Ben Hill County Genealogy Records

Ben Hill County genealogy records start in 1906, when the county was formed from Irwin and Wilcox counties in south-central Georgia. The Probate Court in Fitzgerald holds marriage licenses, wills, estate files, and guardianship records. The Clerk of Superior Court keeps land deeds, divorce records, and civil case files. Fitzgerald was founded in 1895 as a colony for Union veterans of the Civil War, which gives Ben Hill County a unique place in Georgia genealogy. Researchers tracing family lines before 1906 need to check Irwin County and Wilcox County records.

Ben Hill County Probate Court Genealogy

The Ben Hill County Probate Court is the main source for marriage and estate records. Marriage licenses go back to 1906. Wills, letters of administration, guardianship files, and estate inventories are also held here. These records form the core of Ben Hill County genealogy research.

The courthouse is at 125 N. Grant Street in Fitzgerald. You can visit in person or submit 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 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. Call ahead to verify current fees.

Note: Before 1906, the land that became Ben Hill County was split between Irwin and Wilcox counties. Marriage and estate records from before that date are in those courthouses.

Ben Hill County Land and Court Records

The Clerk of Superior Court in Ben Hill County holds land records, divorce files, and civil and criminal case records from 1906. Land deeds show property transfers between family members. Divorce records often include names of children, property lists, and ages. These files help build a picture of family connections.

Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, most court records in Georgia are public. 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. Tax digests from the Superior Court help fill in gaps where census records were lost. Georgia is missing federal census data for 1790, 1800, 1810, and 1890. For the Ben Hill County area before 1906, check Irwin and Wilcox County tax records for those years.

Vital Records for Ben Hill County Genealogy

Georgia began statewide vital records in 1919 under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-9. Since Ben Hill County was formed in 1906, most of its vital records fall within the state system. Birth certificates cost $25 for the first copy and $5 for each additional copy. 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 widely available for genealogy. The Georgia Department of Public Health handles vital records at the state level. The Ben Hill County Health Department provides local copies.

The Georgia Virtual Vault has death certificates from 1919 to 1943 online for free. FamilySearch.org has Georgia death records from 1914 to 1943 indexed at no cost. For births and deaths before 1919 in the Ben Hill County area, try church records, cemetery transcriptions, and family Bibles.

Note: Marriage records from 1952 to 1996 were also filed at the state level with the Georgia Department of Public Health, providing another source for Ben Hill County marriages.

Ben Hill County GAGenWeb Resources

The Ben Hill County GAGenWeb page is a free volunteer-run site with cemetery transcriptions, census data, and family trees shared by researchers.

This page connects people researching Ben Hill County family lines. Volunteers post records they have found at courthouses and archives across Georgia.

Other free 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 Georgia newspapers with obituaries, legal notices, and family announcements.

Research Tips for Ben Hill County

Start with what you know. List all names, dates, and places for your Ben Hill County family. Then work backward.

The 1910 census is the first to show Ben Hill County as its own entity. For census records before 1906, look in Irwin County or Wilcox County. The Georgia Archives at 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260 has census data through 1940 via Ancestry.com (free in the search room). The archives are open Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Free access to Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and Fold3 is available there.

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

Ben Hill County has a unique genealogy angle because Fitzgerald was founded as a colony for Union veterans. If your ancestors came to the area in the 1890s from Northern states, check the records of the American Tribune Colony for information about early settlers. Georgia has 159 counties, and the Virtual Vault has "Georgia Counties: Their Changing Boundaries" to help track which county held jurisdiction at any given time.

Cities in Ben Hill County

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

Nearby Counties

These counties border Ben Hill County. Irwin and Wilcox counties are the parent counties with pre-1906 records covering the Ben Hill County area.