Wilkes County, Georgia Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Wilkes County Courthouse 23 E Court Street #205 Washington, GA 30673-1570 Phone: (706) 678-2423 Probate Court has birth, marriage, death and probate records from 1792; Clerk Superior Court has divorce and court records from 1778, land records from 1777 and military discharge records. Wilkes County Superior Court 23 Court Street #205 Washington, GA 30673 Phone: (706) 678-2423 Fax: (706) 678-2115 Wilkes county Probate Court 23 E Court Street #427, Washington, GA 30673 Phone: (706) 678-1881

Parent County
1777-Wilkes County was created 5 February 1777 from Creek and Cherokee Indian Lands as an original county. County seat: Washington

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Georgia county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Georgia County Boundary Maps" (1758-1932) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
1958. The courthouse at Washington burned 24 December 1958. Except for papers in courthouse offices, most historic county records were preserved in fire-proof vaults.

Neighboring Counties
Elbert • Lincoln • McDuffie • Oglethorpe • Taliaferro • Warren

Research Guides

 * Wilkes County Resources for Local Research

Cemeteries

 * Wilkes County Cemeteries Complete List of all Cemeteries within Wilkes County, GA

Church Records

 * 1805 - Members of Sardis Church Members in 1805 at Georgia Pioneers ($).

Methodist
Washington Station Methodist Church


 * 1865-1885 - Washington Station Methodist Church Baptism Index 1865-1885. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1865-1895 - Washington Station Methodist Church Marriage Index 1865-1895. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Genealogy

 * Wilkes County Family Group Sheets Individual Family Group Sheets submitted by individual researchers and volunteers.
 * Origins of Early Settlers to Wilkes County at Georgia Pioneers ($).


 * [Huskey] Reagan, Donald B. Smoky Mountain Clans. 3 vols. Knoxville, Tenn.: D.B. Reagan, 1978-1983. . [The Huskey family is discussed in Vol. 1.]
 * [Pope] Johnston, F. Claiborne. "The Tangled Trail of Two John Popes: Colonel John Pope of Amherst County and John Pope of Prince William County and Wilkes County, Georgia," Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 50, No. 1 (Feb. 2012):45-64.

The following were published in The Virginia Genealogist, and digital images may be searched at American Ancestors, using their Search Form. Select Virginia Genealogist, The from the Database listing, then enter the desired volume and page. Note: a login account is free but required to view search results. These are also available at the FHL (see links below).


 * [Cheatham] Dennstedt, Alberta Marjorie. "The Cheatham Family of Colonial Virginia." The Virginia Genealogist: Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1983):163-173; Vol. 27, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1983):273-279; Vol. 28, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1984):38-43; Vol. 28, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1984):102-112; Vol. 28, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1984):209-216; Vol. 28, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1984):293-297; Vol. 29, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1985):32-40; Vol. 29, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1985):123-127; Vol. 29, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1985):179-185; Vol. 29, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1985):262-265; Vol. 30, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1986):17-23; Vol. 30, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1986):99-104. .
 * [Darricott] Bell, John C. "Bickleys of the Pamunkey River Watershed of Virginia in the 18th Century." The Virginia Genealogist: Vol. 27, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1983):32-49; Vol. 27, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1983):90-104; Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1983):179-189; Vol. 27, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1983):259-264; Vol. 28, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1984):19-32; Vol. 28, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1984):88-98; Vol. 28, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1984):169-186; Vol. 28, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1984):261-274. .
 * [Jackson] Brandenberger, Evelyn Duke. "The Jacksons of Lower Virginia." The Virginia Genealogist: Vol. 30, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1986):163-169; Vol. 30, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1986):288-295; Vol. 31, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1987):11-18; Vol. 31, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1987):101-111; Vol. 31, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1987):195-204; Vol. 31, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1987):269-278; Vol. 32, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1988):49-57; Vol. 32, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1988):119-130; Vol. 32, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1988):185-192; Vol. 32, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1988):259-263; Vol. 33, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1989):34-44; Vol. 33, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1989):135-143; Vol. 33, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1989):204-207; Vol. 33, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1989):295-304. .

Land and Property

 * Wilkes County Revolutionary Land Grants Authentic List of All Land Lottery Grants made to Veterans of the Revolutionary War By the State of Georgia
 * Wilkes County 1803 Land Lottery Complete list of the 1803 Land Lottery for Wilkes County, GA
 * Wilkes County 1806 Land Lottery Complete list of the 1806 Land Lottery for Wilkes County, GA
 * Wilkes County 1819 Land Lottery Complete list of the 1819 Land Lottery for Wilkes County, GA
 * Wilkes County 1821 Land Lottery Complete list of the 1821 Land Lottery for Wilkes County, GA
 * Wilkes County 1827 Land Lottery Complete list of the 1827 Land Lottery for Wilkes County, GA
 * Wilkes County 1832 Land Lottery Complete list of the 1832 Land Lottery for Wilkes County, GA
 * Wilkes County Maps &amp; Land Plats List of Land Plats with owner names and maps for Wilkes County, GA
 * Land Records of Wilkes County Transcribed Land Records submitted &amp; donated to Wilkes County, GAGenWeb Site.

Local Histories

 * An Overview of Local History by Robert Willingham


 * The Story of Washington-Wilkes. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1941. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Maps



 * Maps of Georgia (1758-1932)
 * Wilkes County Maps &amp; Land Plats List of Land Plats with owner names and maps for Wilkes County, GA
 * Also at Family Search as.

At Georgia Pioneers ($) you can find:


 * Map of Wilkes County, 1955
 * Map of Original Wilkes County
 * Map of Wilkes County Settlers

Military

 * Georgia USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Veterans - Salute to our Veterans who serve our country through out all wars and peace-time.
 * Fallen Heroes - Tribute to our Fallen Heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)


 * - 9th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company A
 * - 15th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company A
 * - 37th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company H; Company E, 9th Battalion
 * - 61st Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company G
 * - Ritter's Company, Georgia Light Artillery (Confederate)
 * - Georgia USGenWeb Archives Project

Probate Records
Online Probate Records


 * 1742 – 1992 Georgia Wills and Probate Records 1742-1992 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1742 – 1990 at  FamilySearch.org images


 * County Deeds Partial list of Deed Books and Individual Deeds.
 * Wilkes County Estate Records Partial list of Individual Estate Records.
 * Wilkes County Guardianship Records Partial list of Individual Guardianship Records.

The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Wilkes County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee. Available indexes:


 * 1) Wills: 1794-1819

At Georgia Pioneers, you can find:


 * 1786-1806 - Digital Images of Wilkes County, Georgia Wills, Book C (1786-1806) at Georgia Pioneers ($).
 * Index to Wilkes County Wills and Estates (by surnames) Georgia Pioneers ($)
 * General Index of Wilkes County, Georgia Estates at Georgia Pioneers ($).

Vital Records
See also How to order Georgia Vital Records

Marriage Records

 * 1699 - 1944 - Georgia Marriages 1699-1944 at Ancestry.com— index $
 * 1754 - 1960 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1785 - 1950 - at FamilySearch.org — index and images
 * 1787 - 1962 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1808 - 1967 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1828 - 1978 - Georgia Marriage Records from Select Counties 1828-1978 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1790 - 1832 - Wilkes County Marriage Index 1790-1832. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1836 - 1871 - Wilkes County Marriage Index 1836-1871. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1871 - 1882 - Wilkes County Marriage Index 1871-1882. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1875 - 1882 - Wilkes County Marriage Index 1875-1882. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1882 - 1895 - Wilkes County Marriage Index 1882-1895. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1882 - 1895 - Wilkes County Marriage Index 1882-1895. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1885 - 1886 - Wilkes County, Georgia Marriages from Newspapers 1885-1886 at Georgia Pioneers ($).

Death Records

 * 1914 - 1927 - at FamilySearch.org — index and images
 * 1919 - 1998 - Georgia Deaths 1919-1998 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1928 - 1939 - at FamilySearch.org — index and images
 * 1933 - 1998 - at FamilySearch.org — index

Genealogy Societies and Libraries
Savannah River Valley Genealogical Society c/o Hart County Library, Benson St Hartwell, GA 30643 Website website

Central Georgia Genealogical Society Post Office Box 2024 Warner Robins, GA 31099 Website website

Washington Township Historical Society 308 E Robert Toombs Ave Washington 30673-2038 website


 * GAGenWeb Wilkes County

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Websites

 * Wilkes County, GA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Georgia Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Georgia Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * GAGenWeb Wilkes County
 * Wilkes County, Georgia Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Wilkes County Georgia Genealogy
 * Georgia Pioneers Georgia Pioneers ($).
 * Georgia Pioneers Georgia Pioneers ($).