Access Fannin County Genealogy

Fannin County genealogy records date to 1854, the year the county was formed from Gilmer and Union counties. The Probate Court in Blue Ridge holds marriage licenses, wills, estate files, and guardianship records from 1854 forward. Land deeds and court records at the Clerk of Superior Court also begin in 1854. Fannin County sits in the Blue Ridge Mountains of far north Georgia, bordering Tennessee and North Carolina. Its mountain communities are rich in family heritage, and over 170 years of records are at the courthouse in Blue Ridge.

Fannin County Probate Court Records

The Fannin County Probate Court is the main source for marriage and estate records. Marriage licenses date to 1854. The court also holds wills, letters of administration, guardianship files, and estate inventories. Mountain families often stayed in one area for generations, so these records tend to show deep roots.

The courthouse is at 400 W. Main Street in Blue Ridge. The phone number is 706-632-2039. You can search 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 Fannin 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, church records and cemetery inscriptions are your best bet in this area.

Fannin County Genealogy Records Online

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

Volunteers post courthouse transcriptions, cemetery readings, and old newspaper clippings from the Blue Ridge area. Mountain genealogy research benefits from these volunteer efforts because many families stayed in the same communities for generations.

You can also search Fannin 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.

Fannin County Superior Court Records

The Clerk of Superior Court holds land deeds from 1854, divorce records, and civil and criminal case files. Land deeds in Fannin County are especially important for genealogy. Mountain land was often passed down through families for decades. Deed books show property transfers between parents and children, siblings, and in-laws.

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 reveal estate disputes and guardianship cases.

Fannin County borders Tennessee and North Carolina. Families in the mountains often crossed state lines. If you hit a wall in Georgia records, check Polk County, Tennessee and Cherokee County, North Carolina for related families. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, the Open Records Act caps copy fees at 10 cents per page for standard documents.

Vital Records for Fannin County Genealogy

Statewide vital records began in 1919 under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-9. Birth and death certificates from that year forward are available from the Fannin 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 records before 1919, 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 Fannin County genealogy research.

Research Tips for Fannin County

Start with what you know. Write down names, dates, and places. Then work backward. Census records from 1860 to 1940 cover Fannin County. The 1890 census for Georgia was destroyed. Tax digests can fill in that gap.

Pre-1900 Fannin County 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.

Mountain families in Fannin County sometimes moved between Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Check records in all three states if your family was near the border. The Georgia Historic Newspapers archive has digitized pages from north Georgia papers.

• Check cemetery records when vital records are missing
• Search church records for baptisms and burials
• Look at Tennessee and North Carolina records for border families
• Use tax digests for census gap years
• Review estate and guardianship files for family details

Fannin County was formed from Gilmer and Union counties in 1854. For ancestors in this area before that date, check those parent counties. The Virtual Vault has "Georgia Counties: Their Changing Boundaries" to track county lines over time.

Cities in Fannin County

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

Nearby Counties

These counties border Fannin County in Georgia. Gilmer and Union are the parent counties. Fannin also borders Tennessee and North Carolina.