Records that survive
These are the record series from Clarke County that the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) has on microfilm, with the office that kept each and the earliest and latest years filmed. A span can include gaps. Most of the original books are still in the county.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Records and Indices · Probate Judge1814–1959
- Records of Birth · Probate Judge1914–1919
Deeds and land
- Deed Records · Probate Judge1814–1902
- Tax Sale Records · Probate Judge1876–1879
- Mortgage Records · Probate Judge1885–1902
Wills and estates
- Estate Case Files · Probate Judge1810–1915
Military and pensions
- Census of Confederate Veterans · Probate Judge1890–1930
- Confederate Pension Records · Probate Judge1890–1930
- Records of Honorable Discharge from Military Service · Probate Judge1916–1974
Tax records
- Poll Tax Records · Probate Judge1897–1914
Court records
- Case Files · Circuit Court1811–1902
- Minutes · Orphan's Court1824–1850
- Minutes · Probate Judge1850–1939
Other records
- Index · Probate Judge1810–1915
- Records · Circuit Court1811–1902
- Records · Probate Judge1813–1911
- Grove Hill Cemetery · Community Study Club, Grove Hill1840–1977
Search ADAH's County Records on Microfilm database
Source: Alabama Department of Archives and History, County Records on Microfilm database. Enter the county's name to see every reel. Alabama's statewide registration of births and deaths began in 1908.
Where to find the records
- Find Clarke County's official website
We haven't checked this county's website yet, so this opens a web search. Look for an address ending in .gov, then find the probate judge and the circuit clerk.
- The probate judge
In Alabama the probate office keeps most of the records family historians want: deeds, wills, estates, guardianships and marriage licenses. Before 1850 the same work was done by the orphans' court and the county court.
- The circuit clerk
Civil and criminal court cases and divorces. Older divorces and equity suits may be in the records of the chancery court.
- The Alabama Department of Archives and History
In Montgomery: microfilm of county records from every county, Confederate service and pension records, and the surviving state censuses (1820, 1850, 1855 and 1866, with many counties missing).
- ADAH County Records on Microfilmfree
Enter "Clarke" as the county to see every reel of Clarke County records, with the office, record type and dates.
- ADAH: Alabama courthouses destroyed by fire (PDF)free
The counties ADAH lists as losing a courthouse to fire between 1823 and 1965, with the years.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Alabama, Clarke" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Washington County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Washington County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1812, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Alabama's probate judges kept deeds as well as wills and estates, so one office holds most of a family's paper trail. For an ancestor who arrived before statehood in 1819, look in the records of the Mississippi Territory (to 1817) and the Alabama Territory (1817–1819) too.