Calhoun County, Alabama Genealogy

United States

Alabama

Calhoun County

Guide to Calhoun County, Alabama ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Calhoun County, Alabama
Map
Location in the state of Alabama
Location of Alabama in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	December 18, 1832
County Seat	Anniston
Courthouse
Address	Calhoun County Courthouse 1702 Noble Street Anniston, AL 36201 Phone: (256) 231-1750 County Website

County Information

Calhoun County, Alabama Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major Records
Birth	Marriage	Death	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1919	1834	1919	1835	1832	1891	1816
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1908. General compliance for births by 1927 and for deaths 1925.

County Courthouse

Probate Judge has marriage records 1834-1979
Registrar in Chancery has divorce records
Clerk Circuit Court has Court Records

Description

The County was named in honor of John C. Calhoun. The County has Anniston as its seat and the County was created December 18, 1832. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

History

Parent County

1832--Calhoun County was created 18 December 1832 from the Creek Cession of 1832.
County seat: Anniston

Calhoun County Alabama was created on 18 December 1832 and was originally named Benton County. There is no parent county because Calhoun (then Benton) County was created from the 1832 Creek Cession. On 29 Jan 1858 the name was changed to Calhoun County.

Boundary Changes

For animated maps illustrating Alabama county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Alabama County Boundary Maps" (1799-1980) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss

Calhoun County had destructive courthouse fires in 1861, 1865, and 1932.

For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:

• Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill. Online at: Family History Circle.
• When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle. Online at: Tennessee Genealogy Blog.
• Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.

Places/Localities

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cities
Anniston (county seat) Glencoe Jacksonville	Oxford Piedmont	Southside Weaver
Towns
Hobson City	Ohatchee
Unincorporated communities
Allsop Angel Asberry Bethel Betta-Life Blue Mountain Blue Pond Boiling Spring Boiling Springs Bonny Brook Booker T City Brutonville Burns Burns Crossroad Cedar Springs Chosea Springs Colvins Gap Colwell Couch Crystal Springs De Soto Manor DeArmanville Duke Eastaboga Eulaton Four Mile Francis	Grayton Greenwood Hallingworth Halls Chapel Harmony Hicks Holley Crossroads Hollingsworth Holly Springs Ingram Wells Iron City Joseph Springs Knightens Crossroads Knoxville Ladiga Laney Laney Leatherwood Leydens Mill Lowrimores Crossroads Macon Maxwellborn Merrellton Middleton Mitchellville Morrisville Mount Olive	Mount Polk New Liberty Oak Level Old Davisville Peaceburg Philadelphia Pleasant Ridge Possum Trot Post Oak Prices Prickettville Rabbittown Ragan Chapel Reads Mill Roy Webb Sulphur Springs Tarsus Tredegar Trinity Union Vigo Vinnette Webster Chapel Wellington West Point West Wellington Whitesides Mill
Census-designated places
Alexandria Bynum Choccolocco	Nances Creek Saks	West End-Cobb Town White Plains
Ghost towns
Minden	Tooktocaugee

Neighboring Counties

• Cherokee
• Cleburne
• Etowah
• St. Clair
• Talladega

Resources

African American

The following have information concerning African American research.  Both should be used:

• African American Research (US) has more information about the kinds of records
• Alabama Minorities has information specific to Alabama African Americans.
  

Biography

Biographies of many notable residents of Calhoun County, Alabama Genealogy were published in Memorial Record of Alabama (1893). Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library - free. Begins on page 584.

• Northern Alabama, Historical and Biographical. Birmingham, Ala.: Smith and De Land, 1888. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library. Calhoun County, Alabama Genealogy (Town of Oxford) begins on page 112.

• Calhoun County Biographies at The USGenWeb Archives Project - free.

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Calhoun, Alabama online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com ALGenWeb ALGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project Alabama Gravestones Billion Graves
TombstoneTranscriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves Alabama Cemeteries
See Alabama Cemeteries for more information

The following web sites have additional information on Calhoun county cemeteries.

• Interment.net Alabama cemetery records by county.

• FamilySearch Digital Library - Alabama Cemetery Records. Additional Calhoun County cemeteries are included in volumes 1,3 and 6.

• There are approximately 150 - 200 cemeteries in Calhoun County. They range in size from single grave sites to over 3,000 burials. Research is currently ongoing to locate and pin-point cemetery locations with GPS. As of this time 130 have been located with GPS. Other cemeteries are known but are on private property. Over 90 cemeteries have yet to be located or eliminated as duplicates with different names in different listings.

Church Records

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 Alabama denominations, view the Alabama Church Records wiki page.

Census

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

Historical populations
Year	Pop.	%±
1840	14,260	—
1850	17,163	20.4%
1860	21,539	25.5%
1870	13,980	−35.1%
1880	19,591	40.1%
1890	33,835	72.7%
1900	34,874	3.1%
1910	39,115	12.2%
1920	47,822	22.3%
1930	55,611	16.3%
1940	63,319	13.9%
1950	79,539	25.6%
1960	95,878	20.5%
1970	103,092	7.5%
1980	119,761	16.2%
1990	116,034	−3.1%
2000	112,249	−3.3%
2010	118,572	5.6%
Sources: "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.  through 1960 Benton County until 1858

State Census

• 1866 - Alabama State Census, 1866 at FamilySearch — index

Directories

Calhoun County, Alabama Online Historical Directories - identifies historical city, county, business and other directories available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.

• 1931 - Polk's Anniston City Directory, 1931.

Land and Property

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 Alabama Land and Property for additional information about early Alabama land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse, where records are currently housed.

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

• Boyd, Gregory A. Family Maps of Calhoun 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 976.163 E7bg.

Local Histories

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

• Northern Alabama, Historical and Biographical. Birmingham, Ala.: Smith and De Land, 1888. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library. Calhoun County, Alabama Genealogy begins on page 111.

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Alabama (1799-1980)
• Family Maps of Calhoun County, Alabama Genealogy (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

 Military 

Civil War

Civil War service men from Calhoun 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 Calhoun County.

- 1st Regiment, Alabama Cavalry, Company E

- 1st Regiment, Alabama Cavalry, Company H "Sandy Williams' Guards"

- 2nd Regiment, Alabama Cavalry, Company A

- 2nd Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company A and I

- 3rd Regiment, Alabama Cavalry, Company G, Floyd Bush Rangers

- 7th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company B

- 10th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company D "Alexandria Rifle Company"

- 10th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company G "Pope Walker Guards"

- 10th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company H "Choccolocco Rifles"

- 22nd Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company E

- 25th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company I

- 30th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company B and E

- 31st Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company D

- 44th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company K

- 48th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company I and K

- 50th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company A, formerly Company A, 2nd Battalion

- 51st Regiment, Alabama Partisan Rangers, Company A and D

- 58th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company F

Online Records

• 1861-1865 - Alabama Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861-1865 - Alabama Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
• 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
• 1871-1880 - Alabama, Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1880-1930 - Alabama, Confederate Pension Applications, ca. 1880-1930's at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1907, 1921, 1927 - Alabama, Census of Confederate Veterans, 1907, 1921, 1927 at FamilySearch — images

World War I

• 1917-1919 - Alabama, World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch — index

World War II

• 1940-1945 - Alabama, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

Finding More Alabama Newspapers

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Calhoun County, Alabama Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Do a Calhoun County, Alabama Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

• Alabama Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.
• 1837-1895 - Jacksonville Republican
• 1929-1976 - Anniston Star at Ancestry ($).

Probate Records

Probate records are held by the Calhoun County, Alabama Genealogy Probate Court. Most records are housed at the Calhoun County, Alabama Genealogy Courthouse. Many records are on microfilm at the Family History Library.

See the wiki page Alabama Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.

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 places of residence.

Record types: Wills, dower records, personal property sales, settlement records, orphans’ records, and bonds.

Online Probate Records

• 1753 – 1999 Alabama Wills and Probate Records 1753-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
• 1809 – 1985 Alabama Probate Records, 1809-1985 at FamilySearch — images

Taxation

Alabama tax records complement land records and can be used to supplement the years between censuses. There may be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties. For more information, see the wiki page Alabama Taxation.

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

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 Alabama State Department of Health , the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred or order electronically online $.

For some online statewide indexes, see the FamilySearch Historical Record Collections for Alabama. See also How to order Alabama Vital Records

Birth

• 1881-1930 - Alabama, Births and Christenings, 1881-1930 FamilySearch Historical Records Collection - free

• 1881–1930 - Alabama Births and Christenings, 1881-1930 at FamilySearch.org — index

• 1881-1930 - Alabama, County Birth Registers, 1881-1930 at FamilySearch — index

Marriage

• 1733-2013 - Alabama, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 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.
  

• 1815, 1833-1868, 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.
  

• 1834-1927 - Calhoun County Marriage Books B2-N Index 1834-1927 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

• 1809 – 1950Alabama, County Marriages, 1809-1950 at FamilySearch.org — index/images

• 1816 – 1957 Alabama Marriages, 1816-1957 at FamilySearch.org — index

• 1800 – 1969 Alabama, Marriage Collection, 1800-1969 at Ancestry.com — index $

• 1809 – 1920 Alabama Marriages, 1809-1920 (Selected Counties) at Ancestry.com — index $

Death

• 1881-1952 - Alabama, Deaths and Burials, 1881-1952 FamilySearch Historical Records Collection - free

• 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.
  

• 1908–1959 Index to Deaths recorded by the state of Alabama at Ancestry– ($); Index. The index includes name of the deceased, county of death, date of death, and the state certificate number (volume and page).
  

• 1908-1974 - Alabama, Deaths, 1908-1974 FamilySearch Historical Records Collection - free

• 1881 – 1952 Alabama Deaths and Burials, 1881-1952 at FamilySearch.org — index

• 1908 – 1974 Alabama Deaths, 1908-1974 at FamilySearch.org — index

• 1881 – 1974 Alabama, Deaths and Burials Index, 1881-1974 at Ancestry.com — index $

• 1908 – 1959 [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5188 Alabama Deaths,

• 1908-59] at Ancestry.com — index $

Vital Record Substitutes

A free collection of obituaries and death notices from various funeral homes in the Calhoun County area has been put together by GenealogyBuffs:

• Calhoun County, Alabama Obituary and Death Notices Collection

Voting Registers

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

Societies and Libraries

AlaBenton Genealogical Society
c/o The Alabama Room
P. O. Box 308
Anniston, AL
36202
Website

Northeast Alabama Genealogical Society
P. O. Box 8268
Gadsden, AL
35902
Publication Northeast Alabama Settlers

Calhoun County Historical Society
P. O. Box 1771
Anniston, AL
36202

Calhoun Anniston-Calhoun City Public Library
256-237-8501
Website

• List of Alabama Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

• United States Resources: Alabama

• Al Gen Web

• Calhoun County

Family History Center
1217 W Lenlock Ln
Anniston
256-820-5828
Website

Libraries

Public Library of Anniston - Calhoun County
108 E. 10th St.
Anniston, Alabama 36201
Telephone: 256-237-8501

Their Alabama Room collections include local history and genealogical records of Calhoun County.

Family History Center

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

• For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map

• Introduction to Family History Centers
  • Anniston Alabama Family History Center
  • Anniston, Alabama

1217 W Lenlock Ln
Anniston, Calhoun, Alabama, United States
Phone: 256-820-5828
Hours: 1st, 2nd, 3rd Sat 9am-12pm;
Wed 6pm-9pm;
or call for appointment.

Family History Centre Locator

Websites

• Calhoun County, AL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
• USGenWeb Archives Project ~ contains record transcriptions from Bibles, obituaries, court records and more.
• Calhoun County ALGenWeb ~ record transcriptions and information pertinent to the county.
• FamilySearch Catalog
• Calhoun County, Alabama Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Jackson State Univerisity Yearbook Digital Project: The Library is currently digitizing the entire run of the Jacksonville State University yearbooks. The yearbooks began publication in 1926 under the name Teacola (some volumes spelled "Teacoala"), which they held until 1933, when the title changed to the Mimosa. The Mimosa was not published immediately preceding and during World War II, so there are no volumes for the years 1934-1947. Print copies of the yearbooks can be found in the Library's reference collection on the 5th floor, and also in closed stacks in the 10th floor Alabama Gallery.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.