Russell County, Alabama Genealogy

United States   Alabama    |Russell County

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

County Courthouse
County Health Department has birth and death records Clerk Circuit Court has divorce and court records Judge of Probate has marriage probate and land records.

Parent County
1832--Russell County was created 18 December 1832 from the Creek Cession of 1832. County seat: Phenix

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

Neighboring Counties

 * Barbour
 * Bullock
 * Chattahoochee County, Georgia
 * Lee
 * Macon
 * Muscogee County, Georgia
 * Stewart County, Georgia

Cemeteries

 * Cemetery Records of Jefferson and Walker Counties, Alabama. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Society?, 1945. Digital version at Ancestry ($). Includes Pine Grove Cemetery (Phenix City, Ala.).

Maps

 * Maps of Alabama (1799-1980)

Civil War
Civil War service men from Russell 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 Russell County.


 * - 6th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company H [subsequently, Company C]
 * - 6th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company J "Russell Volunteers" [subsequently, Company F]
 * - 15th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company A (Cantey Rifles)
 * - 17th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company G
 * - 33rd Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company K
 * - 34th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company I and K
 * - 37th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company D
 * - 39th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company E
 * - 45th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company D and F

Probate Records

 * 1830-1976 - Probate Records, 1830-1976 at  - free.

Taxation

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

Vital Records
See also How to order Alabama Vital Records

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.


 * 1834-1895 - Russell County Marriage Index 1834-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1844-1850, 1859, 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.


 * 1845-1850 "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.

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

Societies and Libraries

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

Societies
Russell County Historical Commission 801 Dillingham Street Seale, Alabama 36875

Libraries
Phenix City-Russell County Library 1501 17th Avenue Phenix City, Alabama, 36867 334-298-8452

Chattahoochee Valley Community College

2602 College Drive

Phenix City, Alabama,36869

334-291-4900

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Russell County Alabama Genealogy Websites

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