Records that survive
These are the record series from Etowah 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 Judge1867–1950
- Divorce Record · Circuit Court1871–1950
- Delayed Certificates of Birth · Probate Judge1944–1958
- Marriage Records and Indices1946–1947
Deeds and land
- Deed Records · Probate Judge1866–1902
- Indices to Real Estate Conveyances · Probate Judge1867–1902
- Estate & Land Records · Chancery Court1869–1915
- Estate and Land Records · Chancery Court1869–1915
Wills and estates
- Will Records · Probate Judge1867–1939
- Estate Case Files · Probate Judge1869–1950
- Estate Records · Probate Judge1869–1950
- Administrator Records · Probate Judge1887–1905
Military and pensions
- Records of Honorable Discharge from Military Service · Probate Judge1918–1952
Elections and voters
- Lists of Registered Voters · Board of Registrars1902–1931
Court records
- Docket · Circuit Court1867–1887
- Final Record · Circuit Court1867–1874
- Minutes · Circuit Court1867–1873
- Minutes · Probate Judge1867–1930
- Final Record · Chancery Court1870–1913
- Minutes · Chancery Court1870–1900
- Final Record · Probate Judge1907–1929
- Minutes & Final Record · Circuit Court1938–1941
- Minutes and Final Record · Circuit Court1938–1944
Town and city records
- Divorce Record · City Court of Gadsden1871–1915
- Estate & Land Records · City Court of Gadsden1895–1916
- Estate and Land Records · City Court of Gadsden1895–1916
- Final Record · City Court of Gadsden1895–1901
- Minutes · City Court of Gadsden1895–1907
- Minutes · Glencoe City Council1940–1994
Other records
- Index · Probate Judge1867–1946
- Naturalization Record · Circuit Court1904–1906
- Audit Reports · Childersburg1976–1993
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 Etowah 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 "Etowah" as the county to see every reel of Etowah 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, Etowah" 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: Blount County, Calhoun County, Cherokee County, De Kalb County, Marshall County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Blount County, Calhoun County, Cherokee County, Marshall County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1868, 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.