Habersham County, Georgia Genealogy

(Redirected from Habersham County, Georgia)


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

County Facts
County seat: Clarkesville
Organized: December 15, 1818
Parent County(s): Cherokee Indian lands.
[1]
Neighboring Counties
BanksHallOconee (SC)RabunStephensTownsWhite
See County Maps
Courthouse
Habersham County, Georgia Court House.jpg
Location Map
Georgia Habersham County Map.png

County Information

Description

The county was named for Colonel Joseph Habersham of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War. The county is located in the northeast area of the state.[2]

County Courthouse


Habersham County Courthouse
555 Monroe Street #35
Clarkesville, GA 30523-0227
Phone: 706-754-6264
Habersham County Website

Clerk Superior Court has divorce, Court and land records, from 1819.[3]
Probate Court has marriage and probate records from 1819 along with birth and death records from 1940. [4]

Habersham 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 Government County Records[5]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1940 1819 1940 1819 1819 1819 1820
*Statewide registration of births and death began in 1919. General compliance for births by 1928 and deaths by 1922.

Record Loss

  • 1856 Fire burned the courthouse.
  • 1898 There was an explosion at the courthouse.
  • 1923 The courthouse at Clarkesville burned the night of 1-2 December. The record vault saved most of the county's records.[6]
  • Although the first will book was lost in the 1923 fire, the reason several other probate records are missing is uncertain.
  • Habersham County estate inventories start in 1863; and probate bonds begin in 1881.

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

Boundary Changes

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:[8]

Cities
Towns
Unincorporated communities
Census-designated places

History Timeline

Resources

Bible Records

Biographies

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

Cemeteries

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

Census Records

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1820 3,145
1830 10,671 239.3%
1840 7,961 −25.4%
1850 8,895 11.7%
1860 5,966 −32.9%
1870 6,322 6.0%
1880 8,718 37.9%
1890 11,573 32.7%
1900 13,604 17.5%
1910 10,134 −25.5%
1920 10,730 5.9%
1930 12,748 18.8%
1940 14,771 15.9%
1950 16,553 12.1%
1960 18,116 9.4%
1970 20,691 14.2%
1980 25,020 20.9%
1990 27,621 10.4%
2000 35,902 30.0%
2010 43,041 19.9%
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

Court Records

Directories

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

Guardianship

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.

Online Land Indexes and Records


Local Histories

Local histories are available for Habersham 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

Towns CountyRabun CountyStephens CountyFranklin CountyBanks CountyHall CountyWhite CountyOconee CountyGA HABERSHAM.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources


Migration

Military Records

Civil War

Online Records


Regiments. Service men in Habersham 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 Habersham County:

- 16th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company E
- 24th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company K
- 52nd Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company A
- 65th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Companies I and K
- Georgia USGenWeb Archives Project
  • Ledford, Karen Ann Thompson. 1998. These men wore grey: genealogical, military, and interment records of Confederate soldiers. Toccoa, Georgia: K.T. Ledford. (v.2 page 93-170) 975.8 V3L and Other Libraries.
  • Kimzey, Herbert B., and Nancy Kimzey Dempsey. 1988. Early genealogical & historical records: Habersham County, Georgia. [Athens, Ga.?]: N.K. Dempsey. (page 503) 975.8272 H2d v1-2
  • Daughters of the American Revolution. Tomochichi Chapter (Georgia). 1972. Miscellaneous records of Habersham Co., Georgia. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah. film 907986 item 3

Spanish-American War

World War I

World War II

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

Obituaries

Other Records

Voting Records

Periodicals

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 FamilySearch 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


School Records

Social Security Records

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.

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

Marriage

Death

Divorce

Research Facilities

Archives

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

FamilySearch Centers

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

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

Museums

Societies

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

Habersham County Historical Society
353 Chattahoochee St
PO Box 924
Cornelia, GA 30531
706-499-8842
Email: hchs.30531@yahoo.com
Website
Facebook

Northeast Georgia Historical and Genealogical Society
PO Box 907085
Gainesville, GA 30501
Email: NEGAHistorical@Yahoo.com
Website
Facebook

Northwest Georgia Historical and Genealogical Society
PO Box 5063
Rome, Georgia 30162-5063
Email: patmillican@yahoo.com
Website

Southern Appalachian Genealogy
Email: genealogicalme@gmail.com
Facebook

Websites

Research Guides

References

  1. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Georgia.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  2. Wikipedia contributors, "Habersham County, Georgia" in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habersham_County,_Georgia accessed 31 Oct 2018
  3. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Georgia.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  4. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Georgia.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  5. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Habersham County, Georgia. Page 151-163 At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 155-160.
  6. Paul K. Graham, Georgia Courthouse Disasters (Decatur, Georgia: Genealogy Co., 2013), 35. At various libraries (WorldCat).
  7. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Georgia.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  8. Wikipedia contributors, "Habersham County, Georgia," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habersham_County%2C_Georgia, accessed 19 Febuary 2019.
  9. Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/5/57/Igigeorgiael.pdf.