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Alabama Societies and Archives |
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It is wise to acquaint yourself with any repository which you might visit by writing to the appropriate archive or library in advance. Every repository has published materials that introduce its collections and research policy. State archives and historical agencies also have Internet sites that provide the same information. Some even have downloadable databases for some or parts of their collections.
- Alabama
Department of Archives & History
624 Washington Avenue,
Montgomery, Alabama 36130-0100;
Phone: (334) 242-4435
- Alabama
Historical Commission
468 South Perry Street,
PO Box 300900,
Montgomery, AL 36130-0900
- Alabama
Department of Public Health, Center
for Health Statistics
RSA Tower,
201 Monroe St. Suite 1150,
Montgomery, AL 36104;
(334)206-5418
- Alabama Department of Human Resources, Family and Children's Services Division
50 N. Ripley St.,
Montgomery, AL 36130;
(334) 242-9500
- Alabama Indian Affairs Commission
669 S. Lawrence St.,
Montgomery, AL 36130;
(334) 242-2831
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"Genealogists are generally positive and energetic, and most are ready to share their findings or research experience with anyone they can help. There are hundreds of genealogical societies at the grass-roots level. Knowledge of the genealogical community will place you in the midst of much activity, increase your productivity, and alert you to the importance of research standards and etiquette."
Sandra Hargreaves Luebking,
Editor of FGS Forum,
Co-editor of The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy
Because family history research relies greatly upon records found at the county level, many local societies represent counties. Organizations also form around shared interests. Ethnic or religious origins account for many groups, such as the Polish Genealogical Society of America and P.O.I.N.T. (Pursuing Our Italian Names Together). Societies also form around common locales of origin for members’ ancestors; hence, the Palatines to America and Germans from Russia societies. To locate these and other societies, consult Juliana Szucs Smith’s The Ancestry Family Historian’s Address Book. It lists addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and Internet addresses of thousands of organizations throughout the United States.
For almost every state there is a state genealogical society, a state genealogical council, or both. In addition to their own work, state-level groups sometimes help coordinate the efforts of local societies within the state. Their publications, newsletters and quarterlies, supplement those produced by the local societies.
- Alabama
Genealogical Society, c/o Samford University Library,
PO Box 2296,
Birmingham, AL 35229
- AlaBenton
Genealogical Society, c/o The Alabama Room,
P. O. Box 308,
Anniston, AL 36202
- Eufaula
Heritage Association, Inc, PO Box 486,
Eufaula, AL 36027-0846
- Genealogical
Society of East Alabama, PO Box 2892,
Opelika, AL 36803-2892
- Historic
Chattahoochee Commission, PO Box 33,
Eufaula, AL 36072-0033
- Natchez
Trace Genealogical Society, PO Box 420,
Florence, AL 35631-0420
- Northeast
Alabama Genealogical Society, Box 8268,
Gadsden, AL 35902
- North
Central Alabama Genealogical Society, PO Box 13,
Cullman, Alabama 35056-0013
- NorthEast Alabama Genealogical Society, #1 Cabot Ave, P.O. Box 8268, Gadsden, AL 35902
- Pea
River Historical and Genealogical Society,
109 South Main,
Enterprise, AL 36330
- Southeast
Alabama Genealogical Society, PO Box 246,
Dothan, Ala. 36302-0245
- Tennessee
Valley Genealogical Society, P. O. Box 1568,
Huntsville, AL 35807
- Tennessee
Valley Historical Society, PO Box 149,
Sheffield, AL 35660
- Auburn
Heritage Association, PO Box 2248,
Auburn, AL 36830
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Search The PERiodical Source Index
Because
of the limited amount of published materials on most Alabama
counties, periodical literature is essential. There are more
than thirty-five periodicals published in Alabama by local and
state historical and genealogical organizations. The Genealogical
Periodical Annual Index and the Periodical Source Index, 1847-1985 survey
some of these publications as well as articles on Alabama from
periodicals done outside the state.
[ see specific county page for individual county list ]
- Alabama Genealogical Quarterly Vols. 1- (1979-present).
- Alabama Genealogical Register (1959-69)
- Alabama Genealogical Society, Inc. Magazine (1967-present)
Publication of the Alabama Genealogical Society 800 Lakeshore Drive
Birmingham, Alabama 35229.
- Alabama
Historical Quarterly Vol.
1-44 (1930-82)
Publication of Alabama Department of Archives and History
- Alabama Review
(1942-present)Publication
of Alabama Historical Association
- Central Alabama Genealogical Society Quarterly(1976-present) Publication of the Central Alabama Genealogical Society,
P.O. Box 125Selma,
Alabama 36701.
- Deep South Genealogical Quarterly (1963-present)Publication
of Mobile Genealogical SocietyP.O.
Box 6224Mobile,
Alabama 36606.
- Natchez Trace Traveler
(1981-present)Publication
of the Natchez Trace Genealogical SocietyP.O.
Box 420Florence,
Alabama 35631.
- Pea River Trails (1975-present)Publication
of the Pea River Historical SocietyP.O.
Box 628Enterprise,
Alabama 36330.
- Pioneer Trails
(1959-present) Publication
of the Birmingham Genealogical Society P.O.
Box 2432 Birmingham,
Alabama 35201.
- Tap Roots(1963-present)Publication
of the Genealogical Society of East AlabamaP.O.
Drawer 1351Auburn,
Alabama 36831-1351.
- Settlers of Northeast Alabama(1962-present)Publication
of the Northeast Alabama Genealogical SocietyP.O.
Box 674Gadsden,
Alabama 35902.
- Valley Leaves (1966-present) Publication
of the Tennessee Valley Genealogical Society P.O.
Box 1568Huntsville,
Alabama 35807-0568.
- WIREGRASS
ROOTS c/o - SEAGHS
P.O. Box 246,
Dothan, AL 36302-0246
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Search Historical Newspapers
"The earliest newspapers in the state were located
in the Tombigbee-Mobile area and included the Mobile Sentinel,
Fort Stoddert, 1811; Mobile Gazette, Mobile, 1812; Halcyon,
St. Stephens, 1815; and Blakeley Sun and Alabama Advertiser,
Blakeley, 1819. Early newspapers from the Tennessee Valley
included the Madison Gazette, Huntsville, 1812; Florence
Gazette, Florence, 1820; and Tuscumbia Advertiser, Tuscumbia,
1821. Other pre-statehood papers included the Cahawba Press
and Alabama Intelligencer, Cahawba, 1819; Alabama Courier,
Claiborne, 1819; and Tuscaloosa Republican, Tuscaloosa,
1819.
Alabama law requires that all county newspapers that carry
legal notices be maintained by that county's probate judge.
Few of the county collections are complete.
The Alabama Department of Archives and History has participated
in a National Endowment for the Humanities project to preserve
old newspapers. A statewide inventory of all repositories
was followed by a project to microfilm newspapers of historic
significance. A national union list is available for the
project, which indexes newspapers by name, place of publication,
language, and date of publication. Each entry indicates
which issues of the newspaper are extant and the repository
which houses those issues. Larger libraries and archives
should have the publication United States Newspaper Project
National Union List, Microfilm: June 1987, 2d ed. (Dublin,
Ohio, 1987)."
While records of birth, marriage, and death are the most commonly sought and the most consistently helpful records, only the genealogist’s imagination and resourcefulness limit newspapers’ usefulness in supplying clues about historical events, local history, probate court and legal notices, real estate transactions, political biographies, announcements, notices of new and terminated partnerships, business advertisements, and notices for settling debts.
Newspapers can provide at least a partial substitute for nonexistent civil records. For example, a person’s obituary may have appeared in a newspaper even when civil death records for that person do not exist. And newspapers are an important source of marriage records, particularly in those states where civil recording of marriages was essentially nonexistent until the twentieth century.
Unlike official records, newspapers are not limited to a particular geographical area. They often include reports of the weddings of local citizens (even those that occurred in a neighboring county or another state), and they sometimes report visits of geographically distant relatives or the visits of former local residents. They often published death notices of individuals who had left the area long before but who still had local family or friends as well. In each case the newspaper account can identify the date and place of an event, thus opening the possibility of turning up additional documentation in other sources.
The first step in searching a newspaper is to identify those which served the area of interest and which have survived. The three most necessary tools are bibliographies (What was published?), inventories of library and depository holdings (Where is it?), and indexes (How do I find what I want in it?).
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