 205-854-0300 Hours: W 5pm-9pm by appointment only; F 9am-1pm by appt only


 * Leeds Alabama


 * 1101 Rockhampton St NE Leeds, Jefferson, Alabama, United States Hours: Wed. 6:00-9:00 p Sat. by Appt.


 * Gardendale Alabama Family History Center


 * 1925 Mt Olive Blvd Gardendale, Alabama 35071 Phone: 205-631-6765:
 * Hours: T,Th 7pm-9pm by appt. Closures: Closed Thanksgiving week and last 2 weeks of Dec.

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project may have maps, name indexes, history, or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * USGenWeb Archives Project~ contains record transcriptions from Bibles, obituaries, court records and more.
 * Jefferson County, ALGenWeb ~ record transcriptions and information pertinent to the county.
 * Jefferson County, Alabama Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Jefferson County, Alabama Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)