Hancock County, Georgia Genealogy

United States

Georgia

Hancock County

Guide to Hancock 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: Sparta Organized: December 17, 1793 Parent County(s): Greene, Washington Neighboring Counties Baldwin  • Glascock  • Greene  • Putnam  • Taliaferro  • Warren  • Washington See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The County was named for John Hancock. The County is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Hancock County Courthouse
12630 Broad Street
Sparta, GA 31087
Phone: 706-444-6644
Hancock County Website

Probate Court has birth and death records from 1927, marriage records from 1805 and probate records.
Clerk Superior Court has divorce and court records from 1919 and land records from 1794.

Hancock 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
1927	1805	1927	1919	1794	1794	1820
*Statewide registration of births and death began in 1919. General compliance for births by 1928 and deaths by 1922.

Record Loss

2014 The Hancock County Courthouse, built in 1883, burned on August 11, 2014. Property deeds, birth and marriage certificates and many other vital records dating back to 1795 were destroyed. Many earlier records may be available on microfilm. 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.

Boundary Changes

1793 Hancock County was created 17 December 1793 from Greene and Washington Counties. County seat: Sparta 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
Sparta (county seat)
Unincorporated communities
Beulah Carrs Station Culverton Devereux Friendship	Gum Hill Howell Grove Linton Mayfield Mount Zion	Powelton Sandy Run Shoulderbone Springfield Zebulon

Resources

Cemeteries

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

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

• Interment.net Georgia cemetery records

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1800	14,456	—
1810	13,330	−7.8%
1820	12,734	−4.5%
1830	11,820	−7.2%
1840	9,659	−18.3%
1850	11,578	19.9%
1860	12,044	4.0%
1870	11,317	−6.0%
1880	16,989	50.1%
1890	17,149	0.9%
1900	18,277	6.6%
1910	19,189	5.0%
1920	18,357	−4.3%
1930	13,070	−28.8%
1940	12,764	−2.3%
1950	11,052	−13.4%
1960	9,979	−9.7%
1970	9,019	−9.6%
1980	9,466	5.0%
1990	8,908	−5.9%
2000	10,076	13.1%
2010	9,429	−6.4%
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

Court Records

The Uncle Remus Regional Library System website has posted a variety of digitized microfilm court records for Hancock County. Note: ledger indexes may sometimes be found at the end of each microfilm reel.

• Annual returns
• Bonds
• Deeds and mortgages
• Dismission
• Guardianship
• Inventory and appraisment
• Marriages
• Minutes
• Pony homesteads
• Record of wills
• Wills and estates
• Writs
• Years support

Genealogies

• [Jackson] Brandenberger, Evelyn Duke. "The Jacksons of Lower Virginia".

- FHL Book 975.5 B2vg vol. 30 (1986) thru vol. 33 (1989). (See detailed vol and page num listing below).

- American Ancestors. To search digital images online, select The Virginia Genealogist from the dropdown Database list on the search form. Then enter volume and page number (see listing below). Note: Login account is free but required to see results.

Vol. 30, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1986):163-169; Vol. 30, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1986):288-295; Vol. 31, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1987):11-18; Vol. 31, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1987):101-111; Vol. 31, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1987):195-204; Vol. 31, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1987):269-278; Vol. 32, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1988):49-57; Vol. 32, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1988):119-130; Vol. 32, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1988):185-192; Vol. 32, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1988):259-263; Vol. 33, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1989):34-44; Vol. 33, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1989):135-143; Vol. 33, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1989):204-207; Vol. 33, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1989):295-304.

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.

Digitized microfilm of Hancock County deed and mortgage books covering the years 1794 through 1900, and Index books for the years 1794 through 1961 can be found at Deeds and mortgages (Uncle Remus Regional Library System). Note: in some cases, indexes of the individual ledgers can be found at the end of the microfilm roll.

• 1793-1798 Deeds images. Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1784-1785 Land Grants (images). Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1784-1787 Images of Land Court Minutes. Georgia Pioneers ($)

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Hancock 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.

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)

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
• 1863 Georgia Militia (names, ages, where born). Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 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 Hancock 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 Hancock County:

- 6th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company A

- 15th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Companies E and K

- 49th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company I

- 59th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company I

• Smith, Elizabeth Wiley, and Sara Smith Carnes. 1974. The history of Hancock County, Georgia. Washington, Ga: Wilkes Pub. Co. (page 132-142) 975.8623 H2se
• Shivers, Forrest. 1990. The land between: a history of Hancock County, Georgia to 1940. Spartanburg, S.C.: Reprint Co. (page 153-169) 975.8623 H2s
• Georgia. 1961. Confederate soldiers book, 1893; soldiers and widows pension rolls, 1890 -1943. [S.l.]: Mann Film Laboratories. film 229848, 229849

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 ($))

Other Records

Voting Records

• 1867-1868 Georgia, Reconstruction Registration Oath Books, 1867-1868 at FamilySearch — index
• 1856-1909 - Georgia, County Voter Registrations, 1856-1909 at FamilySearch — index and images

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
• 1742-1992 Georgia Wills and Probate Records 1742-1992 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
• 1804-1814 Wills 1804-1814 (abstracts) at Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1811-1815 Wills, Inventories, Annual Returns, Guardianships, Sales, Book G, 1811-1815 (digital images) at Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1811-1815 Wills, Inventories, Annual Returns, Guardianships, Sales, Book H, 1811-1815 (digital images) at Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1815-1818 Wills, Inventories, Annual Returns, Guardianships, Sales, Book I, 1815-1818 (digital images) at Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1818-1824 Wills, Inventories, Annual Returns, Guardianships, Sales, Book J, 1818-1824 (digital images) at Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1820-1828 Wills, Book L, 1820-1828 (digital images) at Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1823-1828 Wills, Book M, 1823-1828 (digital images) at Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1831-1834 Wills, Estates, Apprs., etc., Bk N, 1831-1834 (digital images) at Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1862-1881 Index to Wills 1862-1881 at Georgia Pioneers ($)
• General Estate Index A-Z at 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.
• 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

• 1863 Hancock County Birth Index 1863. Batch C713011 at FamilySearch
• 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
• 1806-1879 Hancock County Marriage Books 1 thru 3 Index 1806-1879. Batch M713011 at FamilySearch
• 1808-1901 Hancock County Marriage Books online at the Digital Archives of Georgia.
• 1808-1967 Georgia Marriages 1808-1967 at FamilySearch — index
• 1828-1978 Georgia Marriage Records from Select Counties 1828-1978 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
• 1869-1876 Hancock County Marriage Books 4 thru 6 Index 1869-1876. Batch M713012 at FamilySearch
• 1876-1880 Hancock County Marriage Books 7 and 8 Index 1876-1880. Batch M713013 at FamilySearch
• 1880-1882 Hancock County Marriage Books 9 and 10 Index 1880-1882. Batch M713014 at FamilySearch
• 1882-1886 Hancock County Marriage Book 11 Index 1882-1886. Batch M713015 at FamilySearch
• 1886-1891 Hancock County Marriage Book 12 Index 1886-1891. Batch M713016 at FamilySearch
• 1891-1900 Hancock County Marriage Book 13 Index 1891-1900. Batch M713017 at FamilySearch
• 1808-1866 Marriage records images. Georgia Pioneers ($)

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

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 Hancock 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

Libraries

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

Societies

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

Websites

• Hancock County, GA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Georgia Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• USGenWeb Hancock County, Georgia project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
• GAGenWeb Archives
• Hancock 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

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.