Search Atkinson County Genealogy

Atkinson County genealogy records begin in 1917, the year the county was formed from parts of Coffee and Clinch counties in south Georgia. The Probate Court in Pearson maintains marriage licenses, wills, estate inventories, and guardianship files. The Clerk of Superior Court holds land deeds, divorce records, and civil case files. Because Atkinson County is relatively young by Georgia standards, researchers tracing family lines before 1917 need to check Coffee County and Clinch County records for the earlier period.

Atkinson County Probate Court Genealogy

The Atkinson County Probate Court is the main office for marriage and estate records. Marriage licenses go back to 1917. The court also keeps wills, letters of administration, guardianship records, and estate inventories. These are key files for anyone building an Atkinson County family tree.

Visit the courthouse at 86 S. Main Street in Pearson to search records in person. Staff can help locate what you need. You can also make requests by mail with a self-addressed stamped envelope and payment by check or money order. Under O.C.G.A. § 15-9-30, the Probate Court has full jurisdiction over wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and marriage licenses. Certified copies typically cost $2.50 for the first page and $0.50 for each added page, but fees can change. Call ahead to confirm current costs.

Note: Atkinson County was created in 1917, so all records before that year are held by Coffee County or Clinch County, depending on which part of old territory your ancestors lived in.

Atkinson County Land and Court Records

The Clerk of Superior Court in Atkinson County holds land records, divorce files, and court case records from 1917 onward. Land deeds can show property transfers between generations. Divorce records often name children, list property, and give birth dates or ages. These details help confirm family relationships that other records might not show.

Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, most court records in Georgia are open to the public. You can get copies in person or by mail. The Open Records Act under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71 sets a cap of 10 cents per page for standard copies from public agencies, but courts may charge different fees under local rules. Tax digests are also at the Superior Court and can fill in gaps for census years that were lost. Georgia lost its 1790, 1800, 1810, and 1890 federal census records, so tax lists from those periods are valuable for genealogy.

Vital Records for Atkinson County Genealogy

Statewide vital records in Georgia began in 1919 under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-9. Since Atkinson County was formed in 1917, most of its vital records fall within the state system. Birth certificates cost $25 for the first copy and $5 for each extra. Death certificates are the same price.

Under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-26, certified birth certificates are restricted to the person named, parents, grandparents, adult siblings, adult children, spouses, or legal guardians. Death certificates are more open for genealogy use. The Georgia Department of Public Health handles vital record requests at the state level. You can also contact the Atkinson County Health Department for local copies.

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

Atkinson County GAGenWeb Genealogy

The Atkinson County GAGenWeb page provides free volunteer-run genealogy resources including cemetery transcriptions, census data, and family trees.

Volunteers on this site share records they have found at courthouses, libraries, and archives. It connects you with others researching Atkinson County family lines.

Additional free resources include FamilySearch with Georgia marriages from 1754 to 1960 and probate records from 1742 to 1990. The Georgia Historic Newspapers archive has over one million pages of old newspapers with obituaries and legal notices useful for Atkinson County research.

Research Tips for Atkinson County

Start with what you know and work backward. Write down all names, dates, and places you already have. Then go back one generation at a time using courthouse records and census data.

Because Atkinson County is young, tracing family lines often means crossing into Coffee County and Clinch County records for the pre-1917 period. The Georgia Archives at 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260 has pre-1900 county records on microfilm. They are open Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and offer free access to Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and Fold3 in the search room.

• Check cemetery records when vital records are missing
• Search church records for baptisms and burials
• Look at Family Bible records at the Georgia Archives
• Use tax digests to locate ancestors in census gap years

County boundary changes are a big deal in Georgia genealogy. The state has 159 counties, and lines shifted often. The Virtual Vault has "Georgia Counties: Their Changing Boundaries" to help track which county your ancestors were counted in at any given time. For Atkinson County, this means checking Coffee and Clinch county records for anything before 1917.

Note: The 1920 census is the first federal census where Atkinson County appears as its own entity, so earlier census searches should use Coffee or Clinch County.

Cities in Atkinson County

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

Nearby Counties

These counties border Atkinson County. Since Atkinson was formed from Coffee and Clinch counties, those neighboring records are especially important for pre-1917 research.