Clarke County, Georgia Genealogy

United States

Georgia

Clarke County

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

Georgia Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Athens Organized: December 5, 1801 Parent County(s): Jackson Neighboring Counties Barrow  • Jackson  • Madison  • Oconee  • Oglethorpe See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The County was named for Elijah Clarke. The County is located in the northeastern area of the state.

County Courthouse

Clarke County Courthouse
325 E Washington Street, Rm 200
PO Box 1868
Athens, GA 30601
Phone: 706-613-3031
Clarke County Website

Clerk Superior Court has divorce, land and court records from 1801 and military records from 1922.
County Health Department has birth and death records from 1919.
Probate Court had marriage and probate records from 1801.

Clarke 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 Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1919	1801	1919	1801	1801	1801	1820
*Statewide registration of births and death began in 1919. General compliance for births by 1928 and deaths by 1922.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

1801 Clarke County was created 5 December 1801 from Jackson County. County seat: Athens 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

In 1991 the original City of Athens abandoned its charter to form a unified government with Clarke County, referred to jointly as Athens–Clarke County. Virtually the entire county is made up of the city of Athens and the University of Georgia. Its county seat is Athens, with which it is a consolidated city-county.

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
Athens–Clarke County Winterville	Bogart

Resources

African American

• African American Experience in Athens explores the experience of African Americas at the University of Georgia and city of Athens, created by the University of Georgia.

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Clarke, Georgia online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com GAGenWeb GAGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project Billion Graves
TombstoneTranscriptions in Print (Often more complete)	WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves Clarke County Cemeteries Georgia Cemetery Records FamilySearch Places
See Georgia Cemeteries for more information

The following web site may have additional information on Clarke County cemeteries.

• Interment.net Georgia cemetery records

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1810	7,628	—
1820	8,767	14.9%
1830	10,176	16.1%
1840	10,522	3.4%
1850	11,119	5.7%
1860	11,218	0.9%
1870	12,941	15.4%
1880	11,702	−9.6%
1890	15,186	29.8%
1900	17,708	16.6%
1910	23,273	31.4%
1920	26,111	12.2%
1930	25,613	−1.9%
1940	28,398	10.9%
1950	36,550	28.7%
1960	45,363	24.1%
1970	65,177	43.7%
1980	74,498	14.3%
1990	87,594	17.6%
2000	101,489	15.9%
2010	116,714	15.0%
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

Methodist Episcopal
First Methodist Episcopal Church, Athens

• 1825-1884 First Methodist Episcopal Church, Athens, Baptism Index 1825-1884. Batch C712491 at FamilySearch.
• 1825-1884 First Methodist Episcopal Church, Athens, Marriage Index 1825-1884. Batch M712491 at FamilySearch.

Methodist Episcopal Church South, Winterville

• 1890-1895 Methodist Episcopal Church South, Winterville, Baptism Index 1890-1895. Batch C712501 at FamilySearch.
• 1890-1895 Methodist Episcopal Church South, Winterville, Marriage Index 1890-1895. Batch M712501 at FamilySearch.

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.

Index to Deed Book A 1802-1804 Georgia Pioneers ($)

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Clarke 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.

• History of Athens and Clarke County. Athens, Ga.?: H.J. Rowe, 1923. Digital version at Ancestry ($)
• Hull, Augustus Longstreet. Annals of Athens, Georgia, 1801-1901. Athens, Ga.?: Banner Job Office, 1906, c1907. Digital version at Ancestry ($) or for free at Google Books

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
• Maps of Georgia (1758-1932)
• Historical Maps from Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Univ. of Georgia Libraries
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps from the Digital Library of Georgia. Most Georgia towns and cities up to 1923. Athens maps for years 1885 and 1893.

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 — How to Use this Collection
• 1861-1865 Georgia Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection
• 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 — How to Use this Collection
• 1879-1920 Georgia, Confederate Pension Rolls, 1879-1920 at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection
• 1879-1960 Confederate Pension Applications - images and alphabetical index; filter by county

Regiments. Service men in Clarke 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 Clarke County:

- Carlton's Company, Georgia Artillery (Troup Artillery) (Confederate)

- 3rd Battalion, Georgia Infantry (Confederate) Companies K and L

- 5th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate) , Company N

-37th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate) , Company E

- 44th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate) Company C

- 66th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate) , Company I

• Jones, Charles C., and Joseph B. Cuimming. 1993. Military operations in Georgia during the War between the States: address delivered before the Confederate Survivors Association in Augusta, Georgia upon the occasion of its fifteenth annual reunion on Memorial Day, April 26th, 1893. Conway, Arkansas: Olbuck Press. 975.8 M29j
• Stegeman, John F. 1964. These Men She Gave: Civil War Diary of Athens, Georgia. Athens, Ga: University of Georgia Press. (page 146-158) 975.818 M25st
• Georgia. Inferior Court (Clarke County). 1960. Bonds to support families of Confederate soldiers 1861-1869, and discharge certificates of Confederate soldiers 1864 [Clarke County, Georgia]. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah. Film 214554 item 1,2,3
• Mitchell, Albert L. 1960. Roster of companies furnished by Clarke County, Georgia, to the Confederate Army in the War between the States, 1861-1865. [S.l.]: Mann Film Laboratories. Film 219472 item 3

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 — How to Use this Collection

World War II

• 1940-1942 Georgia World War II Draft Registration Cards 1940-1942 at findmypast - index ($))

Newspapers

• Athens Historic Newspaper Archives - Digital Library of Georgia contains full-text issues of 5 historic Athens newspapers. Titles include Athenian (1827-1832), Southern Banner (1832-1882), Southern Watchman (1855-1882),Daily/Weekly Banner-Watchman (1882-1889), Daily/Weekly Athens Banner (1889-1922). Search or Browse available. Viewing papers requires download of free DjVu Browser Plug-in.

Other Records

Paupers and Chain Gangs

• 1883-1886 Georgia Pioneers ($)

Voting Records

• 1867-1868 Georgia, Reconstruction Registration Oath Books, 1867-1868 at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection

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 Family History 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 — How to Use this Collection
• 1742-1992 Georgia Wills and Probate Records 1742-1992 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
• 1797-1949 Index to Unbound Estates 1797-1949 Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1799-1819 Index to Mixed Estates 1799-1819 Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1799-1830 Index to Mixed Estates 1799-1830 Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1803-1822 Index to Will Bk C 1803-1822 Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1803-1842 Wills (1803-1842) (abstracts) Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1822-1842 Index to Will Bk C 1822-1842 Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1842-1859 Wills 1842-1859 (digital images) Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1859-1885 Index to Will Bk D 1859-1885 Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1885-1911 Index to Will Bk E 1885-1911 Georgia Pioneers ($)
• Athens-Clarke County Probate Court Genealogical links and resources.
• 1827-1835 Images of Estates, Inventories, Orphans. Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1835-1845 Images of Estates, Inventories, Orphans. Georgia Pioneers ($)

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. — How to Use this Collection
• 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.

• 1802, 1805, 1810 Tax Digest (digital) Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1802, 1803, 1804, 1805, 1810, 1815 (images of all districts). Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 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

• 1808-1851 Clarke County Birth Index 1808-1851. Batch C531927 at FamilySearch
• 1870-1960 Georgia, County Delayed Birth and Death Records, 1870-1960 at FamilySearch — index, and some images — How to Use this Collection

Marriage

• 1560-1993 Georgia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 1699-1944 Georgia Marriages 1699-1944 at Ancestry— index ($)
• 1754-1960 Georgia Church Marriages, 1754-1960 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
• 1785-1950 Georgia County Marriages 1785-1950 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
• 1787-1962 Georgia, Church Marriages, 1787-1962 at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection
• 1805-1852 - Clarke County Marriage Books A thru D Index 1805-1852. Batch M531921 at FamilySearch
• 1808 - Clarke County Marriage Index 1808. Batch M531927 at FamilySearch
• 1808-1967 Georgia Marriages 1808-1967 at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection
• 1828-1978 Georgia Marriage Records from Select Counties 1828-1978 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
• 1846-1872 Clarke County Marriage Books D and E Index 1846-1872. Batch M531922 at FamilySearch
• 1871-1885 Clarke County Marriage Books F thru H Index 1871-1885. Batch M531923 at FamilySearch
• 1885-1886 Marriages from Newspapers 1885-1886 Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1886-1890 Clarke County Marriage Books F thru H Index 1886-1890. Batch M531924 at FamilySearch
• 1890-1901 Clarke County Marriage Books I and J Index 1890-1901. Batch M531925 at FamilySearch
• 1807-1820; 1805-1821 (index); 1815-1821 (index); License (Index) 1821-1838; License (Index) 1838-1867; 1885-1886 (from newspapers). Georgia Pioneers ($)

Death

• 1870-1960 Georgia, County Delayed Birth and Death Records, 1870-1960 at FamilySearch — index, and some images — How to Use this Collection
• 1914-1927 Georgia Deaths 1914-1927 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
• 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 — How to Use this Collection
• 1933-1998 Georgia Death Index 1933-1998 at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection

Voter Records

• 1856-1941 Georgia, County Voter Registrations, 1856-1941 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection, index and images

Research Facilities

Archives

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

Family History Centers

Family History 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 family history center.

• Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Athens Georgia Family History Center

Libraries

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

• Athens-Clarke County Library Heritage Room
  Website
• University of Georgia Library
  Website

Societies

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

• Athens Historical Society
  Website
• Clarke-Oconee Genealogical Society
  Facebook

Websites

• Clarke County, GA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Georgia Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• Clarke County, GAGenWeb - free genealogy resources; part of the national USGenWeb Project
• GAGenWeb Archives
• Clarke County, Georgia Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Digital Library of Georgia - Digital Library of Georgia contains is a gateway to Georgia's history and culture found in digitized books, manuscripts, photographs, government documents, newspapers, maps, audio, video, and other resources. The Digital Library of Georgia connects users to a million digital objects in more than 200 collections from 60 institutions and 100 government agencies. Though this represents only a fraction of Georgia's cultural treasures, the Digital Library of Georgia continues to grow through its partnerships with libraries, archives, museums, government agencies, and allied organizations across the state. Viewing requires download of free DjVu Browser Plug-in.
• Georgia Pioneers Georgia Pioneers.
• USGenweb Clarke County, Georgia project
• 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

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.