Franklin County, Alabama Genealogy

United States   Alabama    |Franklin County

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

County Courthouse
Franklin County Courthouse 410 North Jackson Ave. Russellville, AL 35653, (256) 332-8861

Records burned 1890 Probate Judge has marriage, probate and land records from 1890 Clerk Circuit Court has court records from 1923 and divorce records

Parent County
1818--Franklin County was created 6 February 1818 from the Cherokee and Chickasaw Cession of 1816. County seat: Russellville

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Alabama county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Alabama County Boundary Maps" (1799-1980) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
Franklin County had a destructive courthouse fire in 1890. See Research in Alabama: A Genealogical Guide  page 27 for suggested alternative sources to overcome this loss.

For a list of record loss in Alabama counties see: Alabama Counties with Burned Courthouses

Neighboring Counties

 * Colbert
 * Itawamba County, Mississippi
 * Lawrence
 * Marion
 * Tishomingo County, Mississippi
 * Winston

Cemeteries

 * Shady Grove Cemetery, Phil Campbell BillionGraves

Local Histories

 * Northern Alabama, Historical and Biographical. Birmingham, Ala.: Smith and De Land, 1888. Digital version at . begins on page 102.

Maps

 * Maps of Alabama (1799-1980)

Civil War, 1861-1865
Civil War service men from Franklin County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies or regiments that were formed from men of Franklin County.


 * - 1st Battalion, Alabama Artillery, Company F
 * - 2nd Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company E
 * - 4th Regiment, Alabama Cavalry (Roddy's), Company E and L
 * - 5th Regiment, Alabama Cavalry, Company E
 * - 16th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company A
 * - 16th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company E and H
 * - 27th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company A, B and G
 * - 35th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company B and K

Periodicals

 * Valley Leaves. 1966–. Published by the Tennessee Valley Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 1568, Huntsville, Alabama 35807. . Website identifies articles relating to (click "Search by County").

Taxation

 * 1865-1866 - U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918 at Ancestry ($). Franklin County is in District 3.

Vital Records
See also How to order Alabama Vital Records

Birth

 * Births at ALGenWeb - free

Marriage

 * To 1825 Index to Marriages at Ancestry – ($); Index. contains over 12,000 names. Each entry includes groom, bride, marriage date, county, and state. Every name is indexed so you can search for one name, or two names that are linked.


 * 1823–1825, 1875, 1890–1902, 1936–1969 Alabama, Marriage Collection, 1800–1969 at Ancestry – ($); Index. This collection is comprised of indexes created by several agencies - the Alabama Center for Health Statistics, Jordan Dodd of Liahona Research, and Hunting For Bears.


 * 1890-1931 - Franklin County Marriage Books 1-8 Index 1890-1931 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1890–1900 "Alabama Marriages, 1809–1920"at Ancestry – ($); Index. This database is a collection of marriage records from the state. Researchers will find the names of both bride and groom along with the marriage date. The county where the ceremony was performed is also provided. Containing about 150,000 records and the names of nearly 300,000 men and women.


 * Marriages at ALGenWeb - free

Death

 * 1881–1974 Index to Deaths and Burials at Ancestry – ($); Index. Volunteers extracted the details in this index from microfilmed copies of church, civil, family, and other records of Alabama deaths and burials. details vary depending on the original record. Note that the number of available records can vary widely by county, and this database does not necessarily represent a comprehensive set of death records for the state during this time.


 * 1908–1959 Index to Deaths recorded by the state of Alabama at Ancestry – ($); Index. The index includes name of the deceased, county of death, date of death, and the state certificate number (volume and page).


 * 1908-1974 - at FamilySearch Historical Records Collection - free

Voting Registers
Alabama Voting Registers for 1867 are available online at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. Franklin County has one book.

Societies and Libraries

 * List of Alabama Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

Libraries
Russellville Public Library 110 East Lawrence St. Russellville, Alabama 35653 Telephone: 256-332-1535

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Franklin County Alabama Genealogy Websites

 * Franklin County, AL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * 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.
 * Franklin County ALGenWeb ~ record transcriptions and information pertinent to the county.
 * Franklin County, Alabama Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Franklin County, Alabama Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)