Polk County, Georgia Genealogy

United States

Georgia

Polk County

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

Georgia Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Cedartown Organized: December 20, 1851 Parent County(s): Paulding, Floyd Neighboring Counties Bartow  • Cherokee (AL)  • Cleburne (AL)  • Floyd  • Haralson  • Paulding See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

Polk County Court House #2, Cedartown, Georgia

County Information

Description

The County was named for James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th President of the United States (1845–1849). The County is located in the northwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse

Polk County Courthouse
PO Box 268
Cedartown, GA 30125-0268
Phone: 770-749-2100
Polk County Website

Probate Court has birth, marriage, death and probate records.
Clerk Superior court has divorce, court and land records from 1852.

Polk County, Georgia Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1919	1852	1919	1852	1852	1852	1820
*Statewide registration of births and death began in 1919. General compliance for births by 1928 and deaths by 1922.

Record Loss

1864 During the American Civil War the courthouse at Cedartown was burned November 1 or 2. Most county records survived.

Boundary Changes

1851 Polk County was created 20 December 1851 from Paulding and Floyd Counties. County seat: Cedartown For animated maps illustrating Georgia county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Georgia County Boundary Maps" (1758-1932) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

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
Aragon Braswell	Cedartown Rockmart
Towns
Taylorsville
Unincorporated communities
Akes Antioch Benedict	Esom Hill Etna Fish Creek	Portland Van Wert
Ghost towns
Treat

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Polk, Georgia online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com GAGenWeb GAGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project Billion Graves
TombstoneTranscriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves Polk County Cemeteries Georgia Cemetery Records FamilySearch Places
See Georgia Cemeteries for more information

The following web site may have additional information on Polk County cemeteries.

• Interment.net Georgia cemetery records

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	6,295	—
1870	7,822	24.3%
1880	11,952	52.8%
1890	14,945	25.0%
1900	17,856	19.5%
1910	20,203	13.1%
1920	20,357	0.8%
1930	25,141	23.5%
1940	28,467	13.2%
1950	30,976	8.8%
1960	28,015	−9.6%
1970	29,656	5.9%
1980	32,386	9.2%
1990	33,815	4.4%
2000	38,127	12.8%
2010	41,475	8.8%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

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 Georgia denominations, see the Georgia Church Records wiki page.
List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places

Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

• Polk

Land and Property Records

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.

• 1735-1866 Georgian Colonial and Headright Plat Index, 1735-1866 at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - alpha index
  
• 1783-1909 Headright and Bounty Plats, 1783-1909 at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images with alpha index
  
• 1805-1833 District Plats of Survey at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images organized by county and district
  
• Colonial Plats and Warrants at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images with alpha index
  

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Polk County, Georgia 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 Georgia Local Histories.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
• 1740s-? Historic Map File at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images
• 1866 - 1935 County Map File at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images
• Maps of Georgia (1758-1932)

Military Records

• Georgia USGenWeb Archives Project

Civil War

Online Records

• 1861-1865 Georgia Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861-1865 Georgia Civil War Service Records of Union 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)
• 1861-1865 Confederate Enlistment Oaths and Discharges at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault- images and alphabetical index
• 1861-1865 Confederate Muster Rolls at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault- images; filter by commanding officer, service branch and regiment
• 1861-1865 Confederate Pension Application Supplements - images and alphabetical index; filter by county
• 1864 Militia Enrollment Lists, 1864 - images; filter by county
• 1867-1868 Georgia, Reconstruction Registration Oath Books, 1867-1868 at FamilySearch — index
• 1879-1920 Georgia, Confederate Pension Rolls, 1879-1920 at FamilySearch — index
• 1879-1960 Confederate Pension Applications - images and alphabetical index; filter by county

Regiments. Service men in Polk County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Polk County:

- 20th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company D

- 21st Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company D

• Carter, Larry D. 2012. Polk County, Georgia the first one-hundred years. [S.l.]: L.D. Carter. (page 227-328; 581-638) 975.8375 H2

Spanish-American War

• 1898 Spanish-American War Service Summary Cards - images and alphabetical index; filter by residence, muster location and unit

World War I

• 1914-1918 World War I Casualties Scrapbooks - images and alphabetical index
• 1920-1929 Georgia, World War I, Statement of Service Cards, 1920-1929 at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

• 1940-1942 Georgia World War II Draft Registration Cards 1940-1942 at findmypast - index ($))

Newspapers

• Georgia Historic Newspapers at Digital Library of Georgia

Other Records

Voting Records

• 1867-1868 Georgia, Reconstruction Registration Oath Books, 1867-1868 at FamilySearch — index

Probate Records

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).

Online Probate Indexes and Records

• 1733-1753 Colonial Wills at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images with alpha index
• 1742-1990 Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1742-1992 Georgia Wills and Probate Records 1742-1992 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
• 1754-1776 Colonial Will Books at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images with alpha index
• 1848-1911 Wills, 1848-1911 (digital images) Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1848-1936 Index to Will Book A, 1848-1936 Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1860-1893 Index to Annual Returns and Vouchers, 1860-1893 Georgia Pioneers ($)

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

Taxes were levied on free white males over 21 and all slaves up to age 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.

• 1787-1900 Georgia, Tax Digests, 1787-1900 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection, index and images

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 , 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 Georgia.

Birth

• 1870-1960 Georgia, County Delayed Birth and Death Records, 1870-1960 at FamilySearch — index, and some images

Marriage

• 1560-1993 Georgia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index ($)
• 1699-1944 Georgia Marriages 1699-1944 at Ancestry— index ($)
• 1754-1960 Georgia Church Marriages, 1754-1960 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1785-1950 Georgia County Marriages 1785-1950 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1787-1962 Georgia, Church Marriages, 1787-1962 at FamilySearch — index
• 1808-1967 Georgia Marriages 1808-1967 at FamilySearch — index
• 1824-1850 Marriages 1824-1850 Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1828-1978 Georgia Marriage Records from Select Counties 1828-1978 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
• 1852-1888 Polk County Marriage Books A and B Index 1852-1888. Batch M713521 at FamilySearch
• 1884-1895 Polk County Marriage Books C and D Index 1884-1895. Batch M713522 at FamilySearch
• 1885-1886 Marriages from Newspapers Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1891-1895 Polk County Marriage Book D Index 1891-1895. Batch M713523 at FamilySearch

Death

• 1870-1960 Georgia, County Delayed Birth and Death Records, 1870-1960 at FamilySearch — index, and some images
• 1914-1927 Georgia Deaths 1914-1927 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1919-1998 Georgia Deaths 1919-1998 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1919-1930 Georgia Death Certificates at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - index and images
• 1928-1930 Georgia Non-Indexed Death Certificates at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images
• 1928-1942 Georgia Deaths, 1928-1942 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1933-1998 Georgia Death Index 1933-1998 at FamilySearch — index

Voter Records

• 1856-1941 Georgia, County Voter Registrations, 1856-1941 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection, index and images

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Polk County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Georgia Archives and Libraries.

Family History Centers

Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Polk County. For state-wide library facilities, see Georgia Archives and Libraries.

Societies

Listed below are societies in Polk County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Georgia Societies.

• Polk County Historical Society
  205 N College St.
  PO Box 203
  Cedartown, GA 30125-2603
  Email: staff@polkhist.org
  Website

Websites

• Polk County GAGenWeb
• Polk County, GA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Georgia Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
• Polk County, Georgia Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Georgia Pioneers ($)
• FamilySearch Catalog - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.