Alabama, Sumter County Circuit Court Files - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Alabama Sumter County

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of circuit court civil case files for the years 1840 to 1950 from the courthouse in Livingston, Alabama. The files include some records from the Chancery Court. The court cases include divorces and disputed estates. This collection is being published as images become available.

Sumter County, Alabama, was created on December 18, 1832 from the former Choctaw Indian territory. Court Records have been kept since 1840. The Circuit court has jurisdiction in cases of more than $5,000.00 but less than $15,000.00. The records were created as a permanent copy of the court's proceedings.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The records generally contain the following information:


 * Names of interested parties
 * Date of court proceeding or transaction
 * Details of the case
 * Amount of monies exchanged or paid
 * Names of witnesses

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate court date.
 * The residence of your ancestor.
 * The names of other relatives or associates named in the court file.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the “County” category ⇒ Select the “Record Type, Date Range and Volume” category which takes you to the images

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s court record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the date and locality to search for census and church records.
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the deceased; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after 1900.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another record.
 * Witnesses in court cases may be close relatives.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local historical and genealogical groups also compile indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

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