Online Resources
1867 Voter Registration Books
The Second Reconstruction Act of March 23, 1867, required each military district to register all male citizens (21 years and older) to vote after they had taken an oath of loyalty to the United States.
The
1867 Voter Registration Books are significant because they are among the first
government documents to record African American males living in Alabama. These volumes are useful for providing county-of-residence information, but
not all counties are represented. Check the
digital collection to see which are available.
1875 Voter Registration Books
Calls for a new constitutional convention began days after the Democratic Party swept statewide elections in 1874. Within a month’s time, a legislative committee submitted a proposal for a new convention, which called for the registration of qualified voters in advance of an August 1875 referendum on the subject. The
1875 Voter Registration Books were created during that period and, like our collection of 1867 volumes, are among the earliest state records documenting the names of formerly enslaved African American men. (See the
digital collection list of available counties.)
Civil War Service Database
The
Civil War Service Database provides information about Civil War soldiers from Alabama. An individual may have multiple entries,
which could include details such as county of enlistment, regiment number, and discharge information. When searching, start with minimal terms, such as the first
and last name, or even just the last name—records may give first and middle initials instead of full names, and some entries include misspellings.
(This is an excellent source to use in conjunction with Fold3, a military records database website. See below for more details.)
World War I Gold Star Files
After World War I, ADAH collected materials about service members from Alabama who died in the conflict, first identifying them in the Official Bulletin (published by the
U.S. Committee on Public Information) and then contacting their survivors for more information. Many responded, and their contributions were added to the department's
"Gold Star" files, named after the service flags that families displayed in memory of the loved ones they had lost.
The
World War I Gold Star Files digital collection consists of those
records, which include details about each subject's service and death.
Digital Collections
The
ADAH Digital Collections include selections of digitized materials from our archival
collections, such as letters, diaries, Civil War regimental history files, military service records, and photographs.
On-Site Resources
Online Subscription Resources
These web resources are available at no charge to patrons visiting the Research Room:
- Ancestry.com: state and federal census records, marriage records, Civil War pension records, and much more
- Fold3: military records from every American involved conflict
- Newspapers.com: keyword searchable digitized newspapers from all over the United States (a fantastic resource for obituaries, marriage notices, and military service mentions)
- HistoryGeo: information about maps and land patents
- FamilySearch: extended access to the free website (we are a Family Search Affiliate Library, which gives patrons access to select records that are unavailable from private accounts)
Genealogy Reference Books
Our book collection includes state, local, and county histories for Alabama and other states. Each of Alabama’s 67 counties is represented.
Though the number of books varies widely for each county, available resources may include newspaper abstracts, census abstracts, cemetery inventories, and
indexes for marriages, wills, and other probate court records.
County Records on Microfilm
Every county in Alabama is represented in this collection, though the types, dates, and amount of material vary by location. The earliest records predate
statehood (1819) and the latest are from the 1950s. Search the
County Records on Microfilm Database for available content. The following types of
records are included:
- Marriages
- Deeds
- Wills
- Estate case files
- Limited birth and death registers
- Guardianship records (different from adoption records)
Federal & State Census Records
Working through census records can provide information about your ancestors, such as where they lived, how many children they had, what state they were born in,
their parents’ names, and more. The first federal census was in 1790 and is taken every ten years. Census indexes are available in the Research Room, and federal
census records for every state and each decade through 1950 are available on Ancestry.com. Other relevant records include the Alabama state censuses of 1850, 1855,
and 1866; the slave schedules of 1850 and 1860; agricultural censuses; and mortality schedules.
Private Manuscript Collections
Private records include correspondence, diaries, business records, scrapbooks, and photographs. These will likely be of limited use in genealogical research
unless your family has donated a collection to ADAH, but you can search our
catalog for available material.
State Government Records
Government records of potential use to family historians include state prison records, professional licensure files, and state and local official commissions registers. We also have a large collection of surname files that contain newspaper clippings and family history information,
as well as the
Public Information Subject Files, which are arranged by subject, county, and military conflict.
Newspaper Collections
Newspapers can be used to find obituaries, land and estate sales, and much more. ADAH has a large collection of general and subject-specific newspapers from all
counties in the state. See the
Newspapers Database for available titles and date ranges. While some of the papers are only available for use in the Research Room,
many can also be accessed on Newspapers.com. This online resource, which allows users to search by keyword, date, and location, is available for free to patrons who
visit ADAH.