Meriwether County, Georgia Genealogy

United States

Georgia

Meriwether County

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

Georgia Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Greenville Organized: December 14, 1827 Parent County(s): Troup Neighboring Counties Coweta • Harris • Pike • Spalding • Talbot • Troup • Upson See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

The county was named for David Meriwether, a general in the American Revolutionary War and member of Congress from Georgia. The county is located in the west central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Meriwether County Courthouse
PO Box 428
Greenville, GA 30222-0428
Phone: 706-672-1314
Meriwether County Website

Probate Court has birth records from 1927, marriage records from 1828, death records from 1929 and probate records from 1838.
Clerk Superior Court has divorce, court and land records from 1827 and military discharge records.

Meriwether 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
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1927	1828	1929	1827	1827	1839	1820
*Statewide registration of births and death began in 1919. General compliance for births by 1928 and deaths by 1922.

Record Loss

1893 A tornado badly damaged the town and courthouse of Greenville 3 March, but few records were damaged. 1976 A courthouse fire on 27 January resulted in no county record losses or damage. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see: Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill at 24-7 Family History Circle. When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog. Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. List of counties in the United States with Record Loss

Boundary Changes

1827 Meriwether County was created 14 December 1827 from Troup County. County seat: Greenville 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
Greenville Luthersville	Manchester Warm Springs
Towns
Gay Haralson	Lone Oak Pine Mountain	Woodbury
Unincorporated communities
Alps Alvaton Chalybeate Springs Durand	Harris City Odessadale Primrose Raleigh	Rocky Mount Saint Marks White Sulphur Springs Wooster

Resources

Bible Records

• Meriwether County Bible Records at Georgia Pioneers

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

• Georgia, State Employees at MyHeritage — index ($)

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Meriwether, Georgia online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find a Grave BillionGraves USGW Tombstone Transcription Project Interment.net
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	FamilySearch Catalog WorldCat.org
List of Cemeteries in the County	Find a Grave BillionGraves FamilySearch Places
See Georgia Cemeteries for more information

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1830	4,422	—
1840	14,132	219.6%
1850	16,476	16.6%
1860	15,330	−7.0%
1870	13,756	−10.3%
1880	17,651	28.3%
1890	20,740	17.5%
1900	23,339	12.5%
1910	25,180	7.9%
1920	26,167	3.9%
1930	22,437	−14.3%
1940	22,055	−1.7%
1950	21,055	−4.5%
1960	19,756	−6.2%
1970	19,461	−1.5%
1980	21,229	9.1%
1990	22,411	5.6%
2000	22,534	0.5%
2010	21,992	−2.4%
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

• Providence Church, Luthersville, Georgia, 1818 Members Georgia Pioneers ($)

Court Records

• 1828-1905 Superior Court Minutes, 1828-1905(*); Superior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
• 1829-1890 Court Minutes, 1829-1890(*); Court of Ordinary and Inferior Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
• 1831-1903 Wills 1831-1903 [Meriwether County, Georgia](*); Court of Ordinary at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
• 1858-1872 Inferior and Court of Ordinary Minutes, 1858-1872 [Meriwether County, Georgia](*); Court of Ordinary at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Funeral Homes

• Anderson and Marshall Funeral Home in Manchester
• Cox Funeral Home in Manchester
• Darrell E. Watkins Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Manchester
• McCoy Funeral Home in Manchester
• Sewell Funeral Homes in Manchester

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

• 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
  
• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Meriwether 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.

• Hill, Ella Godwin. The History of Warm Springs, Georgia. Chastain, Ark.: Hillcroft Press, c1934. Digital version at Ancestry ($)

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - 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 Meriwether 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 Meriwether County:

-2nd Battalion, North Carolina Infantry

- 1st Regiment, Georgia Cavalry (Confederate)

- 2nd Battalion, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company B

- 8th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company D

- 13th Battalion, Georgia Infantry (State Guards) (Confederate), Company B

- 13th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company B

- 41st Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company F

- 55th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate) , Companies F and K

- 60th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company A

- 64th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate) , Company E

- 2nd Battalion, North Carolina Infantry, Company E

• Georgia. Court of Ordinary (Meriwether County). 1963. Roster of Confederate soldiers, no. 1, 1861-1865. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah. Film 327688
• Georgia. Court of Ordinary (Meriwether County). 1963. Confederate soldiers and widows; Confederate pension rolls, 1896-1956. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah. Film 327687

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

• 1800s-Current Georgia, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
• Georgia Historic Newspapers at Digital Library of Georgia
• Historic newspapers for the region can be searched in The Georgia Historic Newspapers database. Additional records may be found in Georgia newspaper clippings : Meriwether County extracts, 1828-1889.

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 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

• 1733-1753 Colonial Wills at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images with alpha index
• 1742-1990 Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990(*) at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1742-1992 Georgia Wills and Probate Records 1742-1992 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1754-1776 Colonial Will Books at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images with alpha index
• 1825-1902 Annual Returns, 1825-1902(*); Court of Ordinary at FamilySearch Catalog — index and images
• 1828-1903 Names of Families Meriwether County Genealogy, Wills, Estates, Marriages at Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1828-1963 General Index to Estates, 1828-1963(*); Court of Ordinary at FamilySearch Catalog — index and images
• 1830-1930 Administrator and Guardian Bonds, 1830-1930(*); Court of Ordinary at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1831-1903 Wills 1831-1903 Meriwether County, Georgia(*); Court of Ordinary at FamilySearch Catalog — index and images
• 1851-1880 Vouchers, 1851-1880(*); Court of Ordinary at FamilySearch Catalog — index and images
• 1856-1881 Letters of Administrators, Guardians, and Temporary Letters, 1856-1881 Meriwether County, Georgia(*); Court of Ordinary at FamilySearch Catalog — index and images
• 1865-1905 Twelve Months' Support Widows and Minor Children 1866-1905, and, Letters of Dismission 1865-1878 Meriwether County, Georgia(*); Court of Ordinary at FamilySearch Catalog — index and images
• Full-Text Search - Wills and Probate Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

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.
• 1936-2007 United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

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
• 1808-1967 Georgia Marriages 1808-1967 at FamilySearch — index
• 1828-1843 Marriage Index Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1828-1886 Meriwether County Marriage Books A thru E Index 1828-1886. Batch M713351 at FamilySearch
• 1828-1978 Georgia Marriage Records from Select Counties 1828-1978 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1843-1866 Marriage Index Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1843-1866 Marriage License Index Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1866-1877 Marriage Index Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1877-1880 Marriage Index Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1880-1866 Marriage Index Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1885-1886 Marriages (from newspapers) Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1886-1895 Meriwether County Marriage Books F thru G Index 1886-1895. Batch M713352 at FamilySearch
• 1886-1895 Meriwether County Marriage Books F thru G Index 1886-1895. Batch M733988 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

Research Facilities

Archives

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

Georgia Archives
University System of Georgia
5800 Jonesboro Road
Morrow, GA 30260
678-364-3700
Website
Facebook

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

• Thomaston Georgia FamilySearch Center

Libraries

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

Societies

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

Georgia Genealogical Society
PO Box 550247
Atlanta, Georgia 30355-2747
Email: publicity@gagensociety.org
Website
Facebook

Georgia Historical Society
Street address: 501 Whitaker Street
Mailing address: 104 W Gaston Street
Savannah, GA 31401
912-651-2125, 877-424-4789
Email: webmaster@georgiahistory.com
Website
Facebook

Meriwether Historical Society
PO Box 741
Greenville, GA 30222-0741
Website
Facebook

Websites

• Georgia Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• USGenWeb Meriwether County, Georgia project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
• Meriwether County, Georgia Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Georgia Pioneers 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