Barrow County Genealogy Search

Barrow County genealogy records begin in 1914, when the county was created from parts of Walton, Jackson, and Gwinnett counties in northeast Georgia. The Probate Court in Winder holds marriage licenses, wills, estate files, and guardianship records. The Clerk of Superior Court maintains land deeds, divorce records, and civil case files. Researchers tracing Barrow County family lines before 1914 need to check the parent counties for earlier records. Barrow County sits in the growing corridor between Atlanta and Athens, but its courthouse records go back over a century.

Barrow County Probate Court Genealogy

The Barrow County Probate Court is the main office for marriage and estate records. Marriage licenses go back to 1914. The court also keeps wills, letters of administration, guardianship files, and estate inventories. These are key records for tracing family connections in Barrow County.

The courthouse is at 30 N. Broad Street in Winder. You can search records in person or send a mail request 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 additional page. Fees change from time to time, so call ahead to check before sending payment.

Note: Before 1914, the land that became Barrow County was part of Walton, Jackson, and Gwinnett counties. Marriage and estate records from before that date are in those courthouses.

Barrow County Land and Court Records

The Clerk of Superior Court holds land records, divorce files, and civil and criminal case records from 1914. Land deeds help trace property transfers between family members. Divorce records name children and list property and ages. Civil case files can reveal estate disputes and other family connections.

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 caps copy fees at 10 cents per page for standard documents. Tax digests at the Superior Court fill in gaps where census records are missing. Georgia lost its 1790, 1800, 1810, and 1890 federal census data. For the area that became Barrow County, check Walton, Jackson, or Gwinnett tax records for those years.

Vital Records for Barrow County Genealogy

Georgia started statewide vital records in 1919 under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-9. Since Barrow County was formed in 1914, 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 cost the same.

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 broadly available for genealogy. The Georgia Department of Public Health handles state-level requests. You can also contact the Barrow County Health Department for local copies.

The Georgia Virtual Vault has free death certificates from 1919 to 1943. FamilySearch.org has indexed Georgia death records from 1914 to 1943 at no cost. For vital records before 1919, check church records, cemetery transcriptions, and family Bibles in the Barrow County area.

Note: Marriage records from 1952 to 1996 were also filed at the state level with the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Barrow County Online Genealogy Resources

The Georgia Probate Courts Directory provides current contact information for the Barrow County Probate Court and all other Georgia probate courts.

This statewide directory is useful for confirming phone numbers, addresses, and office hours before you contact the Barrow County courthouse.

Free online genealogy resources include FamilySearch with 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 newspapers with obituaries and legal notices. The E-Access to Court Records system lets you search Barrow County court records from home.

Research Tips for Barrow County

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

Because Barrow County was formed in 1914, the 1920 census is the first to show it as its own entity. For earlier census records, search Walton, Jackson, or Gwinnett County. The Georgia Archives at 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260 has census data through 1940 via Ancestry.com (free in the search room). They are open Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

• Check cemetery records when vital records are not available
• Search church records for baptisms and burials
• Use tax digests to fill in census gap years
• Look at Family Bible records at the Georgia Archives

Barrow County boundary changes are important for your research. The county was carved from three parent counties in 1914. Georgia has 159 counties total, and lines shifted many times. The Virtual Vault has "Georgia Counties: Their Changing Boundaries" to help track which county held your ancestors at any given time. For Barrow County, check Walton County (records from 1818), Jackson County (records from 1796), and Gwinnett County (records from 1818) for pre-1914 genealogy data.

Cities in Barrow County

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

Nearby Counties

These counties border Barrow County. Walton, Jackson, and Gwinnett are the parent counties with pre-1914 records that cover the Barrow County area.