DeKalb History Center

United States

Georgia

Archives and Libraries

DeKalb History Center

DeKalb History Center Contact Information E-mail:  archives@dekalbhistory.org Address: 101 E. Court Square Decatur, Georgia 30030 Telephone:  404-373-1088 Fax:  404-373-8287 Hours and holidays: Office Hours:  Mon-Fri 9am - 5pm. Archives:  Appointments recommended Tue-Thu 10am - Noon, and 1 - 4pm. Museum Hours:  Mon-Fri 10am - 4pm. Holiday closures. Map, directions, parking, and public transportation: Google map: DeKalb History Center Directions and Parking Public transportation:  The Atlanta MARTA rail East–West (blue) line stops in downtown Decatur square, just one block east of the DeKalb History Center. Internet sites and databases: DeKalb History Center about, archives and research, education, preservation, museum, facility rental, membership, events, gift shop, podcasts, and newsletter. Archives & Research: Collections partial listing of collections including subject files, biographical files, special collections, oral histories, reference materials, photograph subject files, and periodicals. Special Collections inventory of court records, personal papers, school documents, photos, and post office records in Special Collections. Collection Description Biographical files, maps, DeKalb County cemetery index, oral histories, many church records and histories, manuscripts, photographs, rare books, county records, Sanborn fire insurance maps, DeKalb County books such as memoirs, yearbooks, and Atlanta City and suburban city directories, family and business papers, Confederate widows, deeds, social clubs, and schools. Alternate Repositories If you cannot find the record you seek through the DeKalb History Center, a similar record may be available at one of the following. Overlapping Collections National Archives I, Washington DC, census, pre-WWI military service & pensions, passenger lists, naturalizations, passports, federal bounty land, homesteads, bankruptcy, ethnic sources, prisons, and federal employees. National Archives at Atlanta federal censuses, Ancestry.com, military, pensions, bounty-land, photos, passengers lists, naturalizations, Native Americans, African Americans, and workshops. Federal Records Center, Ellenwood, GA., receives federal agency and court records of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Georgia Archives, Morrow, is the best place to start family history research in Georgia. Genealogies, county histories, newspapers, tax digests, private papers, church records, cemeteries, Bible records, municipal records, census, maps, land plats, photographs, Georgia Confederate service and pension records, colonial, headright & bounty land grants, land lottery, and Georgia county records. Similar Collections Atlanta History Center, sources for studying Atlanta and southern regional history and culture such as family and county histories, Sons of the American Revolution library, holdings for Alabama, Florida, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee genealogy. Neighboring Collections DeKalb County Clerk of the Probate Court, Decatur, county marriages, and probate records since 1842. Most earlier records were destroyed by a courthouse fire in 1842. DeKalb County Clerk of the Superior Court, Decatur, land records, divorces, and court records since 1842. Most earlier records were destroyed by a courthouse fire in 1842. Fulton County Health Department, Atlanta, births since 1896, deaths since 1887. Atlanta-Fulton Public Library Central Library, large collection with good coverage of the southeast USA. They have county histories, family histories, will indexes, deeds, military rosters, passenger lists, Atlanta city directories, Georgia censuses 1820-1930, local histories, and newspapers. Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Atlanta, members, meetings, newsletter, surname queries, links. Jewish Genealogical Society of Georgia, Atlanta, family histories, immigration, East Europe, Georgia, North America. Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, Atlanta, papers of the administration. Atlanta Area Family History Centers, allows patrons to view limited-access FamilySearch databases. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta baptisms, confirmations, marriages, deaths, parish records. Repositories in surrounding counties:  Clayton, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, and Rockdale. Coweta County Genealogical Society Research Library, Newnan, has the best set of family folders in Georgia.</ref> Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, 4 million manuscripts, photos, papers, military, diaries, plantation records. They have almost as many genealogical sources as the Georgia Archives.</ref> Georgia Genealogical Society, Atlanta, events, meetings, membership, publications and index, and research tools, but no library. They provide advice, but do not conduct research for you. Georgia Salzburger Society, Rincon, histories, journals, genealogical records, and church histories. University of Georgia Main Library, Athens, largest collection for early Georgia settlers. Also, they hold county histories, county records, family records, biographies and newspapers.</ref> Washington Memorial Library, Macon, one of the best collections in Georgia for genealogy, African Americans, and local history.  Emphasis on the 13 colonies, American Revolution, and Great Britain. Repositories in other surrounding states: Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, 450 computers, 3,400 databases, 3.1 million microforms, 4,500 periodicals, 310,000 books of worldwide family and local histories, civil, church, immigration, ethnic, military, Mormon records. Many Georgia Archives  microfilms are also available at branch FamilySearch Centers  in local LDS churches, and described in their online FamilySearch Catalog. Dallas Public Central Library 111,700 volumes, 64,500 microfilms, 89,000 microfiche, and over 700 maps, marriage, probate, deed, and tax abstracts in book form, or microfilm of originals for some states, and online databases including Georgia and other Southern states. Sources