Records that survive
These are the record series from Perry 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 Judge1820–1929
- Divorce Records · Chancery Court1833–1917
- Records of Birth · Probate Judge1908–1930
- Records of Death · Probate Judge1916–1920
Deeds and land
- Deed Records · Probate Judge1823–1902
- Indices to Real Estate Conveyances · Probate Judge1830–1890
- Mortgage Records · Probate Judge1892–1897
Wills and estates
- Will Records · Probate Judge1821–1932
- Estate Records · Probate Judge1822–1914
- Inventory Records · Probate Judge1823–1925
- Dower Records · Chancery Court1833–1917
- Estate Case Files · Chancery Court1833–1917
- Guardian Records · Chancery Court1833–1917
- Estate Case Files · Probate Judge1840–1920
- Administrator Records · Probate Judge1841–1916
- Guardian Records · Probate Judge1870–1916
- Records of Final Settlement · Probate Judge1871
- Records of Partial Settlement · Probate Judge1871
Military and pensions
- Confederate Pension Records · Probate Judge1903–1914
- Records of Honorable Discharge from Military Service · Probate Judge1920–1961
Records of free Black and enslaved people
- Register of Slaves brought to County · Probate Judge1832
Tax records
- Poll Tax Records · Probate Judge1868–1929
Elections and voters
- Lists of Registered Voters · Board of Registrars1902–1920
Court records
- Minutes · Orphan's Court1832–1853
- Case Files · Chancery Court1833–1917
- Free Dealer Case Files · Chancery Court1833–1917
- Property Settlement Case Files · Chancery Court1833–1917
- Minutes · Probate Judge1838–1975
Other records
- Records · Orphan's Court1820–1850
- Miscellaneous Record · Chancery Court1833–1917
- Miscellaneous Records · Probate Judge1843–1946
- Census · Probate Judge1855–1880
- US Census · Probate Judge1880
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
- Perry 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 "Perry" as the county to see every reel of Perry 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, Perry" 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: Cahawba County (now BIBB), Dallas County, Marengo County, Tuscaloosa County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Dallas County, Marengo County, Tuscaloosa County
Later formed partly from Perry County: Hale County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1819, 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.