Records that survive
These are the record series from Dallas 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 Judge1818–1980
- Records of Death · Probate Judge1882–1924
- Divorce Record · Circuit Court1890–1893
- Records of Birth · Probate Judge1920–1921
Deeds and land
- Deed Records · Probate Judge1823–1901
- Indices to Real Estate Conveyances · Probate Judge1823–1902
- Tax Sale Records · Probate Judge1870–1917
- Mortgage Records · Probate Judge1872–1879
Wills and estates
- Orphan's Court Minutes\Records\Orders · Orphan's Court1818–1832
- Estate Case Files · Probate Judge1820–1915
- Will Records · Probate Judge1821–1980
- Estate Records · Probate Judge1829–1927
- Appraisement Records · Probate Judge1871–1882
- Records of Removal of Disabilities of Non Age · Probate Judge1877–1951
- Estate Index · Probate Judge1957
Tax records
- Poll Tax Records · Probate Judge1901–1950
Court records
- Minutes · Orphan's Court1818–1851
- Case Files · Probate Judge1824–1904
- Minutes · Probate Judge1851–1928
- Minutes · Circuit Court1876–1878
Other records
- Convict Transcripts · Probate Judge1820–1923
- Miscellaneous Record · Probate Judge1837–1859
- Records · Probate Judge1844
- Index Books · Circuit Court1876–1916
- Record Book · Circuit Court1878–1916
- Sheriff's Sales Books · Circuit Court1878–1890
- Pauper Record · Probate Judge1905–1911
- Child Labor Affidavits · Probate Judge1908–1914
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 Dallas 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 "Dallas" as the county to see every reel of Dallas 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, Dallas" 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: Monroe County, Montgomery County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Monroe County, Montgomery County
Later formed partly from Dallas County: Butler County, Chilton County, Lowndes County, Perry County, Wilcox County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1818, 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.