Clay County, Georgia Genealogy

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



Description
The County was named for Henry Clay. The County is located in the southwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Clay County Courthouse 210 S Washington PO Box 550 Fort Gaines, GA 31751-0550 Phone: 912-768-3238 Clay County Website Clerk Superior Court has divorce and land records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Bible Records

 * Clay County Bible Records at Georgia USGenWeb Archives Project

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1854-1905 (*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

Funeral Homes

 * Lewis Mortuary in Fort Gaines

Land and Property Records

 * 1735-1866 Georgian Colonial and Headright Plat Index, 1735-1866 at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - alpha index
 * 1783-1909 Headright and Bounty Plats, 1783-1909 at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images with alpha index
 * 1805-1833 District Plats of Survey at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images organized by county and district
 * Colonial Plats and Warrants at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images with alpha index

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
 * 1740s-? Historic Map File at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images
 * 1866 - 1935 County Map File at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images
 * Maps of Georgia (1758-1932)

Military Records

 * Georgia USGenWeb Archives Project

Civil War 

Online Records
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection
 * 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)
 * 1861-1865 Confederate Enlistment Oaths and Discharges at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault- images and alphabetical index
 * 1861-1865 Confederate Muster Rolls at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault- images; filter by commanding officer, service branch and regiment
 * 1861-1865 Confederate Pension Application Supplements - images and alphabetical index; filter by county
 * 1864 Militia Enrollment Lists, 1864 - images; filter by county
 * 1867-1868  at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection
 * 1879-1920  at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection
 * 1879-1960 Confederate Pension Applications - images and alphabetical index; filter by county
 * 1889-1902 Confederate Survivors Records. Georgia Pioneers ($)


 * - 9th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company D
 * - 32nd Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company F
 * - 51st Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company I
 * - 59th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company E


 * Todd, Donald (Priscilla Neves). 1976. The History of Clay County. [Fort Gaines, Ga.]: [Clay County Library Board?]. (Chapter VI)
 * Georgia. Court of Ordinary (Clay County). 1966. Confederate pension records, 1890-1958. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah.

Spanish-American War
 * 1898 Spanish-American War Service Summary Cards - images and alphabetical index; filter by residence, muster location and unit

World War I World War II
 * 1914-1918 World War I Casualties Scrapbooks - images and alphabetical index
 * 1920-1929 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
 * 1940-1942 Georgia World War II Draft Registration Cards 1940-1942 at findmypast - index ($))

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * Georgia Historic Newspapers at Digital Library of Georgia

Other Records
Voting Records 
 * 1867-1868  at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1733-1753 Colonial Wills at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images with alpha index
 * 1742-1990 (*) at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1742-1992 Georgia Wills and Probate Records 1742-1992 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1754-1776 Colonial Will Books at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images with alpha index
 * 1852-1870 Digital Images of Clay County Wills 1852-1870. See names of Testators Georgia Pioneers ($)
 * 1852-1922 Index to Will Book A 1852-1922 Georgia Pioneers Georgia Pioneers ($)
 * 1852-1963, 1966 (*); Georgia. Court of Ordinary (Clay County) at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1854-1911 (*); Georgia. Court of Ordinary (Clay County) at FamilySearch Catalog — index and images
 * 1854-1966 (*); Georgia. Court of Ordinary (Clay County) at FamilySearch Catalog — index and images
 * 1859-1873 Index to Inventories, Appraisements, Sales, Book A, 1859-1873 Georgia Pioneers ($)
 * 1875-1902 Index to Annual Returns 1875-1902 Georgia Pioneers ($)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information. — How to Use this Collection
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

 * 1787-1900 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection, index and images

Birth

 * 1870-1960  at FamilySearch — index, and some images — How to Use this Collection

Marriage

 * 1560-1993 Georgia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index ($)
 * 1699-1944 Georgia Marriages 1699-1944 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1754-1960  at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
 * 1785-1950  at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
 * 1787-1962  at FamilySearch — indexHow to Use this Collection
 * 1808-1967  at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection
 * 1828-1978 Georgia Marriage Records from Select Counties 1828-1978 at Ancestrym — index and images ($)
 * 1842-1892 Clay County Marriages, transcript,  Georgia Pioneers ($)
 * 1854-1888 Clay County Marriage Books A thru C Index 1854-1888. Batch  at FamilySearch
 * 1871-1877; 1877 - 1888 - Indexes to Clay County MarriagesGeorgia Pioneers (S)
 * 1889-1929 Clay County Marriage Books D and E Index 1889-1929. Batch  at FamilySearch1842-1891;


 * 1871-1877 (index) Georgia Pioneers ($)
 * 1877-1888 (index) Georgia Pioneers ($)

Death

 * 1870-1960  at FamilySearch — index, and some images — How to Use this Collection
 * 1914-1927  at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
 * 1919-1998 Georgia Deaths 1919-1998 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1919-1930 Georgia Death Certificates at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - index and images
 * 1928-1930 Georgia Non-Indexed Death Certificates at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images
 * 1928-1942  at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
 * 1933-1998  at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection

Societies
Fort Oglethorpe Preservation Society, Inc. Po Box 5403 Fort Oglethorpe, GA 30742 Phone: 706-338-2898 Email: [mailto:hoglethorpecounty@gmail.com hoglethorpecounty@gmail.com] Historic Oglethorpe County, Inc. Facebook

Fort Gaines Historical Society Incorporated P.O. Box 7 Fort Gaines, GA 39851 Phone: 706-369-3513 Email: [mailto:sthomas@trrcobbhouse.org sthomas@trrcobbhouse.org] Fort Gaines Facebook

Southwest Georgia Genealogical Society P.O.Box 4672 Albany, Georgia 31706 Email: [mailto:swggsmail@swggs.org swggsmail@swggs.org] Southwest Georgia Genealogical Society

Dougherty County Public Library Genealogy Room 300 Pine Ave. Albany, Ga. 31701 Phone: 229-420-3218 Dougherty County Public Library Genealogy Room

Websites

 * Georgia Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb Clay County, Georgia project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * GAGenWeb Archives
 * Clay County, Georgia Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Georgia Pioneers ($)
 * - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records