Walker County, Georgia Genealogy

United States

Georgia

Walker County

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

County Facts County seat: Lafayette Organized: December 18, 1833 Parent County(s): Murray Neighboring Counties Catoosa  • Chattooga  • Dade  • DeKalb (AL)  • Gordon  • Hamilton (TN)  • Whitfield See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The County was named for Georgia'a U.S. Senator, Freeman Walker (1780-1827). The County is located in the northwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse

Walker County Courthouse
103 S Duke Street
Lafayette, GA 30728-0445
Phone: 706-638-1742
Walker County Website

Clerk Superior Court has divorce, court and land records from 1883.
Probate judge has marriage and probate records.
County Health Department has birth and death records.

Walker 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	1883	1919	1883	1883	1883	1820
Statewide registration of births and death began in 1919. General compliance for births by 1928 and deaths by 1922.

Record Loss

1883 The courthouse at LaFayette was burned several times between 2 February and 6 September. No county courthouse records survive prior to 1883. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see: Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill. Online at: Family History Circle. When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle. Online at: Tennessee Genealogy Blog. Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.

Boundary Changes

1833 Walker County was created 18 December 1833 from Murray County. County seat: Lafayette In 1833 the territory of Walker included not only its present area, but all of Dade and a large part of Whitfield, Catoosa and Chattooga counties. In 1837 all of Walker's territory west of the top of Lookout Mountain was cut off and the county of Dade was established as the most northwestern county in the State. In 1838 another portion was cut off and the county of Chattooga was established. Then again in 1853, more territory was extracted and the county of Catoosa was formed. In 1853 and later in 1859 other portions of Walker County were used to make Whitfield County."--from The History of Walker County, Georgia by James Alfred Sartain. Published by A.J. Showalter Company, Dalton, Georgia, 1932 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:\ Walker County, Georgia

Cities
Chickamauga Fort_Oglethorpe	LaFayette Lookout Mountain	Rossville
Towns
Unincorporated communities
Ascalon Bronco	Cassandra
Census-designated places
Chattanooga Valley Fairview Lakeview Cedar Grove Cenchat Center Post Chestnutflat Cooper Heights	Corinth Davis Crossroads Durham Eagle_Cliff Armuchee Estelle Flintstone High Point	Hinkles Kensington Lytle Naomi Pittsburg Rock Spring Villanow
Ghost towns
Gerber	Greenbush

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Walker, 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 Walker County Cemeteries Georgia Cemetery Records
See Georgia Cemeteries for more information

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

• Interment.net Georgia cemetery records

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.

• Shiloh Baptist Church Minutes at Georgia Pioneers ($)

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 Walker 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.

• Sartain, James Alfred. History of Walker County, Georgia. Dalton, Ga.: A.J. Showalter Co., 1932. Digital version at Ancestry ($)
• Index for History of Walker County by James Alfred Sartain. Lafayette, Ga.: Cherokee Regional Library, 1978. Digital version at Ancestry ($)

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Georgia (1758-1932)

• Walker County Map at Georgia Pioneers ($).

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)
• 1867-1868 Georgia, Reconstruction Registration Oath Books, 1867-1868 at FamilySearch — index
• 1879-1920 Georgia, Confederate Pension Rolls, 1879-1920 at FamilySearch — index

Regiments. Service men in Walker 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 Walker County:

- 1st Regiment, Georgia Cavalry (Confederate), Company F and I

- 1st Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), 2d Company D

- 9th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company G

- 23rd Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company H

- 39th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Companies E and K

- 55th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate)

- 60th Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Company C

• Crawley, Laura. 1986. Civil War medicine at Chickamauga Battlefield. Rossville, Georgia: Delta Genealogical Society. film 1421647 item 3
• Georgia. Court of Ordinary (Walker County). 1964. Confederate pension roll, 1890-1957. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah. film 394048

Civil War Battles
The following Civil War battles were fought in Walker County.

• September 10-11, 1863 Davis' Cross Roads, also known as Dug Gap
• September 18-20, 1863 Chickamauga
• Map showing Civil War battles in Georgia.
• Fitch, Michael Hendrick. The Chattanooga Campaign: With Especial Reference to Wisconsin's Participation Therein. Madison, Wisc.: Wisconsin History Commission, 1911. Digital version at Ancestry ($)

World War I

• 1920-1929 Georgia, World War I, Statement of Service Cards, 1920-1929 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

• 1885-1886 Walker County Marriages from Newspapers 1885-1886 at Georgia Pioneers ($)

Other Records

Voting Records

• 1867-1868 Georgia, Reconstruction Registration Oath Books, 1867-1868 at FamilySearch — index

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 ($)
• 1866-1887 Digital images at Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1883-1888 Index to Annual Returns, Vouchers, Book A Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1883-1892 Index to Walker County Annual Returns and Vouchers Book A (1883-1888) and Book B (1888-1892) at Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1883-1895 Index to Walker County, Georgia Inventories and Appraisements Book A (1883-1895) at Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1883-1917 Index to Walker County, Georgia Wills, Volume I (1883-1917) at Georgia Pioneers ($)
• 1888-1892 Index to Annual Returns and Vouchers, Book B Georgia Pioneers ($)

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.

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
• 1916-1921 Walker County Births (1916-1921) at Georgia Pioneers ($)

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
• 1828-1978 Georgia Marriage Records from Select Counties 1828-1978 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
• 1882-1895 Walker County Marriage Index 1882-1895. Batch M713891 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 ($)
• 1928-1942 Georgia Deaths, 1928-1942 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1933-1998 Georgia Death Index 1933-1998 at FamilySearch — index

Research Facilities

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

• For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map

Societies

• Walker County Historical Society
  305 S Duke St
  La Fayette, GA 30728-2936
  Phone: 706-764-2801
  Website
  Facebook

Websites

• Walker County, GA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Georgia Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Georgia Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• US Genweb Archives for Walker County Georgia
• Walker County, Georgia Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• 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