Colbert County, Alabama Genealogy

United States   Alabama    |Colbert County

Guide to Colbert County Alabama ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
Probate Judge has marriage records from 1877 land records from early 1800s Clerk Circuit Court has divorce and court records

History
Colbert County was created on 6 February 1867, out of part of Franklin County. It was abolished 29 November of 1867, re-established 24 January 1870.

Parent County
1867--Colbert County was created 6 February 1867 from part of Franklin County. County seat: Tuscumbia

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
For a list of record loss in Alabama counties see: Alabama Counties with Burned Courthouses

Neighboring Counties

 * Franklin
 * Lauderdale
 * Lawrence
 * Tishomingo County, Mississippi

Biographies

 * Northern Alabama, Historical and Biographical. Birmingham, Ala.: Smith and De Land, 1888. Digital version at . begins on page 103.


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

Cemeteries

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

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

Local Histories

 * Clary, Martin. The Facts about Muscle Shoals. New York: Ocean Pub. Co., 1924. Digital version at Ancestry ($).


 * Leftwich, Nina. Two Hundred Years at Muscle Shoals: Being an Authentic History of Colbert County, 1700-1900: With Special Emphasis on the Stirring Events of the Early Times. Tuscumbia, Ala., 1935. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Maps

 * Maps of Alabama (1799-1980)

Civil War
Civil War service men from Colbert 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 Colbert County.


 * - 4th Regiment, Alabama Cavalry (Roddy's), Company C

Newspapers
Alabama Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.

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").

Research Guides

 * Inventory of the County Archives of Alabama: Colbert County. Birmingham, Ala.: The Survey, 1939. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Vital Records
See also How to order Alabama Vital Records

Marriage

 * 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.


 * 1867-1930 - Colbert County Marriage Books A-L Index 1867-1930 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1870-1872, 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

 * 1881–1974 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 - FamilySearch Historical Records Collection - free

Voting Registers
Alabama Voting Registers for 1867 are available online at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. Colbert County has two books listed, but only Book 1 is accessible at this time.

Book 1

Societies and Libraries

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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

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