Alabama Research Guide Digital Download

You'll love this if:

• You're getting started tracing your ancestors in Alabama
• You want new ideas and resources to get past a Alabama brick wall
• Your genealogy search is focused mainly on Alabama

Trace your Alabama ancestors with the advice and resources in our State Research Guide! This four-page download includes:

• a how-to article detailing Alabama's history and records, with helpful advice on
• the best websites, books and other resources for Alabama research, handpicked by our editors and experts
• listings of key libraries, archives and organizations that hold the records you need
• timeline of key events in the state's history

Here's a sampling of the helpful tips you'll get in the Alabama guide:

• The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Creek tribes were among those already living in modern Alabama when the French established the first permanent white settlement in 1702, near today's Mobile. A Creek census from 1833 is the most-comprehensive pre-removal document of Native Americans, and is available at Access Genealogy.
• Like many Southern states, Alabama adopted statewide registration of vital records relatively late (in 1908, with widespread adoption by the 1920s). Counties were required to record births and deaths beginning in 1881, but not all complied.
• Several courthouses in Alabama were damaged or destroyed by war, fires and natural disasters over the years. The Alabama Department of Archives and History maintains a list of affected courthouses.

Plus, each guide contains active web links for one-click access to every recommended online resource. You can view this PDF on your computer and print pages for reference.