Limestone County, Alabama Genealogy

United States   Alabama    |Limestone County

County Courthouse
Limestone County Courthouse 310 W. Washington Ave., Athens, AL 35611 Phone:(256) 233-6406

County Archives has bird and death records 1881-1913 marriage records 1832-1900 divorce records 1896-1947 land and court records 1818-1900, tax records 1861-1900, Newspapers 1868-1985 Probate Judge has marriage probate land records from after 1900 Clerk Circuit Court has court records after 1900 and divorce records after 1947

Parent County
1818--Limestone County was created 6 February 1818 from the Cherokee and Chicksaw Cession in 1816. County seat: Athens

Record Loss
1862 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:

Burned Counties Research

http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=2424

Neighboring Counties

 * Giles County, Tennessee
 * Lauderdale
 * Lawrence
 * Lincoln County, Tennessee
 * Madison
 * Morgan

Biographies

 * Northern Alabama, Historical and Biographical. Birmingham, Ala.: Smith and De Land, 1888. Digital version at . begins on page 71.


 * Limestone County Biographies at The USGenWeb Archives Project - free.

Cemeteries

 * Douthat, James L. Wheeler Reservoir Cemeteries. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Free surname index and publisher's bookstore at Mountain Press.

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

Church Records
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Elkmont

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


 * Boyd, Gregory A. Family Maps of Limestone 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..

Civil War
Civil War service men from Limestone 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 Limestone County.


 * - 9th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company F "Limestone Troopers"
 * - 9th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company H "Limestone Grays"
 * - 35th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company D and G
 * - 50th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company B, formerly Company C, 2nd Battalion
 * - 50th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company E, formerly Companies B/G, 2nd Battalion "Limestone Rebels"
 * - 54th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company B (formerly Co. "A", 40th TN Infantry)
 * - 54th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company H (formerly Co. "I", 1st AL, TN, and MS Infantry)

Civil War Battles Fought in Limestone County

 * 1864 - January 26 = Athens
 * 1864 - October 26-29 = Decatur

Battle information from Civil War Battle Summaries by State, by the Heritage Preservation Services.

Map showing Civil War battles in Alabama.

Newspapers
Abstracts of The Limestone County News (1859), The Union Banner (1860), and The Athens Post (1865-1870) were published in:


 * 1859-1870 - Caver, Larry E. Abstracts from Alabama Newspapers, Volume II: Limestone County, Madison County, Marshall County, Jackson County. Carrollton, Miss.: Pioneer Publishing Co., 2007. Digital version at - free.


 * 1931, 1941, 1942, 1944-1949, 1968 - The Alabama Courier (Athens, Ala.) at Ancestry ($).

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").

Probate Records

 * 1866-1870 - Hageness, MariLee Beatty. Probate Records 1866-1870 Limestone County Alabama. Anniston, Ala.: MLH Research, 2001. Digital version at - free.

Taxation

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

Birth

 * 1881-1930 - at FamilySearch Historical Records Collection - free

Marriage

 * 1816-1957 - at FamilySearch Historical Records Collection. Incomplete. - free


 * 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.


 * 1821–1862, 1924, 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.

Death

 * 1881-1952 - at FamilySearch Historical Records Collection - free


 * 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

Limestone County Archives

 * Intro to the Archives (http://www.limestonecounty-al.gov/LC_Archives.html)
 * Online research of Archives records (follow link from home page)
 * Friends of the Archives (http://www.limestonefoa.org/)

Family History Center

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Athens Alabama Family History Center
 * 1716 W Market St Athens, Limestone, Alabama, United States Phone: 256-771-9968 Hours: T 10am-4pm; W 6:30pm-8:30pm; Sat 9am-12pm. Closures: Closed First Saturday of each month; Closed Dec 21 - 31

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