Alabama County Court, Probate, Tax and Other Miscellaneous Records
Even today, few people escape mention in court records at some time during their lives as witnesses, litigants, jurors, appointees to office, or as petition signatories. However, Americans of a few generations ago also expected to attend local court proceedings when they were in session. It was a civic duty-and they could be fined if they did not attend.
American court files mirror U.S. history. Buried away in courthouses and archives everywhere are the dreams and frustrations of millions of citizens. The chances are great that your ancestors have left a detailed record of at least some aspects of their lives in court records.
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Most of us don’t think of court records as the rich source of personal history that they are. But America’s English heritage established a tradition of court processes in which the people have a right to participate actively—and we always have. With relative freedom from royal supervision and with court enforcement of religious as well as civil laws, American courts tried many matters that were not subject to court action in other parts of the British empire and that are now considered too minor to warrant criminal action.
When a person dies, every state has laws that provide for public supervision over the estate that is left, whether or not there is a will. The term “probate records” broadly covers all the records produced by these laws, although, strictly speaking, “probate” applies only when there is a will.
Family historians use probate case files far more than any other kind of court record. Probate case files are logical sources because they tend to include so much personal data, and because Americans have depended on the courts to settle their estates since North America was colonized. According to Val Greenwood in his Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, “All records which relate to the disposition of an estate after its owner’s death are referred to as probate records. These are many and varied in both content and value, but basically, they fall into two main classes: testate and intestate”. Probate case files generally provide names, addresses, and biographical data for the deceased, but frequently provide the same information for other relatives named in the papers. Relationships, maiden names of wives, married names of daughters, past residences, and place of origin in a native country are just a few of the details that can be discovered in probate files. And probate files can be found in courthouses and archives across the United States.
When requesting probate information from the county clerk, it is important not to limit yourself by asking for a person’s “will.” The clerk will usually take you at your word and not copy other papers in the probate file that may have equally important information if there is no will.
Even if your ancestor is not mentioned in a probate case, consider all of the other procedures which might have resulted in him or her appearing in court records.
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Alabama Court Records
See Also Research In State Court Records
Even today, few people escape mention in court records at some time during their lives as witnesses, litigants, jurors, appointees to office, or as petition signatories. However, Americans of a few generations ago also expected to attend local court proceedings when they were in session. It was a civic duty-and they could be fined if they did not attend......
There is no effective substitute for an on-site search of county courthouse records. County level records have not yet been centralized. No single county's records have been significantly abstracted or transcribed, making a courthouse visit essential. County records vary widely from county to county in both quality and quantity.
Ten Alabama counties have had significant destruction of records by fire. These "burned" counties and counties that have had less destructive fires are indicated on the chart. However, not all records were lost. Three counties have two county seats.
The Historical Records Survey conducted a preliminary inventory of fifteen county archives. The counties that were surveyed include Clay, Colbert, Conecuh, Cullman, Greene, Hale, Lauderdale, Lowndes, Madison, Marengo, Sumter, Talladega, Wilcox, and Winston. Unfortunately, the inventory has never been updated, revised, or expanded to include counties not originally surveyed. The University of Alabama Library's special collections department also has inventories of the DeKalb and Cherokee county courthouse holdings compiled in 1979.
Court records are at the district court at the county seat, and no survey has been completed for all counties. Land and probate records are in the probate judge's office at the county seat.
The records of the office of the court clerk or the circuit court records are the most poorly organized and most frequently missing court records. In smaller counties both chancery and circuit court records are maintained by the same clerk. In larger counties the records may be separated. The state administrative office of the court oversees the maintenance of the circuit court records.
The state-level office of the supreme court clerk has authority over the records of the state supreme court. After five years these records are moved to the state's archives.
Alabama's trial courts of general jurisdiction are the Circuit Courts. The Circuit Court hears all civil matters where the amount in controversy exceeds $10,000 and all criminal prosecutions involving felony offenses. The Circuit Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the District Court and in all civil matters where the amount in controversy exceeds $3,000 but does not exceed $10,000, exclusive of interest and costs. Additionally, the Circuit Courts exercise appellate jurisdiction over cases appealed from the District Courts, Probate Court, Municipal Courts and certain administrative and municipal Boards.
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- Court, Land, Wills & Financial
- Court records are an often overlooked, yet very valuable tool for finding information to assist you in your research. Land records, such as deeds, allow you to tie an ancestor to a specific place at a point in time. Other court records like those dealing with finances and estates often list related family members or give interesting details like the total value of property owned by your ancestors to add interest to your family history.
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Alabama Probate Records
See Also Research In State Probate Records
Probate records include a variety of documents created to support court proceedings in the settlement of an individuals' estates. The number and type of probate records created may vary over time in different jurisdictions and due to the amount of real and personal property involved. The various documents generated in the probate process are rarely filed together......
Probate records include a variety of documents created to support court proceedings in the settlement of an individuals' estates. The number and type of probate records created may vary over time in different jurisdictions and due to the amount of real and personal property involved. The various documents generated in the probate process are rarely filed together......
The office of the probate judge is the county office where the most significant genealogical records are created and maintained in Alabama. A variety of records are housed in this office.
These records may be labeled wills, estates, inventories, administrations or guardian's bonds, and orphan's court records.
Within each category there may or may not be separate volumes labeled "record" or "minutes." The "record" volumes contain relatively full accounts of probate proceedings, while the "minutes" volumes normally contain only brief abstracts of the proceedings. Early adoption records and records for the binding-out of poor orphans are recorded here. Until the 1900s adoption records were not filed separately. Record books and files created especially for adoption proceedings are now closed to the public by law.
Sometimes bastardy cases and naturalization records are here. In all cases these records are merely copies of the original and contain only such data as the clerk thought legally important. More significant than the clerk's ledger, the "loose papers" contain the documents submitted to prove a will, such as the petition to probate, which listed all heirs of the deceased.
Generally, these files are not housed in the record room. The researcher should request these files from the probate clerk. The office of the probate judge in Alabama also recorded other documents intermittently in probate, deed, or commissioner's court records. Particularly useful are proofs of freedom filed by free blacks or natives (often with white deponents), indenture papers, contracts for hiring military substitutes during the Civil War, and lists of slaves brought into the state or loaned to the Confederacy.
Alabama Tax Records
See Also Researching in Tax Records
Things taxed have included carriages and watches, windows and whiskey, land and slaves. Taxes on documents and tea helped start a war. Arkansas Territory’s sudden tax on bounty lands in the 1820s was enacted and due before the news had time to reach out-of-state owners, permitting the quick seizure and sale of “delinquent” lands. As this variety suggests, name lists of such taxes must be used with a cautious understanding of who should be on the list and who should not...
County tax records are housed in the office of the tax assessor. These records are usually arranged by legal description and are not indexed. There are few counties with tax records before 1860. The National Archives has a microfilm publication titled Internal Revenue Assessment Lists for Alabama, 1865-1866 (NARA M754, 6 reels).
Definitions of Common Court Terms
| FOR DEFINITIONS OF ALL COURT TERMS SEE THE GENEALOGY ENCYCLOPEDIA | ||
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