Access Dade County Genealogy

Dade County genealogy records go back to 1837, the year the county was created from Walker County. The Probate Court in Trenton holds marriage licenses, wills, estate files, and guardianship records from 1837 forward. Land deeds and court records at the Clerk of Superior Court also start in 1837. Dade County sits in the far northwest corner of Georgia, bordering Tennessee and Alabama. Its isolated location on Lookout Mountain shaped the communities that grew here, and nearly 190 years of records are available for genealogy research.

Dade County Probate Court Records

The Dade County Probate Court is the main office for marriage and estate records. Marriage licenses date to 1837. The court also holds wills, letters of administration, guardianship files, and estate inventories. These records are vital for tracing family lines in Georgia's northwest corner.

The courthouse is at 265 Government Street in Trenton. The phone number is 706-657-4778. You can search records in person or send a mail request with a self-addressed stamped envelope and 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 Dade County.

Birth and death certificates from 1919 forward are available from the Probate Court. Certified copies cost $25 for the first and $5 for each extra. For vital events before 1919, check church records, cemetery readings, and Family Bible records. The Civil War era is a gap in many Dade County families' records.

Dade County Genealogy Records Online

The Dade County GAGenWeb page is a free volunteer-run site with cemetery records, census data, family files, and shared research for Dade County genealogy.

Volunteers post courthouse transcriptions, cemetery readings, church records, and newspaper clippings. This is a solid starting point for Dade County research, especially for families that crossed the Tennessee and Alabama borders.

You can also search Dade County records through the E-Access to Court Records system. Registration is free. Basic case data costs nothing. Documents are $2.50 for the first page and $1.00 for each page after that.

Dade County Superior Court Records

The Clerk of Superior Court holds land deeds from 1837, divorce records, and civil and criminal case files. Land deeds are critical for Dade County research. They show property transfers, family connections, and neighbors. Early deed books document the first settlers on Lookout Mountain.

Divorce records list children, property, and sometimes ages. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, most court records in Georgia are open to the public. Civil case files can reveal estate disputes and guardianship cases. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, the Open Records Act caps copy fees at 10 cents per page for standard documents.

Dade County's border location means some families had ties to Hamilton County, Tennessee and DeKalb County, Alabama. If your ancestors crossed state lines, check those courthouses too. Military records from the Civil War are at the Georgia Archives and on Fold3.

Vital Records for Dade County Genealogy

Georgia started statewide vital records in 1919 under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-9. Birth and death certificates from that year forward are available from the Dade County Probate Court or the Georgia Department of Public Health. Certified copies cost $25 for the first and $5 for each extra.

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 have fewer restrictions. For pre-1919 records, check church records, cemetery inscriptions, and Family Bible entries.

The Georgia Virtual Vault has death certificates from 1919 to 1943 online for free. FamilySearch has Georgia death records from 1914 to 1943 at no cost. These free databases are strong tools for Dade County genealogy.

Research Tips for Dade County

Start with what you know. Write down names, dates, and places. Then work backward. Census records from 1840 to 1940 cover Dade County. The 1890 census for Georgia was destroyed. Tax digests can fill in that gap year.

Pre-1900 records are on microfilm at the Georgia Archives at 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Free access to Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and Fold3 is in the search room.

Dade County's remote location on Lookout Mountain made it distinct from the rest of Georgia. Some families had closer ties to Chattanooga, Tennessee than to Atlanta. If you hit a dead end in Georgia records, try Tennessee and Alabama courthouses across the border.

• Check cemetery records when vital records are missing
• Search church records for baptisms and burials
• Look at Tennessee and Alabama records for cross-border families
• Use tax digests for census gap years
• Review Civil War service and pension records

Dade County was formed from Walker County in 1837. For ancestors in this area before that date, check Walker County records (from 1833). The Virtual Vault has "Georgia Counties: Their Changing Boundaries" to track county lines over time. The Georgia Historic Newspapers archive has digitized pages with obituaries and legal notices from northwest Georgia.

Cities in Dade County

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

Nearby Counties

These counties border Dade County in Georgia. Walker County is the parent county. Dade County also borders Tennessee and Alabama.