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Georgia Public Records
| How
To Search Public and Vital Records -
Vital records are records of life events important enough that
some level of government acquires, organizes, and preserves
them. While the term "vital records" is often applied
to a wide variety of life events... Read
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Georgia Vital Records
Birth and death records began on a statewide level in 1919. Compliance
was not considered extensive until 1928. Records before that time
were kept on a county basis, and vary from county to county. Marriage
records are the most complete, available from the 1700s on in most
areas, but also vary from county to county. For birth records after
1919, and marriage records after June, 1952, write:
Georgia Division of Public Health
Vital Records, Room 217-H
47 Trinity Ave., SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30334-5600
Tel: 404-656-4750
E-mail: gdphinfo@dhr.state.ga.us
http://www.ph.dhr.state.ga.us/org/vitalrecords.htm
For prior records, write to the clerk of the county
in question.
Georgia Land Records
Georgia is a state-land state. Most lands were obtained from either
the state or from other individuals. Individual lands are found
recorded with the clerk of the Superior Court for each county. Most
early records have been microfilmed and are available at the FHL
and the Georgia Surveyor-General Department in the state archives.
State grants were usually given in the form of headrights, bounty-land
warrants and lottery drawings. Headright laws allotted each head
of household 200 acres free as his own headright and fifty additional
acres for each member of his family and each slave at a cost of
from one to four shillings per acre. Bounty land grants were made
to soldiers who served in the Georgia military, civilian residents
of 1781–82, and Georgia citizens who went to other states during
the Revolution to continue the war. Lotteries took place in 1805,
1807, 1820, 1821, 1827, and two in 1832. All Georgia citizens were
eligible to qualify for a lottery, although the 1820, 1827, and
1832 lotteries also gave special consideration to war veterans.
For more information on these sources and others, see:
Hemperley, Marion R. The Georgia Surveyor General
Department: A History and Inventory of Georgia's Land Office. Atlanta:
Georgia Surveyor General Department, State Printing Office, 1982.
Lucas, Silas Emmett, Jr. Index to the Headright and
Bounty Grants of Georgia, 1756–1909. Vidalia, GA: Georgia Genealogical
Reprints, 1970.
Hone, E. Wade. Land and Property Research in the
United States. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, Inc., 1997.
Davis, Robert S., and Silas E. Lucas. The Georgia
Land Lottery Papers, 1805–1914. Easley, SC: Southern Historical
Press, 1979.
Georgia Court Records
Court records entail probate records, guardianship, naturalization,
and a wide variety of other sources. Court of Common Pleas, Orphan's
Court, Probate Court, District Court, Superior Court, Supreme Court,
and other titles are among those encountered. To study more about
court records in general, see: "Research in Court Records"
by Arlene H. Eakle, found in Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves
Luebking, eds., The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy, rev.
ed. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1997).
Georgia Military Records
Murtie June Clark, Colonial Soldiers of the South, 1732–1774
(Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983), lists soldiers
who served prior to the Revolutionary War.
Some of the original service records for Georgia
participants of the Revolutionary War were destroyed. It is doubtful
that a comprehensive list of Georgia veterans of this war exists.
Georgia Revolutionary War rolls at the National Archives are published
with other records in Robert Davis' book below. Valuable references
are:
Davis, Robert S., Jr. Georgia Citizens and Soldiers
of the Revolution. Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1979.
Candler, Allen D. The Revolutionary Records of the
State of Georgia, 3 vols. Atlanta: State Printer, 1906.
Hays, Louise F., comp. Georgia Military Affairs,
1775–1842, 9 vols. N.p., 1940. (This includes indexed, unpublished
typescripts from the Georgia Department of Archives and History.
This collection is an excellent people finder and census substitute.
Kratovil, Judy. An Index to War of 1812 Service Records
for Volunteer Soldiers of Georgia. (Atlanta, Ga.: the author, 1986).
Neagles, James C. U.S. Military Records: A Guide
to Federal and State Sources. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, Inc., 1994.
While original Georgia pension records for Confederate
veterans are at the Georgia Department of Archives and History,
microfilm copies are at the FHL. Also at the archives is an "Alphabetical
Index" to Georgia Confederate records on microfilm. Georgians
also served in the Union Army, whose records are available through
the National Archives.
Additional Sources
Coleman, Kenneth, ed. A History of Georgia. 2d ed. Athens, GA: University
of Georgia Press, 1991.
Coulter, E. Merton. Georgia: A Short History. Chapell
Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1964.
Also refer to: Georgia Genealogical Society Quarterly.
Atlanta, GA: Georgia Genealogical Society, 1964–present. And
Georgia Genealogical Magazine Easley, SC: Silas E. Lucas, Jr., 1961–present.
Georgia Vital Records:
Event: Birth or death
Cost of copy: $10.00
Address:
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Vital Records Service
Room 217-H
47 Trinity Avenue, SW
Atlanta, GA 30334
Remarks: State office has had records since January
1919. For earlier records in Atlanta or Savannah or other cities
or counties, write to the Vital Records Office in county where event
occurred. Additional copies of same record ordered at same time
are $5.00 each except birth cards, which are $10.00 each.
Money order should be made payable to Vital Records,
GA. DHR. Personal checks are not accepted. To verify current fees,
the telephone number is (404) 656-4900. This is a recorded message.
Information on how to obtain certified copies is also available
via the Internet at Vital Records, GA. DHR.
Search All Georgia Records
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Event: Marriage (State)
Cost of copy: $10.00
Address:
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Vital Records Service
Room 217-H
47 Trinity Avenue, SW
Atlanta, GA 30334
Remarks: Centralized State records since June 9,
1952. Certified copies of marriage documents up to 1966 are issued
at State office. Inquiries about marriages occurring before June
9, 1952, will be forwarded to appropriate Probate Judge in county
where license was issued.
The state office does no record marriage licnse or
applications after July 1, 1997.
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Event: Marriage (county)
Cost of copy: Varies
Address: See remarks
Remarks: Probate Judge in county where license was
issued.
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Event: Divorce (State)
Cost of copy: $2.00 for certification plus $0.50
per page.
Address: See remarks
Remarks: Centralized State records since June 9,
1952. Certified copies are not issued at State office. Inquiries
will be forwarded to appropriate Clerk of Superior Court in county
where divorce was granted.
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Event: Divorce (county)
Address: See remarks
Remarks: Clerk of Superior Court in county
where divorce was granted.
Search All Georgia Records
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