Meriwether County, Georgia Genealogy
Guide to Meriwether County, Georgia ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
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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.[2]
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.[3]
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.
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1927 | 1828 | 1929 | 1827 | 1827 | 1839 | 1820 |
Record Loss
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1893 A tornado badly damaged the town and courthouse of Greenville 3 March, but few records were damaged.[5] For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:
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Boundary Changes
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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:[7]
| Cities | ||
| Towns | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
History Timeline
Resources
Bible Records
Biographies
Business, Commerce, and Occupations
Cemeteries
The following web site may have additional information on Meriwether County cemeteries.
- Interment.net Georgia cemetery records
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
- Providence Church, Luthersville, Georgia, 1818 Members Georgia Pioneers ($)
Court Records
Directories
Emigration and Immigration
Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
Funeral Homes
Genealogies
Guardianship
Land and Property Records
Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.
See Georgia Land and Property for additional information about early Georgia land grants from the government. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions (generally buying and selling deeds) were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.
Local Histories
Local histories are available for Meriwether County, Georgia Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Georgia Local Histories.
- Hill, Ella Godwin. The History of Warm Springs, Georgia. Chastain, Ark.: Hillcroft Press, c1934. Digital version at Ancestry ($)
Maps and Gazetteers
for more resources
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
- Maps of Georgia (1758-1932)
Migration
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
Naturalization and Citizenship
Newspapers
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.
Obituaries
Other Records
Voting Records
- 1867-1868 Georgia, Reconstruction Registration Oath Books, 1867-1868 at FamilySearch — index
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 Records
- 1742-1990 Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1742-1992 Georgia Wills and Probate Records 1742-1992 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
- 1828-1841 Index to Annual Returns, Appraisements, Inventories, Sales, Book A, 1828-1841 Georgia Pioneers ($)
- 1839-1859 Wills , Book A, 1839-1859 (digital images) See names of testators Georgia Pioneers ($)
- 1841-1846 Index to Annual Returns, Appraisements, Inventories, Sales, Book B, 1841-1846 Georgia Pioneers ($)
- 1845-1852 Index to Annual Returns, Appraisements, Inventories, Sales, Book C, 1845-1852 Georgia Pioneers ($)
- 1852-1855 Index to Annual Returns, Appraisements, Inventories, Sales, Book D, 1852-1855 Georgia Pioneers ($)
- 1852-1873 Index to Annual Returns, Appraisements, Inventories, Sales, Book G, 1862-1873 Georgia Pioneers ($)
- 1856-1859 Index to Annual Returns, Appraisements, Inventories, Sales, Book F, 1856-1859 Georgia Pioneers ($)
- 1856-1888 Index to Annual Returns, Appraisements, Inventories, Sales, Book H, 1865-1888 Georgia Pioneers ($)
- 1858-1863 Index to Annual Returns, Appraisements, Inventories, Sales, Book E, 1858-1863 Georgia Pioneers ($)
- 1859-1903 Index to Will Book B, 1859-1903 Georgia Pioneers ($)
School Records
Social Security Records
- 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
- 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
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
- 1787-1962 Georgia, Church Marriages, 1787-1962 at FamilySearch — index
- 1808-1967 Georgia Marriages 1808-1967 at FamilySearch — index
- 1828-1843 Marriage Index Georgia Pioneers ($)
- 1828-1886 Meriwether County Marriage Books A thru E Index 1828-1886. Batch M713351 at FamilySearch[8]
- 1828-1978 Georgia Marriage Records from Select Counties 1828-1978 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
- 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 ($)
- 1919-1930 Georgia Death Certificates at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - index and images
- 1928-1930 Georgia Non-Indexed Death Certificates at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images
- 1928-1942 Georgia Deaths, 1928-1942 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1933-1998 Georgia Death Index 1933-1998 at FamilySearch — index
Divorce
Research Facilities
Archives
Listed below are archives in Meriwether County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Georgia Archives and Libraries.
Family History Centers
FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries
- FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
- FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.
Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries
Libraries
Listed below are libraries in Meriwether County. For state-wide library facilities, see Georgia Archives and Libraries.
Museums
Societies
Listed below are societies in Meriwether County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Georgia Societies.
- Meriwether Historical Society
PO Box 741
Greenville, GA 30222-0741
Website
Websites
- Meriwether County, GA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
- Georgia Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
- USGenWeb Meriwether County, Georgia project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
- Meriwether County, Georgia Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
- Georgia Pioneers Georgia Pioneers ($)
- 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
Research Guides
References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Georgia.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Meriwether County, Georgia" in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meriwether_County,_Georgia accessed 2 Nov 2018
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Georgia.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Meriwether County, Georgia. Page 151-163 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL 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.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Paul K. Graham, Georgia Courthouse Disasters (Decatur, Georgia: Genealogy Co., 2013), 43-44. At various libraries (WorldCat).
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Georgia.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Meriwether County, Georgia," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meriwether_County,_Georgia, accessed 11 September 2019.
- ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/5/53/Igigeorgiamz.pdf.