Records that survive
These are the record series from Lowndes 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 Judge1830–1938
- Divorce Record · Circuit Court1840–1915
- Divorce Records · Chancery Court1840–1915
- Marriage Settlements · Chancery Court1840–1915
- Marriage Records and Indices · Circuit Court1858–1910
- Records of Birth · Probate Judge1881–1935
- Records of Death · Probate Judge1881–1924
Deeds and land
- Tract Books · Probate Judge1817–1856
- Deed Records · Probate Judge1830–1905
- Indices to Real Estate Conveyances · Probate Judge1830–1903
- Sixteenth Section Land Books · Probate Judge1830–1871
- Partition Records · Probate Judge1852
Wills and estates
- Inventory Records · Probate Judge1830–1867
- Will Records · Probate Judge1830–1940
- Dower Records · Chancery Court1840–1915
- Estate Case Files · Chancery Court1840–1915
- Guardianships · Chancery Court1840–1915
- Estate Records · Circuit Court1858–1910
- Guardian Records · Circuit Court1858–1910
- Will Book · Dept. of Archives and History1862–1899
- Petition Records · Probate Judge1866–1901
- Administrator Records · Probate Judge1870–1945
- Estate Records · Probate Judge1870–1944
- Guardian Records · Probate Judge1870–1987
- Records of Final Settlement · Probate Judge1870–1906
Military and pensions
- Confederate Pension Records · Probate Judge1899–1935
Tax records
- Poll Tax Records · Probate Judge1875–1930
Elections and voters
- Lists of Registered Voters · Board of Registrars1901–1933
Court records
- Minutes · Orphan's Court1830–1853
- Index to Minutes · Orphan's Court1838–1840
- "Free Dealer" Records · Chancery Court1840–1915
- Case Files · Chancery Court1840–1915
- Property Settlements · Chancery Court1840–1915
- Minutes · Probate Judge1853–1935
Other records
- Records · Probate Judge1835
- Oaths of Allegiance · Probate Judge1865
- Paupers Records · Probate Judge1881–1912
- 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
- Lowndes County official website
Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the probate judge and the circuit clerk, and any online record search the county offers.
- 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 "Lowndes" as the county to see every reel of Lowndes 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, Lowndes" 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: Butler County, Dallas County, Montgomery County, Pike County, Wilcox County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Butler County, Dallas County, Montgomery County, Pike County, Wilcox County
Later formed partly from Lowndes County: Crenshaw County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1830, 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.