Appling County Genealogy Records

Appling County genealogy records date back to 1818, when the county was first created from land in southeast Georgia. The Probate Court in Baxley holds marriage licenses, wills, estate files, and guardianship records that span more than two hundred years. The Clerk of Superior Court keeps land deeds, divorce files, and civil case records. For anyone tracing family roots in this part of the state, these two offices are the main starting points. Appling County sits in a region that saw steady growth through the 1800s, and the courthouse records reflect that long history of settlement and land transfers.

Appling County Probate Court Records

The Appling County Probate Court is the main source for marriage and estate records used in genealogy research. This court holds marriage licenses from 1818 to the present. It also keeps wills, letters of administration, guardianship files, and estate inventories. These records are key for tracing family lines in Appling County.

You can visit the courthouse in person at 69 Tippins Street in Baxley. Staff can help you find what you need. The court also takes requests by mail. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope and payment by check or money order. Under O.C.G.A. § 15-9-30, the Probate Court has jurisdiction over wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and marriage licenses in Appling County. Certified copies of most records cost $2.50 for the first page and $0.50 for each page after that. These fees can change, so call ahead to check.

Note: Before 1852, probate matters in Georgia were handled by the Inferior Court, so older Appling County estate records may be filed under that name.

Appling County Superior Court Genealogy

The Appling County Clerk of Superior Court holds land records, divorce files, and civil and criminal case records from 1818 to the present. Land deeds show property transfers between family members. Divorce records often list children, property, and ages that help confirm family connections. Civil case files can reveal disputes over estates and land that shed light on family ties.

Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, most court records in Georgia are open to the public. You can request copies in person or by mail from the courthouse in Baxley. The Clerk of Superior Court also maintains voter registration lists and tax digests from various periods. Tax digests are especially useful for the years when census records are missing. Georgia lost its 1790, 1800, 1810, and 1890 federal census data, so Appling County tax records from those years can fill gaps in your family tree.

Note: The Open Records Act under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71 caps copy fees at 10 cents per page for standard letter or legal size documents.

Vital Records for Appling County Genealogy

Georgia did not start statewide vital records until 1919 under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-9. For Appling County births and deaths before that year, you need to check county-level sources. The Probate Court may have some early records. Church records, cemetery transcriptions, and family Bibles are also good sources for pre-1919 data.

Birth certificates from 1919 onward are available through the Georgia Department of Public Health or the Appling County Health Department. The first copy costs $25. Each extra copy costs $5. Under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-26, certified birth certificates are only available to the person named, parents, grandparents, adult siblings, adult children, spouses, or legal guardians. Death certificates are more widely available and useful for Appling County genealogy.

The Georgia Virtual Vault has death certificates from 1919 to 1943 available free online. FamilySearch.org also has Georgia death records from 1914 to 1943 indexed at no cost. These are solid starting points for Appling County genealogy research.

Appling County GAGenWeb Resources

The Appling County GAGenWeb page is a free volunteer-run genealogy resource with cemetery transcriptions, census data, and family trees shared by other researchers.

This site connects you with other people working on Appling County family lines. Volunteers post records they have found at courthouses, libraries, and archives across Georgia.

Other free online resources for Appling County genealogy include FamilySearch, which has Georgia marriages from 1754 to 1960, probate records from 1742 to 1990, and death records from 1914 to 1943. The Georgia Historic Newspapers archive has over one million pages of old Georgia newspapers with obituaries, legal notices, and family announcements that may help with Appling County research.

Genealogy Research Tips for Appling County

Start with what you know. Write down all names, dates, and places you have for your Appling County family. Then work backward one generation at a time.

Census records are often the best next step. Federal census data is available from 1820 to 1940 at the Georgia Archives through Ancestry.com (free in the search room). The 1850 census was the first to list every person in the household by name and age. For the years where Georgia census records are missing, use Appling County tax digests to find where your ancestors lived. The Georgia Archives at 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260 is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Free access to Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and Fold3 is available in the search room.

• Check cemetery records and tombstone inscriptions when vital records are missing
• Search church records for baptisms, marriages, and burials
• Look at Family Bible records (45 volumes on microfilm at Georgia Archives)
• Use the Vanishing Georgia collection for historical photos from Appling County
• Review estate records when birth or death dates are unknown

Appling County boundary changes matter for genealogy. Georgia has 159 counties, and borders shifted often in the 1800s. The Virtual Vault has a free resource called "Georgia Counties: Their Changing Boundaries" that shows which county your ancestors were counted in for any given year. Appling County was created in 1818 from Creek Indian cession lands, and parts of it were later used to form other counties in the region.

Note: Pre-1900 Appling County records are available on microfilm at the Georgia Archives in Morrow, while post-1900 records are only at the courthouse in Baxley.

Cities in Appling County

Baxley is the county seat and largest city in Appling County. All genealogy records for cities in this county are maintained at the Appling County Probate Court and Superior Court Clerk in Baxley. No cities in Appling County meet the population threshold for a separate city page.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Appling County. If your ancestors moved within this area, check neighboring county records as well. County lines changed often in Georgia, so an ancestor counted in Appling County one decade might appear in a different county the next.