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United States Georgia Wilkes County

Guide to Wilkes County Georgia genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

	Georgia Online Records

Wilkes County, Georgia_(state)
Map
Location in the state of Georgia_(state)
Location of Georgia_(state) in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	February 5, 1777
County Seat	Washington
Courthouse
[[Image: |center|200px]]
Address	Wilkes County Courthouse 23 E Court Street Rm 205 Washington, GA 30673-1570 Phone: 706.678.2423  Wilkes County Website
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County Courthouse

Wilkes County Courthouse
23 E Court Street Rm 205
Washington, GA 30673-1570
Phone: 706.678.2423 

Probate Court has birth, marriage, death and probate records from 1792; Clerk Superior Court has divorce and court records from 1778, land records from 1777 and military discharge records.^[1]

History

Local histories are available for Wilkes County, Georgia. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Georgia Local Histories.

• An Overview of Local History by Robert Willingham

Parent County

1777-Wilkes County was created 5 February 1777 from Creek and Cherokee Indian Lands as an original county.
County seat: Washington ^[2]

Boundary Changes

Record Loss

1958 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:

• Burned Counties Research
  
• http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=2424

Places/Localities

Populated Places

Neighboring Counties

• Elbert
• Lincoln
• McDuffie
• Oglethorpe
• Taliaferro
• Warren

Resources

• Wilkes County Resources for Local Research

Cemeteries

• Wilkes County Cemeteries Complete List of all Cemeteries within Wilkes County, GA

Church

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Georgia denominations, see the Georgia Church Records wiki page.

• 1805 - Members of Sardis Church Members in 1805 at Georgia Pioneers ($).

Methodist

Washington Station Methodist Church

• 1865-1885 - Washington Station Methodist Church Baptism Index 1865-1885. Batch C714001 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]
• 1865-1895 - Washington Station Methodist Church Marriage Index 1865-1895. Batch M714001 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]

Court

Family Histories

• Wilkes County Family Group Sheets Individual Family Group Sheets submitted by individual researchers and volunteers.
• Origins of Early Settlers to Wilkes County at Georgia Pioneers ($).
• [Cheatham] Dennstedt, Alberta Marjorie. "The Cheatham Family of Colonial Virginia," in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1983):163-173; Vol. 27, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1983):273-279; Vol. 28, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1984):38-43; Vol. 28, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1984):102-112; Vol. 28, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1984):209-216; Vol. 28, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1984):293-297; Vol. 29, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1985):32-40; Vol. 29, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1985):123-127; Vol. 29, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1985):179-185; Vol. 29, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1985):262-265; Vol. 30, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1986):17-23; Vol. 30, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1986):99-104. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 27 (1983)-v. 30 (1986).
• [Darricott] Bell, John C. "Bickleys of the Pamunkey River Watershed of Virginia in the 18th Century," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1983):32-49; Vol. 27, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1983):90-104; Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1983):179-189; Vol. 27, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1983):259-264; Vol. 28, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1984):19-32; Vol. 28, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1984):88-98; Vol. 28, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1984):169-186; Vol. 28, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1984):261-274. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 27 (1983)-v. 28 (1984).
• [Huskey] Reagan, Donald B. Smoky Mountain Clans. 3 vols. Knoxville, Tenn.: D.B. Reagan, 1978-1983. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273R22b 1978. [The Huskey family is discussed in Vol. 1.]
• [Jackson] Brandenberger, Evelyn Duke. "The Jacksons of Lower Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 30, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1986):163-169; Vol. 30, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1986):288-295; Vol. 31, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1987):11-18; Vol. 31, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1987):101-111; Vol. 31, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1987):195-204; Vol. 31, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1987):269-278; Vol. 32, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1988):49-57; Vol. 32, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1988):119-130; Vol. 32, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1988):185-192; Vol. 32, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1988):259-263; Vol. 33, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1989):34-44; Vol. 33, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1989):135-143; Vol. 33, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1989):204-207; Vol. 33, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1989):295-304. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 30 (1986)-v. 33 (1989).
• [Pope] Johnston, F. Claiborne. "The Tangled Trail of Two John Popes: Colonel John Pope of Amherst County and John Pope of Prince William County and Wilkes County, Georgia," Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 50, No. 1 (Feb. 2012):45-64.

Land

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Georgia Land and Property for additional information about early Georgia land grants from the government. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions (generally buying and selling deeds) were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

• Wilkes County Revolutionary Land Grants Authentic List of All Land Lottery Grants made to Veterans of the Revolutionary War By the State of Georgia
• Wilkes County 1803 Land Lottery Complete list of the 1803 Land Lottery for Wilkes County, GA
• Wilkes County 1806 Land Lottery Complete list of the 1806 Land Lottery for Wilkes County, GA
• Wilkes County 1819 Land Lottery Complete list of the 1819 Land Lottery for Wilkes County, GA
• Wilkes County 1821 Land Lottery Complete list of the 1821 Land Lottery for Wilkes County, GA
• Wilkes County 1827 Land Lottery Complete list of the 1827 Land Lottery for Wilkes County, GA
• Wilkes County 1832 Land Lottery Complete list of the 1832 Land Lottery for Wilkes County, GA
• Wilkes County Maps & Land Plats List of Land Plats with owner names and maps for Wilkes County, GA
• Land Records of Wilkes County Transcribed Land Records submitted & donated to Wilkes County, GAGenWeb Site.

Local Histories

• An Overview of Local History by Robert Willingham
• The Story of Washington-Wilkes. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1941. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Maps

• Wilkes County Maps & Land Plats List of Land Plats with owner names and maps for Wilkes County, GA

At Georgia Pioneers ($) you can find:

• Map of Wilkes County, 1955
• Map of Original Wilkes County
• Map of Wilkes County Settlers

Military

• Veterans- Salute to our Veterans who serve our country through out all wars and peace-time.
• Fallen Heroes- Tribute to our Fallen Heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. 

Newspapers

Probate

Colonial courts kept some early probate records.  From 1777 to 1798 and since 1852, the court of ordinary or register of probates has kept probate and guardianship records.  The inferior court handled probate and guardianship matters from 1798 to 1852.

Many probate records to the 1930s and 1940s are at the Georgia Department of Archives and History and the Family History Library on microfilm.

Content: Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.

Record types: Wills, estates, guardianships, naturalizations, marriage, adoption, and birth and death records (not all years).

• County Deeds Partial list of Deed Books and Individual Deeds.
• Wilkes County Estate Records Partial list of Individual Estate Records.
• Wilkes County Guardianship Records Partial list of Individual Guardianship Records.

Wills

The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Wilkes County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee. Available indexes:

1. Wills: 1794-1819

At Georgia Pioneers, you can find:

• 1786-1806 - Digital Images of Wilkes County, Georgia Wills, Book C (1786-1806) at Georgia Pioneers ($).
  
• Index to Wilkes County Wills and Estates (by surnames) Georgia Pioneers ($)

Additional Probate Records

• General Index of Wilkes County, Georgia Estates at Georgia Pioneers ($).
  

Taxation

Taxes were levied on free white males over 21 and slaves aged 21 to 60. These persons are referred to as "polls." Tax listings, or digests, of a county generally list the taxable landowners and other polls and the amount of tax. The records for each county are divided by militia district.

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Georgia State Department of Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred.

For some online statewide indexes, see the FamilySearch Historical Record Collections for Georgia.

Marriage

• 1790-1832 - Wilkes County Marriage Index 1790-1832. Batch M713991 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]
• 1836-1871 - Wilkes County Marriage Index 1836-1871. Batch M713992 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]
• 1871-1882 - Wilkes County Marriage Index 1871-1882. Batch M713993 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]
• 1875-1882 - Wilkes County Marriage Index 1875-1882. Batch M713995 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]
• 1882-1895 - Wilkes County Marriage Index 1882-1895. Batch M713996 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]
• 1882-1895 - Wilkes County Marriage Index 1882-1895. Batch M713994 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]
• 1885-1886 - Wilkes County, Georgia Marriages from Newspapers 1885-1886 at Georgia Pioneers ($).
  

Societies and Libraries 

• GAGenWeb Wilkes County

Family History Centers

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

• GAGenWeb Wilkes County
  
• Family History Library Catalog
• Wilkes County, Georgia Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Wilkes County Georgia Genealogy
• Georgia Pioneers Pioneers ($).

References

1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Wilkes County, Georgia. Page 162 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 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7} Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/images/5/53/Igigeorgiamz.pdf.

• This page was last modified on 21 May 2013, at 19:15.
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