Limestone County, Alabama Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
County Archives has birth 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

Description
The County was named comes from Limestone Creek, a local stream. The County has Athens as its seat and the County was created February 6, 1818. The County is located in the north-central area of the state.

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

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Alabama county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Alabama County Boundary Maps" (1799-1980) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
Limestone County had a destructive courthouse fire in 1862.

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:

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
The following web site has additional information on Limestone county cemeteries.


 * Interment.net Alabama cemetery records by county.


 * Douthat, James L. Wheeler Reservoir Cemeteries. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Publisher's bookstore at Mountain Press.$$


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

Census
State Census


 * 1866 - at FamilySearch — index

Church Records
Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


 * 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..

Maps

 * Maps of Alabama (1799-1980)
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

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)

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)
 * 1871-1880 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1880-1930 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1907, 1921, 1927 - at FamilySearch — images

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.

World War I

 * 1917-1919 - at FamilySearch — index

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
Online Probate Records
 * 1753 – 1999 Alabama Wills and Probate Records 1753-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1809 – 1985 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1826 – 1831 Images of Wills. Southeastern Genealogy ($)
 * 1885 – 1890 Index to Wills. Southeastern Genealogy ($)

Taxation

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

Vital Records
See also How to order Alabama Vital Records

Birth Records

 * 1896-1898 - Limestone County Birth Index 1896-1898. Batch at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1881 – 1930 at FamilySearch.org — index

Marriage Records

 * 1733-2013 - Alabama, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $


 * 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.


 * 1832-1928 - Limestone County Marriage Books A-G Index 1832-1928 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1809 – 1950 at FamilySearch.org — index/images


 * 1816 – 1957 at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1800 – 1969 Alabama, Marriage Collection, 1800-1969 at Ancestry.com — index $


 * 1809 – 1920 [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=4192 Alabama Marriages,


 * 1809-1920 (Selected Counties)] at Ancestry.com — index $

Death

 * 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


 * 1881 – 1952 at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1908 – 1974 at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1881 – 1974 Alabama, Deaths and Burials Index, 1881-1974 at Ancestry.com — index $


 * 1908 – 1959 [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5188 Alabama Deaths,


 * 1908-59] at Ancestry.com — index $

Societies and Libraries
Limestone County Archives 102 W. Washington St. Athens AL 35611 256-233-6404 Link

Limestone County Historical Society P. O. Box 82 Athens, AL 35611 Link

Friends of the Limestone Archives P. O. Box 658 Athens, AL 35612


 * List of Alabama Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Libraries
Athens-Limestone Public Library 405 E. South St. Athens, Alabama 35611 Telephone: 256-232-1233

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
Family History Centre Locator
 * Introduction to 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

Limestone County Alabama Genealogy Websites

 * Limestone County ALGenWeb free


 * Limestone County, AL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy


 * 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 Co. AL


 * United States Resources: Alabama