Alabama Department of Archives and History

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Contact Information
E-mail:  [mailto:mark.palmer@archives.alabama.gov mark.palmer@archives.alabama.gov]

Address: P.O. Box 300100 624 Washington Ave. Montgomery, AL 36130 Telephone:  334-242-4435

Hours and holidays: Hours: click here. State holidays: click here.

Directions, maps, and public transportation:


 * From points north via Birmingham and I-65: take I-65 South to Montgomery, then follow the signs for I-85 North towards Atlanta. From the I-65/I-85 junction, take Exit 1 (Court Street) onto the exit ramp (Arba Street). At the intersection of Arba and Union Streets, turn left onto Union. You will pass under the I-85 interstate onto Union Street – a one-way, four-lane street. (Caution: if you proceed on Arba you will be entering the on-ramp for I-85 south.) Continue north on Union Street. Turn left at the 4th traffic light onto Washington Avenue. The front of the Alabama Department of Archives and History building is to your left across from the Avenue of Flags on the side of the state Capitol.
 * From points south and west via Mobile and I-65: take I-65 North to Montgomery and follow the signs to I-85 North towards Atlanta. After turning onto I-85 North, follow directions to the Alabama Department of Archives and History as indicated above.
 * From points east via Atlanta and I-85: take I-85 South to Exit 1 for Union Street. Veer right onto South Union - a one-way, four-lane street. Turn left at the 3rd traffic light onto Washington Avenue. The front of the Alabama Department of Archives and History building is to your left across from the Avenue of Flags on the side of the state Capitol. On-street parking is available around the Archives building on Washington Avenue, Bainbridge Street, and Adams Avenue/Street. Limited off-street parking is also available in the Archives parking lot across from the rear (south) entrance of the building off Adams Avenue. Please note the south entrance bears the inscription ALABAMA WORLD WAR MEMORIAL above the doors.

Map: click here.

Public transport: MATS Bus Route 1 AUM, and Route 15 Allendale stop near the ADAH building.

Internet sites and databases:


 * Internet site Alabama Department of Archives and History: education, museum, records management, and research including reference request form, visiting instructions, family research tutorials, research brochures, historical and genealogical societies, professional researchers, Alabama Internet resources, and local archives and museums.
 * Alabama History Online timeline, emblems, capitals, famous Alabamians, counties, state histories, governors, legislature, state agencies, election and population records.
 * Alabama Civil War Service database search shows name, branch, unit, company for 238,000 people.

Collection Description
Online indexes: local government county records on microfilm, newspapers on microfilm and otherwise, maps, church and synagogue records, Online records: Civil War soldiers, digital archives, photos, publications, historical quarterly, 1867 voter database; World War I Goldstar (deceased) database, governors' orders database, Other records: military war records, vertical files, personal history surname file, and Alabama city directories inventory.

Tips

 * Registration: All researchers must have a researcher card. To obtain a card, please register on the computer at the lobby desk outside the Research Room on your first visit.
 * Lockers: are available at a refundable cost of 25 cents before entering the Research Room. You may not take the following items into the Research Room: ink pens, brief cases, purses, book or tote bags, back packs, lap top bags, overcoats and raincoats.

Guides

 * Research at the Alabama Department of Archives and History mission statement, directions, collections description, research requests, photocopying, visits. 2 pages.
 * Researching Your Ancestors at the Alabama Department of Archives and History beginning, records to consult, visiting the research room. 2 pages.
 * African American Roots in Alabama research techniques, beginning your search, resources like federal and state censuses, local and state government records, newspapers, manuscripts, books, Freedmen's Bureau, and digital collections. 2 pages.
 * Alabama Historical and Genealogical Societies a county-by-county .pdf list of addresses, phones, and e-mail addresses of the genealogy-related libraries, archives, museums, and societies in Alabama.

Alternate Repositories
If you cannot visit or find a source at the , a similar source may be available at one of the following.

Overlapping Collections


 * National Archives at Atlanta federal censuses, Ancestry.com, military, pensions, bounty-land, photos, passengers arrival indexes, naturalizations, Native Americans, African Americans, workshops.

Similar Collections


 * Family History Library, Salt Lake City, 450 computers, 3,400 databases, 3.1 million microforms, 4,500 periodicals, 310,000 books of worldwide family and local histories, civil, church, immigration, ethnic, military, Mormon records.
 * Dallas Public Central Library 111,700 volumes, 64,500 microfilms, 89,000 microfiche, and over 700 maps, marriage, probate, deed, and tax abstracts in book form, or microfilm of originals for some states, and online databases.

Neighboring Collections


 * Alabama Genealogical Society/Samford University Library Special Collections, Birmingham, Baptist and Alabama history, church records, current and old newspapers, manuscripts, books, and theses.
 * Birmingham Public Library government records, business records, maps, photos, letters, diaries, scrapbooks, about the Jefferson County area, newspapers, maps, and Southern history.
 * Mobile Public Library Index to Confederate Pension Records for AL and MS, Confederate soldiers, Mobile County Probate Court Index 1819-1964, Dawes Commission Indian Rolls.
 * Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, Florence, AL, good northwest AL local history collection.
 * Montgomery County Archives Orphans’ Court minutes, marriages 1817-1970, wills 1817-1949, Probate Court cases 1817-1990, conveyances 1820-present, corporations 1880s-1968, military discharges 1910-1968, elections 1840s-present, jail logs 1880s-1978, mug shots 1953-1978, civil case files 1867-1976, divorces 1867-1960.
 * Montgomery City-County Public Library Ancestry.com, obituaries, black history, history, and local.
 * Bureau of Vital Statistics, Montgomery, birth and death certificates 1908-present, marriage certificates 1936-present, divorce records 1950-present.
 * Auburn University Libraries, Auburn, AL, federal depository library, genealogy websites, censuses, printed sources, manuscripts.
 * Alabama Historical Association news and events, Alabama Review, historical markers program, podcasts, and list of Alabama genealogical and historical societies. See also U. of W. Alabama Library.
 * Montgomery County Historical Society, quarterly publication, and services.
 * Montgomery County Genealogical Society, quarterly, publications on cemeteries, marriages, land, Bibles, wills, and the 1855 Alabama state census, and services including professional researchers.