Alabama Historical Societies

This directory lists 8 historical societies, museums, and archives in Alabama. It is a short list, so treat it as a starting point: the statewide institutions below, especially the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery and the county probate offices, hold most of what a genealogist or house researcher will actually need.

Alabama was carved out of the Mississippi Territory (1798), became its own territory in 1817, and entered the Union on December 14, 1819. Records have always been kept at the county level, mostly by the Judge of Probate (the Orphans Court before 1818), and a number of courthouses burned; the state archives publishes a list and map of counties with courthouse fires, which is worth checking before you plan a trip. The 1820 federal census for Alabama is lost, so the 1820 state census stands in for it.

Featured Historical Societies

Major repositories in Alabama

The Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) at 624 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, is the central stop. Admission is free; the Research Room is open Tuesday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and closed Mondays. Its online tools include a County Records on Microfilm database (deeds, marriages, estates and other courthouse series filmed from local offices), a Civil War Service database, a Newspapers database, a Church and Synagogue Records database, a Maps database, and a Montgomery County estate case files index. Digitized material is at digital.archives.alabama.gov, and Newspapers.com is free to use inside the Research Room.

Other collections to know:

• Alabama Historical Commission, 468 South Perry Street, Montgomery: the State Historic Preservation Office, which keeps the National Register, Alabama Register and architectural survey files (research by appointment, see below).
• Alabama Historical Association: publishes the peer-reviewed Alabama Review, holds an annual meeting, and runs a historical marker program with an online index of markers by county.
• University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections (Hoole Library, Tuscaloosa): manuscripts on Alabama, the Gulf South, slavery and emancipation, and the Civil War; reading room by appointment with two business days' notice. Its digital collections include antebellum Alabama newspapers.
• Birmingham Public Library's Linn-Henley Research Library (2100 Park Place), Mobile Public Library's Local History and Genealogy division (704 Government Street), Huntsville-Madison County Public Library Special Collections, and Samford University's Special Collection in Birmingham all hold strong regional genealogy collections.
• AlabamaMosaic: a free statewide repository of digitized photographs, documents and maps contributed by Alabama archives, libraries and museums.

Alabama vital records: births, deaths, marriages, divorces

Statewide registration of births and deaths began in 1908, and the state copies are held by the Center for Health Statistics, Alabama Department of Public Health. Early compliance was uneven, so a missing 1910s certificate is not unusual. The rules that matter for researchers:

• Births are confidential for 125 years from the date of birth; only the person, immediate family and a few others may order them before then.
• Deaths are restricted for 25 years; after that anyone may order a copy.
• The search fee is $15, which includes one certified copy or a Certificate of Failure to Find; extra copies ordered at the same time are $6 each.
• Order in person at any county health department (most certificates are issued while you wait), by mail to Center for Health Statistics, P.O. Box 5625, Montgomery, AL 36103-5625, or through VitalChek for an added fee.

Marriages: the state began filing marriage certificates in August 1936. Anything earlier is in the probate office of the county that issued the license, and marriage certificates are unrestricted. FamilySearch has a free index to Alabama marriages, 1816-1957. Divorces: state filing began in 1950; earlier decrees are in the circuit court of the county where the divorce was granted. FamilySearch also indexes Alabama deaths, 1908-1974, which is the quickest way to pin down a date before you pay for a certificate.

Land, deed and property records

Alabama is a public-land state: title originally passed from the federal government to the first private owner. Thirteen federal land offices opened in Alabama beginning in 1806, and when they closed their records went to Washington, with copies of the tract books going to ADAH. For the first transfer, search the BLM General Land Office Records site, which has images of the patents; the land entry case files behind them (with affidavits and sometimes citizenship papers) are at the National Archives.

Every later deed, mortgage and plat is recorded in the county Probate Office, under the Judge of Probate; there is no separate recorder or register of deeds in Alabama. Two quirks to remember: when a new county was formed, the old deeds stayed in the parent county, and you need to check whether your county had a courthouse fire (ADAH keeps the list). ADAH's County Records on Microfilm database shows which deed books have been filmed, and FamilySearch has microfilm images of county land records for almost every Alabama county from formation into the early 1900s.

Newspapers and city directories

ADAH is Alabama's partner in the National Digital Newspaper Program, and the resulting Alabama Digital Newspaper Project pages appear free on Chronicling America; the Alabama titles there include the Montgomery Advertiser and the Birmingham Age-Herald, and the program received a new award in 2024 to keep adding titles. ADAH separately digitized its Civil War and Reconstruction era newspapers, available through its digital collections.

• The ADAH Newspapers database describes every original and microfilmed title in the Archives (more than 2,000 are catalogued), searchable by county, title and topic; it is a finding tool, not a page viewer.
• Newspapers.com is free in the ADAH Research Room, and many Alabama titles are on it.
• The University of Alabama's digital collections include a set of antebellum Alabama newspapers.
• For city directories, ask the local history departments of Birmingham Public Library (Linn-Henley Research Library) and Mobile Public Library, which hold the state's deepest city collections, and check ADAH's catalog for Montgomery and other towns.

Census, military and statewide indexes

Alabama took its own censuses in 1816 (territorial), 1820, 1850, 1855 and 1866. Since the 1820 federal schedules are lost and the 1890 federal census survives only in a Perry County fragment, the state counts matter more here than in most states. The 1855 and 1866 schedules are on FamilySearch, Ancestry and Findmypast.

• Civil War: ADAH's Civil War Service database comes from a card file the Archives staff built from muster rolls, newspapers, governors' records, veterans' censuses and pension files; each card cites its source. Alabama Confederate pension and service records, 1862-1947, are indexed on Ancestry.
• Confederate veterans censuses were taken in 1907 and 1921 (images on FamilySearch, which also has 1927), and a 1927 questionnaire of Confederate widows survives.
• World War I: Alabama service cards, 1917-1919, are indexed on FamilySearch; ADAH's digital collections include a World War I Gold Star database.
• Probate: Alabama probate records 1809-1985 and county estate files 1830-1976 are on FamilySearch as images.

Researching a house or building in Alabama

The Alabama Historical Commission (the SHPO) publishes a downloadable list of all National Register properties in Alabama, a county-by-county list of the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage (a state register created in the 1970s), and an interactive ArcGIS map plotting properties in both programs. It also posts a Guide to Researching Old Buildings in Alabama on its Alabama Register page. To use the AHC's National Register, Alabama Register, cemetery register and architectural survey files, book an appointment at least two days ahead; research hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Alabama has two marker programs. AHC markers (started 1975, bearing the state seal) require that the property already be listed on the National Register, the Alabama Register or the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register. Alabama Historical Association markers (sponsored since 1950, with the state flag) have their own application process and an online index by county. For the paper trail on a specific house, start in the county Probate Office deed indexes and work backward through grantor and grantee books (see how to trace a property's deed history), then check ADAH's Maps database and the Library of Congress Sanborn fire insurance map collection for your town. Our guides on dating a house and using old city directories cover the next steps.

Working with Alabama's local societies

Alabama history is organized by county. The Alabama Historical Association maintains a list of local societies, and most counties have a historical society, a genealogical society, or both, often run by volunteers with limited hours; email before you drive. Bring the county name as it was at the time of the event, since nine Alabama counties no longer exist (Baine, Baker, Benton, Cahawba, Cotaco, Decatur, Hancock, Jones and Sanford) and others changed boundaries. Saturday hours at ADAH make it practical to combine a Montgomery visit with a weekend trip to a county society. If you are looking for a grave, the county society is usually the best source for cemetery surveys; see how to find where someone is buried.

Additional Alabama History Resources

• Alabama Department of Archives and History - State archives in Montgomery; county microfilm, Civil War, newspaper and church record databases
• ADAH Digital Collections - Digitized photographs, manuscripts, maps and Civil War era newspapers
• Alabama Vital Records (ADPH Center for Health Statistics) - Birth and death certificates from 1908, marriages from 1936, divorces from 1950
• Alabama Historical Commission - State Historic Preservation Office; National Register and Alabama Register lists and marker program
• Alabama Historical Association - Statewide association; Alabama Review journal and historical marker index
• University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections - Hoole Library manuscripts and digital collections on Alabama history
• AlabamaMosaic - Statewide digital repository of Alabama historical materials
• BLM General Land Office Records - Federal land patents for Alabama's first landowners

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get a 1915 death certificate from Alabama?

Alabama death certificates begin in 1908 and are held by the Center for Health Statistics at the Alabama Department of Public Health. Because the record is more than 25 years old, anyone can order it. The fee is $15 for a search and one certified copy; order at any county health department, by mail to P.O. Box 5625, Montgomery, AL 36103-5625, or through VitalChek. Check the free FamilySearch index to Alabama deaths 1908-1974 first so you can supply an exact date.

Where are Alabama marriage records from before 1936?

The state did not file marriage certificates until August 1936. Earlier marriage licenses and returns are in the probate office of the county that issued the license, and many have been microfilmed; ADAH's County Records on Microfilm database shows what exists for each county. FamilySearch has a free index to Alabama marriages from 1816 to 1957.

Did Alabama take state censuses?

Yes: 1816 (territorial), 1820, 1850, 1855 and 1866. The 1820 state census is the substitute for the lost 1820 federal schedules. Alabama also counted Confederate veterans in 1907 and 1921 (plus 1927 forms), and those lists give birthplaces and service details.

How do I find the original land patent for an Alabama farm?

Alabama is a public-land state, so the first private owner received a federal patent. Search the BLM General Land Office Records site by name or by township, range and section to see the patent image. Every later sale is recorded in the Probate Office of the county (the Judge of Probate is the recorder in Alabama), and ADAH holds copies of the federal tract books.