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United States  Gotoarrow.png  Alabama  Gotoarrow.png  Jefferson County

Guide to Jefferson County Alabama genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Dates for major county records
Birth
Marriage
Death
Tax
Land
Probate
1881
1823
1881
1865
1819
1819
For earlier dates, try...Church | Obituaries | Cemeteries | Parent County
Hand and keyboard.jpg Alabama
Online Records


Jefferson County, Alabama
Map
Map of Alabama highlighting Jefferson County
Location in the state of Alabama
Map of the U.S. highlighting Alabama
Location of Alabama in the U.S.
Facts
Founded December 13, 1819
County Seat Birmingham
Courthouse
Old Mill in Mountain Brook, Alabama.jpg

Contents

County Courthouse

Jefferson county has two official County seats - Birmingham and Bessemer.

Birmingham

Jefferson County, Alabama Courthouse Birmingham.jpg
Jefferson County Courthouse
716 Richard Arrington, Jr.
Blvd. N.,
Birmingham, AL 35203
Phone: (205) 325-5355 Probate Judge has marriage records from 1818
Probate Records from 1870 and land records for 1820 [1]

Bessemer

Bessemer County Courthouse
Jefferson County, Alabama Courthouse Bessemer.jpg

1801 3rd Avenue
Bessemer, AL 35020
Phone: (205) 481-4110

History

Parent County

1819--Jefferson County was created 13 December 1819 from Blount County.
County seat: Birmingham [2]

Boundary Changes

Record Loss

1870 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following article on the Burned Counties Research

and also comparable article by Michael John Neill at the Ancestry.com blog site.

Places/Localities

Populated Places

Cities

Adamsville | Bessemer | Birmingham | Brighton | Center Point | Clay | Fairfield | Fultondale | Gardendale | Graysville | Helena | Homewood | Hoover | Hueytown | Irondale | Leeds | Lipscomb | Midfield | Mountain Brook | Pinson | Pleasant Grove | Sumiton | Tarrant | Trussville | Vestavia Hills | Warrior

Towns

Argo | Brookside | Cardiff | County Line | Kimberly | Maytown | McCalla | Morris | Mulga | North Johns | Sylvan Springs | Trafford | West Jefferson

Census Designations

Chalkville | Concord | Edgewater | Forestdale | Grayson Valley | McDonald Chapel | Minor | Mount Olive | Rock Creek

Neighboring Counties

Bibb | Blount | Saint Clair | Shelby | Tuscaloosa | Walker

Resources

African American

Biography

  • The Book of Birmingham and Alabama. Birmingham, Ala.: The Birmingham Ledger Publishers, 1914. Digital version at FamilySearch Books Online - free. Includes bios and photographs.
  • DuBose, John Witherspoon. Jefferson County and Birmingham Alabama, Historical and Biographical. Birmingham, Ala.: Teeple and Smith, 1887. Digital version at FamilySearch Books Online - free.

Cemeteries

FindAGrave - Transcriptions and partial transcriptions for 307 Jefferson County cemeteries.

Interment.net - Transcriptions and partial transcriptions for Jefferson County cemeteries.

USGenWeb Archives Project - transcriptions and partial transcriptions for Jefferson County cemeteries.

BillionGraves:

  • Cemetery Records of Jefferson and Walker Counties, Alabama. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Society?, 1945. Digital version at Ancestry ($). Includes Bluff Ridge Cemetery, East Lake Cemetery, Old Elyton Cemetery, McCalla Cemetery, Massey Cemetery, and Smithson Cemetery.
  • Cemeteries of Birmingham, Alabama at Birmingham Genealogical Society website - free. Includes Adger, Arnolds, B'ville, Bethlehem, Blue Creek, Brighton, Canaan, Dogwood, Farrington, Generys, George, Gwin, Kimbrell, Mars Hill, Massey, Moore, Mud Creek, Parkwood, Pleasant Hill, Pleasant Valley, Providence, Prude Creek, Sadlers, Smithson, Union, Valley Cr, and Walnut Grove cemeteries.

Additional Jefferson County cemeteries are included in Alabama Cemetery Records Vol. 1 and Vol. 5 at FamilySearch Books Online - free.

Census

For tips on accessing Jefferson County, Alabama census records online, see: Alabama Census.

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
18306,855
—
18407,1314.0%
18508,98926.1%
186011,74630.7%
187012,3455.1%
188023,27288.5%
189088,501280.3%
1900140,42058.7%
1910226,47661.3%
1920310,05436.9%
1930431,49339.2%
1940459,9306.6%
1950558,92821.5%
1960634,86413.6%
1970644,9911.6%
1980671,3714.1%
1990651,525−3.0%
2000662,0471.6%
2010658,466−0.5%
Est. 2011658,931−0.5%

Church Records

Baptists
  • Hageness, MariLee Beatty. Mount Hebron Church Minutes 1819-1857. Leeds, Jefferson County, Alabama. Anniston, Ala.: MLH Research, 1998. Digital version at FamilySearch Books Online - free.
  • Huey, Thomas E. Ruhama: The Story of a Church, 1819-1945. Birmingham, Ala.: Birmingham Print. Co., c1946. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

LDS Ward and Branch Records

  • Birmingham
  • McCalla
Episcopalians
  • McDavid, Mittie Owen. Church of the Advent: Its History and Traditions. Birmingham, Ala.: Press of Birmingham Pub. Co., 1943. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Court Records

Alabama, Jefferson County Circuit Court Papers, 1870-1916  ~  FamilySearch records collection

Directories

Land and Property

To place a grant or deed on a map within context of Jefferson County, Alabama see:

  • Boyd, Gregory A. Family Maps of Jefferson County, Alabama: with Homesteads, Roads, Waterways, Towns, Cemeteries, Railroads, and More. Norman, Okla.: Arphax Pub. Co., 2007. This is a definitive work and can be used as an index to land grants. Digital version at HistoryGeo.com ($). Website includes free surname index. FHL Book 976.178 E7bg.

Local Histories

  • DuBose, John Witherspoon. Jefferson County and Birmingham Alabama, Historical and Biographical. Birmingham, Ala.: Teeple and Smith, 1887. Digital version at FamilySearch Books Online - free.
  • Early Days in Birmingham: A Printing of the Original Papers of the Pioneers Club, Whose Members were Eye-witnesses to the Events of the Founding of the City. Birmingham, Ala.: Birmingham Pub. Co., 1937. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Maps

Jefferson County Historical Maps  ~  can be viewed online as well as purchased.

Jefferson County MapStats  ~  Alabama Dept. Archives and History.

 Military 

Civil War

Civil War service men from Jefferson 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 Jefferson County.

- 10th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company B "Jefferson Volunteers"
- 18th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company C (Cahaba Valley Rangers)
- 18th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company G (Yancey Guards [or Yancey Rangers])
- 19th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company C (Jefferson Warriors)
- 20th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company C and G
- 28th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company D, G and H
- 30th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company K
- 43rd Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company G
- 58th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company C and D



Mortuaries

Newspapers

  • Alabama Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.
  • Obituary Index : Birmingham Area Newspapers  (Birmingham News, May 1929 - January 1980;  Birminham World, September 1940 - December 1996; Methodist Christian Advocate / Alabama Christian Advocate, January 1929 - December 1979; Shelby County Reporter, January 1932 - December 1979)
  • Alabama Citizen - full-text digital issues in Google News Archive; covers 1913-1918

Obituaries

USGenWeb Archives Project - transcribed obituaries for Jefferson County.

Probate Records

Alabama County Probate Records 1830-1976   ~  FamilySearch records collection.

Taxation

Jefferson County Tax Payment Records  ~  County of Jefferson (searchable database)

  • 1865-1866 - U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918 at Ancestry ($). Jefferson County is in District 3.


Vital Records

Birth
Marriage
  • To 1825 Index to Marriages at Ancestry – ($); Index. contains over 12,000 names. Each entry includes groom, bride, marriage date, county, and state. Every name is indexed so you can search for one name, or two names that are linked.
  • 1808, 1815, 1818–1879, 1885, 1898, 1923, 1930, 1936–1969 Alabama, Marriage Collection, 1800–1969 at Ancestry – ($); 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.
  • 1818-1845 - Grant, Orena V. Orena V. Grant Genealogical Collection (Marriages and Cemetery Records): From Southeastern, North and South Central States. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Society?, 1964. Digital version at Ancestry ($). Includes Jefferson County marriages 1818 to 1845.
  • 1819–1875 "Alabama Marriages, 1809–1920" at Ancestry – ($); Index. This database is a collection of marriage records from the state. Researchers will find the names of both bride and groom along with the marriage date. The county where the ceremony was performed is also provided. Containing about 150,000 records and the names of nearly 300,000 men and women.
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.

Voting Registers

Alabama Voting Registers for 1867 are available online at the Alabama Department of Archives and History.  Jefferson County has one book.

Yearbooks

  • Birmingham Southern College: 1914-2008 (via the Internet Archive)
  • Howard College Student Catalogs (formerly Samford College): 1847-1908 (via the Internet Archive)

Societies and Libraries

Birmingham Genealogical Society

Alabama Genealogical Society

Jefferson County Historical Commission

Genealogy
Southern History Department
Birmingham Public Library
2100 Park Place
Birmingham, AL 35203

Family History Center

  • 831 Briarwood Dr
    Bessemer, Jefferson, Alabama, United States
    Phone: 205-425-7928
    Hours: Wed 5pm-9pm other hours by appointment 919-1939
  • 2780 Altadena Rd
    Birmingham, Jefferson, Alabama, United States
    Phone: 205-967-7279
    Hours: Tues 10am-4pm;
    Wed 10am-8pm;
    Sat 10am-2pm.
    Closures: All holidays and first and fifth Sat of every month
  • 1337 Old Springville Rd, Birmingham, Alabama 35235
    Phone: 205-854-0300
    Hours: W 5pm-9pm by appointment only;
    F 9am-1pm by appt only
  • 1101 Rockhampton St NE
    Leeds, Jefferson, Alabama, United States
    Hours: Wed. 6:00-9:00 p Sat. by Appt.
  • 1925 Mt Olive Blvd
    Gardendale, Alabama 35071
    Phone: 205-631-6765:
Hours: T,Th 7pm-9pm by appt.
Closures: Closed Thanksgiving week and last 2 weeks of Dec.

Jefferson County Alabama Genealogy Websites

Jefferson County Alabama Genealogy References

  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Jefferson County p. 38. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  2. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Coverage Table, "Alabama County Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)," FamilySearch Research Wiki, https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Alabama_County_Marriages_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records), accessed 6 August 2012.
  4. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/images/0/06/Igialabamadj.pdf.
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  • This page was last modified on 29 April 2013, at 23:47.
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