Liberty County, Georgia Genealogy

Guide to Liberty 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 the American ideal of liberty. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Liberty County Courthouse Courthouse Square PO Box 829 Hinesville, GA 31313-3240 Phone: 912-876-2164 Liberty County Website Probate Judge has marriage and probate records from late 1700s, birth records from 1919 and death records from 1927. Clerk of Court has divorce, court and land records from 1756 (some early records were lost).

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:

Cemeteries

 * Liberty County Genealogy, Wills, Estates, Cemeteries, Maps ($)

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes


 * FamilySearch Places

Congregational The TheyHadNames.net project has created a spreadsheet containing the names of all African Americans from the Midway Congregational Church's quarterly session records from 1752-1867.


 * Midway Congregational Church Records, Liberty County, Georgia. Digital version at Ancestry ($)
 * Stacy, James. History of the Midway Congregational Church, Liberty County, Georgia. 1951. Digital version at Ancestry ($)
 * 1746-1828 Congregational Church, Midway, Baptism Index 1746-1828. Batch  at FamilySearch
 * 1748-1788 Congregational Church, Midway, Baptism Index 1748-1788. Batch  at FamilySearch
 * 1754-1898 Congregational Church, Midway, Baptism Index 1754-1898. Batch  at FamilySearch
 * 1844-1863 Congregational Church, Midway, Baptism Index 1844-1863. Batch  at FamilySearch
 * 1864-1867 Congregational Church, Midway, Baptism Index 1864-1867. Batch  at FamilySearch
 * 1753-1858 Congregational Church, Midway, Marriage Index 1753-1858. Batch  at FamilySearch
 * 1753-1785 Congregational Church, Midway, Marriage Index 1753-1785. Batch  at FamilySearch
 * 1754-1898 Congregational Church, Midway, Marriage Index 1754-1898. Batch  at FamilySearch
 * 1859-1867 Congregational Church, Midway, Marriage Index 1859-1867. Batch  at FamilySearch

Congregational/Methodist ''[https://theyhadnames.net/pleasant-grove-church-records/ Transcription of early records of Pleasant Grove Church, an offshoot of the Midway Congregational Church. Includes names of both white and black members.]''

General Census of all African American church members, 1846, Liberty County 15th District (searchable, sortable spreadsheet).

Court Records

 * 1787-1834 Master petit and grand jury list (not including all years) Genealogy Trails
 * 1870  Residents, physical descriptions of Persons (digital images) Georgia Pioneers ($)
 * 1880's - List of Court Officials Genealogy Trails
 * 1800's - List of Court Abbreviations Genealogy Trails

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African Americans 


 * They Had Names - Documentation of names of African Americans mentioned in the 1790-1865 wills, estate inventories, bills of sale, collateral mortgages, deeds of gift, marriage settlements, and estate settlements of white slaveholders in Liberty County, Georgia. Also contains transcription of 1846 census of all African American church members in Liberty County's 15th District, church records of Midway Congregational Church and Pleasant Grove Methodist Church, list of free persons of color, colored orphan bonds, etc.
 * Liberty County Superior Court's deeds and mortgages (including bills of sale for enslaved people) are digitized online in FamilySearch.org's catalog under the title "Deeds and mortgages 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages 1777-1958" at this link. (If the link does not work, search the catalog for the title.) They are not yet searchable but there are several types of printed indexes (overall direct and reverse and for each record book) that can be paged through. The researcher will need to know the name of the slaveholder to find a particular record in the indexes, but the record books are identified by date ranges and can be paged through. Each entry will give the record book letter and page number. Use that to find the record in the digitized record books at this same link.

Genealogies

 * Liberty County Historical Society website contains references to many prominent local families.


 * The Midway Museum has books of genealogies/lineages contributed by local families. Call 912-884-5837 for more information. Midway Museum website

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
 * English Crown Grants in St. Andrew Parish in Georgia 1755-1775 by Pat Bryant - a digital copy.

The They Had Names site has searchable abstracts of deeds naming enslaved people in Liberty County Superior Court Deed Books M, N, O & P (including the years 1838-1865). This includes bills of sale, mortgages, deeds of gift, marriage contracts, estate settlements, etc, with the names of the enslaved people and their slaveowners. These deeds often included identifying data such as ages and family relationships.

Liberty County Superior Court's deeds and mortgages (including bills of sale for enslaved people) are digitized online in FamilySearch.org's catalog under the title Deeds and mortgages 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages 1777-1958. (If the link does not work, search the catalog for the titles.) They are not yet searchable but there are several types of printed indexes (overall direct and reverse and for each record book) that can be paged through. Each entry will give the record book letter and page number. Use that to find the record in the digitized record books at this same link.

Local Histories

 * The Liberty County Historical Society website contains pictures and extensive historical and genealogical information.
 * Taylors Creek: Story of the Community and Her People Through 200 years. Pearson, Ga.: Press of the Atkinson County Citizen, 1963. Digital version at Ancestry ($)
 * List of published histories for the Liberty County area

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- 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
 * 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)
 * 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
 * 1879-1920  at FamilySearch — index
 * 1879-1960 Confederate Pension Applications - images and alphabetical index; filter by county


 * - 14th Battalion, Georgia Infantry (State Guards) (Confederate),
 * - 20th Battalion, Georgia Cavalry (Confederate)
 * - 25th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Companies E and F

Spanish-American War


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

World War I


 * 1914-1918 World War I Casualties Scrapbooks - images and alphabetical index
 * 1920-1929 at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II


 * 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
Southern Claims Commission case files

The TheyHadNames.net project is transcribing Southern Claims Commission case files from Liberty County, and has an index of all the Liberty County cases with links to the completed transcriptions. Some transcriptions also include genealogical research on the claimant.

Voting Records 


 * 1867-1868  at FamilySearch — index
 * 1856-1909 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Probate Records
For a finding aid to the Liberty County probate record sets on FamilySearch, see TheyHadNames.

Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1733-1753 Colonial Wills at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images with alpha index
 * 1742-1990 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1742-1992 Georgia Wills and Probate Records 1742-1992 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1754-1776 Colonial Will Books at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images with alpha index
 * 1763-1873 Index to Wills and Appraisements, Book C, 1863-1873 Georgia Pioneers ($)
 * 1772-1887 Wills 1772-1887 (abstracts) Georgia Pioneers ($)
 * 1779-1823 Wills 1779-1823 (digital images) Georgia Pioneers ($)
 * 1784-1791 Index to Estates 1784-1791, by surname (digital images) Georgia Pioneers ($)
 * 1786-1823 Wills (abstracts), includes names of enslaved people Genealogy Trails
 * 1786-1865 Transcripts and summaries of wills, estate inventories and other probate documents naming enslaved people They Had Names
 * 1789-1823 Index to Wills and Appraisements, Book A, 1789-1823 Georgia Pioneers ($)
 * 1790-1865 Abstracts of all estate inventories naming enslaved people They Had Names
 * 1790-1823 Index to Estate Appraisals Genealogy Trails
 * 1823-1829 Estates 1823-1829 (digital images) Georgia Pioneers ($)
 * 1823-1848 Wills (abstracts), includes names of enslaved people Genealogy Trails
 * 1824-1850 Index to Estate Appraisals Genealogy Trails
 * 1824-1850 Index to Wills and Appraisements, Book B, 1824-1850 Georgia Pioneers ($)
 * 1848-1865 Wills (abstracts & transcripts), inc names of enslaved people Genealogy Trails
 * 1848-1966 Index to Wills 1864-1876 Alexander, E-Dorsey, J. (actually 1848-1966, includes other probate records) Genealogy Trails
 * 1848-1966 Index to Wills 1869-1917 Miller, Melissa-Zoucks, D. (actually 1848-1966, includes other probate records) Genealogy Trails
 * 1848-1966 Index to Wills 1925-1957 Deen, Thomas-Miller, E.C. (actually 1848-1966, includes other probate records) Genealogy Trails
 * 1863-1873 Index to Wills and Appraisements, Book C, 1863-1873 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.
 * 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

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
 * 1785-1895 Owen, Clint. Liberty County, Georgia Marriages, 1785-1895 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1998. Digital version at Ancestry ($)
 * 1785-1950  at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1808-1967  at FamilySearch — index
 * 1828-1978 Georgia Marriage Records from Select Counties 1828-1978 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1867-1895 Liberty County Marriage Index 1867-1895. Batch  at FamilySearch

Death

 * 1870-1960 at FamilySearch — index, and some images
 * 1914-1927  at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 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
 * 1933-1998  at FamilySearch — index

Voter Records

 * 1856-1941 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection, index and images

Family History Centers

 * Hinesville Georgia Family History Center

Libraries
The Hinesville branch of the Live Oak Public Libraries has the Wyman May Genealogy Room, open during library operating hours. Library branch website.

Museums

 * Midway Museum 491 N. Coastal Hwy Midway, GA 31320 Website Has a library and can do look-ups.

Societies
Liberty County Historical Society PO Box 982 Hinesville, GA 31310 Liberty County Historical Society Liberty County Historical Society Facebook

Sons of Confederate Veterans  Brigade, Georgia Division, Army of Tennessee Department Lawrenceville, Georgia Sons of Confederate Veterans

Midway Heritage Association Highway 17 Midway, GA 31320 Midway Heritage Association

Midway Museum 491 N. Coastal Hwy Midway, Georgia 31320 Phone: 912-884-5837 Email: midwaymuseum@yahoo.com Midway Museum Midway Museum Facebook

Websites

 * Georgia Genealogy Trails Liberty County
 * They Had Names: African Americans in Early Liberty County Ga Records
 * Liberty County Historical Society
 * Georgia Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb Liberty County, Georgia project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * Liberty County, Georgia Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Georgia Pioneers 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