Monroe County, Alabama Genealogy

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

Description
Monroe County was created on 29 June 1815 and was named for James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States. Its county seat is Monroeville It is located in the southwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Monroe County Courthouse Square 65 North Alabama Avenue Monroeville, AL 36460 Phone: 251-743-2283 Fax: 251-575-5933 Monroe County Website Courthouse Fire destroyed all records prior to 1833 Probate Judge has marriage probate and land record from 1832

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator.

Bible Records

 * Monroe County, Alabama Bible Records at Access Genealogy
 * Monroe County, Alabama Bible Records at Alabama Genealogy
 * Monroe County Bible Records at USGenWeb Archives Project

Biographies

 * Northern Alabama, Historical and Biographical. Birmingham, Ala.: Smith and De Land, 1888. Pg. 237. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, HathiTrust.

Census Records
State Census


 * 1855   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1866  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1907, 1921, 1927  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Church Records

 * 1831-1994  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1846-1860 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1909-1919 (*); Chancery Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

 * 1865-1872  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
 * See obituary abstracts from the African-American newspaper, The Eagle, in the Newspaper section below. Section below also contains community news, marriage and birth announcements.

Funeral Homes

 * Banks Memorial Funeral Home and Cremations in Monroeville
 * Johnson Funeral Home and Monuments in Monroeville
 * Jones Unity Funeral Home in Monroeville
 * Monroe Chapel in Frisco City

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


 * Boyd, Gregory A. Family Maps of Monroe County, Alabama: with Homesteads, Roads, Waterways, Towns, Cemeteries, Railroads, and More. Norman, Okla.: Arphax Pub. Co., 2009. This is a definitive work and can be used as an index to land grants. Digital version at HistoryGeo.com ($). Website includes surname index..

Online Land Indexes and Records
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Alabama (1799-1980)
 * Family Maps of Monroe County (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
 * Alabama Maps and Blueprints Collection at Alabama Department of Archives and History – maps can be browsed by location or subject

Military Records
Multiple Wars
 * ca.1918-ca.1962  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Civil War
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index, images at partner site
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index, images at partner site
 * 1861-1865 Civil War Service Database at Alabama Department of Archives and History - index
 * 1861-1865  U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1871-1880  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1880-1930  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1907, 1921, 1927 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * Alabama Civil War and Reconstruction Newspapers at Alabama Department of Archives and History


 * - 1st Regiment, Alabama Cavalry, Company E "J. Powell's Dragoons"
 * - 1st Regiment, Alabama Cavalry, Company H "Sandy Williams' Guards"
 * - 2nd Regiment, Alabama Cavalry, Company H
 * - 2nd Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company C
 * - 3rd Regiment, Alabama Cavalry, Company B [formerly, Co. "M", Wirt Adams' Cavalry]
 * - 4th Regiment, Alabama Cavalry (Russell's), Company A [formerly 3rd TN Cavalry]
 * - 5th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company D "Monroe Guards"
 * - 17th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company H
 * - 23rd Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company E
 * - 36th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company F and G
 * - 42nd Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company A and H
 * - 42nd Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company H

World War I
 * 1917-1919  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1917-1918 Alabama World War I Service Records at Alabama Department of Archives and History - alpha index by name and images
 * 1917-1918 Alabama World War I Gold Star Files at Alabama Department of Archives and History - alpha index by name and images

World War II
 * 1940-1945  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1940-1966 Alabama Active Military Service Reports at Alabama Department of Archives and History - alpha index by name and images

Newspapers

 * Alabama Civil War and Reconstruction Newspapers at Alabama Department of Archives and History
 * Alabama Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both and pay-to-access websites.
 * Obituaries &amp; Death Notices published in The Eagle, 1891-1914 - an African-American newspaper of the county. Provided via Afrigeneas.com
 * Community News published in The Eagle, 1891-1914 - an African American newspaper.Also marriage announcements and birth announcements.
 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)

Other Records
Voter Registration
 * 1834-1981  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection, index and images

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1753–1999 Alabama Wills and Probate Records 1753-1999 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1809-1985 (*) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images
 * 1816-1933 (*); Orphans' and Probate Courts at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1830-1976 (*) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1840-1930 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1896-1958 (*); Probate and Circuit Courts at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

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.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records

 * 1816 Inhabitants of Alabama in 1816. Broken Arrow Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1955. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library. Includes Monroe County.
 * 1865-1866 U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918 at Ancestry ($). Monroe County is in District 1.

Birth

 * 1881–1930  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1881-1930  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and some images
 * Monroe County Births at ALGenWeb

Marriage

 * 1733-2013 Alabama, United States Marriages at Findmypast ($)
 * 1800-1969 Alabama, U.S., Marriage Index, 1800-1969 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1802-1825 Alabama, U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1802-1825 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1809-1920 Alabama, U.S., Compiled Marriages from Selected Counties, 1809-1920 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1809–1950  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and some images
 * 1816–1957  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1818-1936 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1833-1895  Monroe County Marriage Books A and B Index 1833-1895. Batch  at FamilySearch
 * 1881-1895  Monroe County Marriage Books C and D Index 1881-1895. Batch  at FamilySearch
 * Marriages at ALGenWeb

Death

 * 1881–1952  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1881-1974 Alabama, U.S., Deaths and Burials Index, 1881-1974 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1908-1959 Alabama, U.S., Death Index, 1908-1959 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1908-1974  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * Deaths at ALGenWeb

Archives
Alabama Department of Archives and History 624 Washington Ave PO Box 300100 Montgomery, AL 36104 Phone: 334-242-4435 Email: [mailto:mark.palmer@archives.alabama.gov mark.palmer@archives.alabama.gov] Website Facebook

FamilySearch Centers

 * Monroe Alabama FamilySearch Center

Libraries
Monroe County Public Library 121 Pineville Road Monroeville, AL 36460 Phone: 251-743-3818 Email: [mailto:director@moncolib.org director@moncolib.org] Website Facebook

Museums
Monroe County Heritage Museum 31 N Alabama Ave Monroeville, AL 36460 Phone: 251-575-7433 Email: [mailto:mchm@frontiernet.net mchm@frontiernet.net] Website Facebook Publication: Quarterly Newsletter

Websites

 * USGenWeb project may have maps, name indexes, history, or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Monroe County, ALGenWeb. May have genealogical resources; part of the national USGenWeb Project
 * USGenWeb Archives Project. Record transcriptions from Bibles, obituaries, court records and more.
 * Monroe County, Alabama Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * – 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.