Records that survive
These are the Wilkes County record books the Georgia Archives has scanned and put online free in its Virtual Vault, grouped into series with the earliest and latest years. They're a selection: the archives' full index (linked below) lists every county record it has on microfilm.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Book1806–1905
Deeds and land
- Land Court Caveats1783–1784
- Land Court Minutes1784–1854
- Land Court Orders for Warrants for Survey1785–1786
- Land Plat Book1785–1822
- Land Plats Book1787–1854
- Deed Book1788–1789
Wills and estates
- Register of Probates1781–1784
- Guardian Bonds1800–1801
- Court of Ordinary Minutes1817–1827
- Court of Ordinary Annual Returns Book1819–1826
- Court of Ordinary Guardians Letters/Bonds1826–1832
- Court of Ordinary Returns1833–1838
- Ordinary Minutes1839–1846
- Court of Ordinary James Farnsworth Estate1848
- Court of Ordinary Docket1850
- Letters Testamentary1857–1893
Tax records
- Tax Digest1785–1815
- Tax Returns1802–1804
Military and pensions
- Muster Roll 15th GA Volunteers1862
Court records
- Superior Court Minutes1782–1787
- Miscellaneous Court Records [Fragments]1791–1811
- Inferior Court Minutes1794–1795
Open the Georgia Archives' index of this county's microfilm
Source: Georgia Archives Virtual Vault (Marriage Records from Microfilm, and County Records from Microfilm). The microfilm index is a set of scanned catalog cards. Georgia's statewide registration of births and deaths began in 1919.
Where to find the records
- Find Wilkes 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 court and the clerk of superior court.
- The probate court
Wills, estates, guardianships and marriage licenses. Until the 1970s it was called the Court of Ordinary, and older books carry that name.
- The clerk of superior court
Deeds and other land records, and civil and criminal court cases.
- The Georgia Archives
In Morrow, near Atlanta: microfilm of county records from before 1900, colonial and headright land records, the land lottery records, Confederate pension applications and tax digests.
- Georgia Archives: index to Wilkes County records on microfilmfree
Scanned catalog cards listing the record books the archives has on microfilm for this county.
- Georgia Archives Virtual Vaultfree
Scanned marriage books, county records, colonial wills, Confederate pension applications and death certificates, searchable by name and county.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Georgia, Wilkes" 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: St. Paul Parish and land not yet in any parish (one of Georgia's original counties)
Later formed partly from Wilkes County: Elbert County, Franklin County, Lincoln County, Oglethorpe County, Taliaferro County, Warren County, Washington County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1777, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Georgia gave away much of its land by lottery between 1805 and 1833, so if your ancestor was in Georgia then, look for their name in the land lottery lists as well as the county's deed books. Tax digests, which survive for many counties from the 1790s on, place a person in a county year by year.