Chatham County, Georgia Genealogy

United States   Georgia    Chatham County

County Government Site
Chatham County

History
There were no counties prior to 5 February 1777. The settlement areas were mostly near the coastline and were organized as church-governmental parishes. See Chatham County History at GAGenWeb Project.

Parent County

 * 1777-Chatham County was created 5 February 1777 from St. Phillip and Christ Church Parishes. County seat: Savannah

Boundary Changes
See Georgia Counties: Their Changing Boundaries  (Georgia Archives)

Populated Places

 * Incorporated Cities: Bloomingdale . Garden City . Pooler . Port Wenworth . Savannah . Thunderbolt . Tybee Island . Vernonburg


 * Communities: Georgetown . Hunter Army Airfield . Isle of Hope . Montgomery . Pin Point . Skidaway Island . White Bluff . Whitemarsh Island . Wilmington Island

Neighboring Counties

 * Beaufort County, South Carolina
 * Bryan
 * Effingham
 * Jasper County, South Carolina

African Americans

 * Look Back, Ponder, and Move on:

Glimpses of the African American Experience in Savannah 1750-1900 (The King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation)

Cemeteries


 * Belmont Cemetery
 * Bethel Cemetery
 * Blessed Sacrament Church
 * Bonaventure Cemetery
 * Bonaventure/Greenwich Section
 * Brickyard Cemetery
 * Bull Street Cemetery
 * Cathedral Cemetery
 * Catholic Cemetery
 * Cedar Grove Cemetery
 * Chapel of the Little Sister's of the Poor
 * Cherokee Hill Cemetery
 * Colonial Park Cemetery
 * Corinth - Leefield Cemetery
 * Crest Lawn Memory Gardens
 * Dalton Baptist Church Cemetery
 * Douglas Cemetery
 * East Savannah Cemetery
 * Elkens Cemetery
 * Elkins Cemetery
 * Ennis Cemetery
 * Ephesus Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
 * Eugenia Cemetery
 * Evergreen Cemetery
 * Fairlawn Cemetery
 * Forest Lawn Memory Gardens
 * Forsythe Park
 * Fort Pulaski Prisoner Burial Ground
 * Foxfield Cemetery
 * Friendship Baptist Church
 * God's Acre
 * Gravel Hill Cemetery
 * Greenwich Cemetery
 * Gun Hill Cemetery
 * Halladay Family Cemetery in the Woods
 * Heart Of Jesus Cemetery
 * Hester Plantation
 * Hillcrest Abbey East Cemetery
 * Hillcrest Abbey West Cemetery
 * Hopeton Plantation Cemetery
 * Horning Memorial
 * Houston Baptist Church Cemetery
 * Johnson Square
 * Laurel Grove Cemetery North
 * Laurel Grove Cemetery South
 * Laurel Grove North Cemetery
 * Laurel Grove South Cemetery
 * LDS Cemetery Records Vol. 1, page 1 - Grave Hill, near Pooler
 * Lepageville Memorial Cemetery
 * Lincoln Memorial Cemetery
 * Macedonia Baptist Church Cemetery
 * Magnolia Memorial Gardens
 * Magnolia Memorial Park
 * McNish Cemetery
 * Memorial Gardens Eighth Air Force Museum
 * Messiah Lutheran Church Gardens
 * Monterey Square
 * Mordecai Sheftall Cemetery
 * New Guinea Cemetery
 * New Hope United Methodist Church Cemetery
 * New Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church
 * Newton Cemetery
 * Oak Grove Cemetery
 * Oak Hill Cemetery
 * Old Church Cemetery
 * Old Jewish Cemetery
 * Pet Cemetery
 * Piney Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
 * Pooler City Cemetery
 * Richmond Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery
 * Saint Francis Memorial Garden
 * Saint Thomas Episcopal Church Gardens
 * Sand Hill Cemetery
 * Skidaway Island Methodist Church Memorial Garden
 * Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church
 * Tarrytown Cemetery
 * Turner Cemetery
 * Tybee Memorial Cemetery
 * Waldburgh Cemetery
 * West Crest Abby
 * Westside Memorial Gardens
 * White Bluff Presbyterian Church Cemetery
 * Wild Heron Cemetery
 * Wild Horn Cemetery
 * Woodstock Cemetery
 * Woodville Cemetery
 * Wormsloe Family Burial Ground
 * Wright Cemetery
 * Wright Square
 * Zion White Bluff

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Savannah

Land
Deeds and Probate Records


 * Appendices to articles in Georgia Historical Quarterly : March 1939 - June 1939, on the history of Causton's Bluff, Deptford, Brewton Hill The Georgia historical quarterly
 * Deeds, 1785-1900; index to deeds, 1784-1910 Georgia. Superior Court (Chatham County)

Grants


 * Effingham County grants, also some Chatham County, Georgia, 1771-1801 Georgia. Court of Ordinary (Effingham County)
 * English crown grants for islands in Georgia, 1755-1775 Bryant, Pat
 * English crown grants in Christ Church parish in Georgia, 1755-1775 Hemperley, Marion R.

Headright Surveys:

Public land given to the head of a household or to an individual who paid another person's passage to America. Headright grants were given to early colonists of America and to early citizens of Texas. See Headright surveys, plat books D and E for Camden, Glynn, Liberty, Chatham and Effingham counties, 1784-1793.

Homestead Records (See also Probate Records)

Homestead records, 1868-1902 Georgia. Superior Court (Chatham County)

Land Lottery


 * Learn more about Land Lotteries here: Land Lottery (Georgia Archives)
 * List of those entitled to draw in land lottery of 1832 Georgia. Surveyor General

Oyster Leases


 * Oyster leases 1890-1901, Chatham County, Georgia Georgia. Superior Court (Chatham County)
 * Oyster leases 1890-1911, Chatham County, Georgia Chatham County (Georgia). County Commissioners

Mortgages

Mortgages, 1871-1900 Georgia. Superior Court (Chatham County)

Pony Homestead Records

Pony homestead records, 1876-1922 Georgia. Court of Ordinary (Chatham County)

Tax Records

Chatham County - Tax Collector - Tax Digests, 1837-1978 | Georgia Archives

Local Histories

 * Once upon an island : the Barrier and Marsh islands of Chatham County, Georgia by Elizabeth Carpenter Piechocinski, includes marriages and other vital records for Island residents, family history information for Island residents, listings of Island-born Blacks, gravesites, victims of hurricans, Union soldiers involved in the skirmish on Whitemarch Island, plantation owners, and freed Blacks who obtained land in the Islands.
 * Savannah River plantations Granger, Mary

Miscellaneous Records

 * Chatham County - City Clerk (City of Savannah) - Letters to the Mayor, 1844-1890 | Georgia Archives
 * Chatham County - Misc. County Offices - Misc. Records, 1813-1952 | Georgia Archives, 1832-1900, Estate Papers, Promissory Notes, Marriage Announcement, Deed Records

Newspapers
Savannah Morning News (Live Oak Public Libraries)


 * The Bull Street Branch has the Savannah Morning News from 1763-present in microfilm.
 * The Georgia Room has the index to this paper for 1763-1986 except: 1846-1849; 1892-1895 (spotty); 1896-1929.
 * The Georgia Death Index (1919-1994) is available at Ancestry.

Probate

 * Chatham County - Probate Court - Marriage Licenses, 1866-1924| Georgia Archives
 * Chatham County - Probate Court - Misc. Records, 1860-1899 | Georgia Archives, 1860-1899, Homestead files, Case files, Lunacy files, Petitions, Wills, Other Estate records
 * Chatham County - Probate Court - Proceedings and Declarations Indexes, 1845-1845 | Georgia Archives

Taxation
Chatham County - Tax Collector - Tax Digests, 1837-1978 | Georgia Archives

Birth Records
The City of Savannah (Chatham County) has birth records beginning in 1890. They were recorded state-wide beginning in 1919.

Chatham County Health Department P. O. Box 14257 Savannah, GA, 31416. Telephone: 912-356-2138

Marriage Records
Georgia Marriages, 1808-1967 Name index to marriage records from the state of Georgia. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and Family History Centers.

Death Records

 * Georgia Deaths, 1914-1927 Name index and images of Georgia statewide deaths.


 * Georgia Deaths, 1928-1930 Name Index and images of Georgia statewide deaths. Original records are arranged           chronogically by year and then by certificate numbers.

Voter's Records
Chatham County - City Clerk (City of Savannah) - Voters Registration Books, 1867-1867| Georgia Archives

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Family History Library Catalog
 * Chatham County, Georgia Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Documenting Family History in Georgia I Georgia Archives