Chambers County, Alabama Genealogy

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

County Facts
County seat: Lafayette
Organized: December 18, 1832
Parent County(s): Creek Cession[1]
Neighboring Counties
Harris (GA) • Lee • Randolph • Tallapoosa • Troup (GA)
See County Maps
Courthouse
Chambers County, Alabama Courthouse.jpg
Location Map
Chambers County Alabama.png

County Information[edit | edit source]

Description[edit | edit source]

Chambers County was created on 18 December 1832 and named for Henry H. Chambers, who served as a senator from Alabama.[2] Its county seat is Lafayette.[3] It is located in the east-central area of the state.[4]

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]

Chambers County Courthouse
2 LaFayette Street
LaFayette, AL 36862
Phone: 334-864-4341 or 334-864-4329
Fax: 334-864-9702
Email: commission.info@chamberscountyal.gov
District Court Phone: 334-864-4323
Chambers County Website

Chambers County Courthouse Annex
610 South Gilmer Avenue
Lanett, AL 36863

Probate office has marriage records from 1833 and probate and land records from 1843.
Clerk Circuit Court has divorce and court records.[5]

Chambers County, Alabama Record Dates[edit | edit source]

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 Government County Records[6]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1908 1833 1908 1833 1843 1843 1816
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1908. General compliance for births by 1927 and for deaths 1925.

Record Loss[edit | edit source]

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

Populated Places[edit | edit source]

The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in Chambers County:[8]

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator.

Cities
Towns
Unincorporated communities
  • Blackman
  • Bosworth
  • Boyds
  • Buffalo
  • Chapel Hill
  • Clackville
  • Culebra
  • Cumbee Mill
  • Danway
  • Denson
  • Doublehead
  • Eady City
  • Fairfax
  • Finley
  • Fordyce
  • Foster Crossroads
  • Glass
  • Jones Mill
  • Judson
  • Kendall Crossroads
  • Liberty Crossroads
  • Marcoot
  • McCosh Mill
  • Milltown
  • Moorefield
  • Nelson
  • New Harmony
  • Oak Bowery
  • Oakland
  • Old Atkinson Crossing
Census-designated places
Ghost towns


History Timeline[edit | edit source]

Resources[edit | edit source]

Bible Records[edit | edit source]

Biographies[edit | edit source]

Business, Commerce, and Occupations[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries of Chambers, Alabama online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See Alabama Cemeteries for more information

Census Records[edit | edit source]

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1840 17,333 —
1850 23,960 38.2%
1860 23,214 −3.1%
1870 17,562 −24.3%
1880 23,440 33.5%
1890 26,319 12.3%
1900 32,554 23.7%
1910 36,056 10.8%
1920 41,201 14.3%
1930 39,313 −4.6%
1940 42,146 7.2%
1950 39,528 −6.2%
1960 37,828 −4.3%
1970 36,356 −3.9%
1980 39,191 7.8%
1990 36,876 −5.9%
2000 36,583 −0.8%
2010 34,215 −6.5%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

State Census

Church Records[edit | edit source]

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.

List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records[edit | edit source]

Directories[edit | edit source]

Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups[edit | edit source]

Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]

Genealogies[edit | edit source]

Guardianship[edit | edit source]

Land and Property Records[edit | edit source]

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.

Online Land Indexes and Records


Local Histories[edit | edit source]

Local histories are available for Chambers County. The 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.

  • Reminiscenses of the Early Days in Chambers County. By Evan Goodwin Richards. n.p.: County Commissioners of Chambers County, c1890. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Ancestry ($).
  • Valley Historical Scrapbook. West Point, GA: Chattahoochee Valley Historical Society, 1970. Online at: Ancestry ($).

Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]

RandolphHeard, GeorgiaTroup, GeorgiaHarris, GeorgiaLeeTallapoosaAL CHAMBERS.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration[edit | edit source]

Military Records[edit | edit source]

Multiple Wars

Civil War

Regiments. Men in Chambers County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (part of a large regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Chambers County:

- 7th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company A
- 14th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company A "Cusseta Grays"
- 14th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company C "Tom Watt's Grays"
- 14th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company D "Yancey Grays"
- 14th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company E "Gilmore's Greys"
- 14th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company F "Billy Gilmer Grays"
- 23rd Battalion, Alabama, Company E
- 37th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company G and I
- 47th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company D and I
- 60th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Company K

World War I

World War II

Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Current Newspapers

  • The Valley Times News is located at 220 N 12th St. Lanett, Alabama. Phone # is 334-644-1101
  • The LaFayette Sun is located 116 LaFayette St., LaFayette, Alabama. Phone # is 334-864-8885

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

Other Records[edit | edit source]

Voter Registration

Alabama Voting Registers for 1867 are available online at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. See Chambers County at Register.

Periodicals[edit | edit source]

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

Online Probate Indexes and Records


School Records[edit | edit source]

Social Security Records[edit | edit source]

Tax Records[edit | edit source]

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 ($). Chambers County is in District 2.

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

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.

Birth[edit | edit source]

Marriage[edit | edit source]

Death[edit | edit source]

Divorce[edit | edit source]

Research Facilities[edit | edit source]

Archives[edit | edit source]

Alabama Department of Archives and History
624 Washington Ave
PO Box 300100
Montgomery, AL 36104
Phone: 334-242-4435
Email: mark.palmer@archives.alabama.gov
Website
Facebook

Cobb Memorial Archives
3419 20th Avenue
Valley, AL 36854
Phone: 334-768-2050
Website

FamilySearch Centers[edit | edit source]

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

  • FamilySearch 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 FamilySearch center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries[edit | edit source]

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

Chambers County Library
3419 20th Avenue
Valley, AL 36854
Phone: 334-768-2061
Website
Facebook

H. Grady Bradshaw Library
3419 20th Avenue
Valley, AL 36854
Phone: 334-768-2161
Email: askus@chamberscountylibrary.org
Website

LaFayette Library
198 1st Street SE
LaFayette, AL 36862
Phone: 334-864-0012
Email: lafayette@chamberscountylibrary.org
Website

Museums[edit | edit source]

Societies[edit | edit source]

Chattahoochee Valley Historical Society
3419 20th Avenue
Valley, AL 36854
Phone: 334-768-2050
Email: cvhs@cvhistoricalsociety.org
Website
Facebook

Genealogy Society of East Alabama
Lee County Meeting Center
205 South 10th Street
PO Box 2892
Opelika, AL 36803-2892
Email: gsofea@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

Websites[edit | edit source]

Research Guides[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Alabama.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  2. ↑ Genealogy Trails History Group, “Chambers County, Alabama Genealogy and History”, http://genealogytrails.com/ala/chambers/ 05/30/2017.
  3. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Alabama.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  4. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Chambers, Alabama," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chambers_County,_Alabama 05/30/2017.
  5. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Alabama.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  6. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Alabama.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  7. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Alabama.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  8. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Chambers County, Alabama," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chambers_County,_Alabama, accessed 4 October 2018.
  9. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/8/8d/Igialabama.pdf.
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