McDuffie County Genealogy Records

McDuffie County genealogy records begin in 1870, when the county was created from Columbia and Warren counties in east-central Georgia. The Probate Court in Thomson holds marriage licenses, wills, estate files, and guardianship records. The Superior Court Clerk maintains land deeds, divorce files, and civil court cases. Because McDuffie County is younger than many Georgia counties, some family lines trace back through Columbia or Warren County records before 1870. Researchers should check those parent counties for earlier generations.

McDuffie County Probate Court Records

The McDuffie County Probate Court in Thomson is the main source for marriage and estate records. Marriage licenses date to 1870. The court also holds wills, letters of administration, guardianship papers, and estate inventories. These are the core records for genealogy in McDuffie County.

You can visit the courthouse in Thomson to search records. Staff are available to help. Mail requests are also accepted. Include the names and dates you are searching for, plus a search fee. Under O.C.G.A. § 15-9-30, the Probate Court has jurisdiction over wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and marriage licenses. Certified copies are needed for legal use, but regular copies are fine for genealogy research. Call the court to get current fees before you send payment.

Because McDuffie County was formed during Reconstruction, its earliest records reflect the social changes of that era. Freedmen's Bureau records from the National Archives at Atlanta may supplement the county courthouse records for African American genealogy in this period.

Note: Pre-1900 McDuffie County records are also on microfilm at the Georgia Archives in Morrow.

McDuffie County Superior Court Genealogy

The Superior Court Clerk keeps land records, divorce cases, and civil and criminal files from 1870 onward. Deed books show property transfers. Plat maps show land locations. These records help you place your ancestors on the map in McDuffie County.

Divorce files often name children, list property, and give ages or birth dates. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, most court records are open to the public in McDuffie County. Tax digests from the courthouse and the Georgia Archives list property owners each year. For years when the census is missing or incomplete, tax digests serve as a stand-in. The 1890 federal census was destroyed, so the tax records from that decade are especially important for McDuffie County research.

Vital Records for McDuffie County Genealogy

Georgia began statewide birth and death registration in 1919 under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-9. The McDuffie County Health Department can issue certificates from 1919 to the present. Before 1919, look for church records, cemetery inscriptions, and estate files.

The Virtual Vault has free death certificates from 1919 to 1943 online. FamilySearch has Georgia death records from 1914 to 1943 indexed at no cost. Under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-26, certified birth certificates are restricted to close family members and legal guardians. Death certificates are available to more people and are a good starting point for McDuffie County genealogy. Marriage records from 1952 to 1996 were also filed at the state level with the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Note: Since McDuffie County was created in 1870, its records cover the post-Civil War period well, but for earlier generations you must check Columbia and Warren counties.

McDuffie County GAGenWeb Genealogy

The McDuffie County GAGenWeb page is a free volunteer-run genealogy site. It has cemetery transcriptions, census data, family histories, and other records shared by people researching McDuffie County families.

Volunteers post records from courthouses, libraries, and archives. You can submit your own research too. This site is one of the best free resources for connecting with others who are working on the same McDuffie County lines.

Other 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 a million pages of newspapers with obituaries and legal notices for McDuffie County genealogy.

Genealogy Tips for McDuffie County

Start with what you know. Write down names, dates, and places for your McDuffie County family, then work backward. Census records from 1870 to 1940 are available at the Georgia Archives through Ancestry.com (free in the search room). The 1870 census is the first one that will show McDuffie County by name.

McDuffie County was formed from Columbia and Warren counties. If your family lived in this area before 1870, check records in those parent counties. Georgia has 159 counties with borders that shifted often. The Virtual Vault has "Georgia Counties: Their Changing Boundaries" to help you track which county your ancestors were counted in for any specific year.

• Check cemetery records and tombstone inscriptions when vital records are missing
• Search church records for baptisms, marriages, and burials
• Review Freedmen's Bureau records at the National Archives for post-Civil War research
• Use tax digests to fill census gaps, especially for the destroyed 1890 census
• Look at Family Bible records at the Georgia Archives

The Georgia Archives is at 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, standard copy fees from public agencies are capped at 10 cents per page.

Cities in McDuffie County

McDuffie County includes Thomson, Dearing, and Wrens. All genealogy records are maintained at the McDuffie County Probate Court and Superior Court Clerk in Thomson. No cities in this county meet the population threshold for individual pages.

Nearby Counties

These counties border McDuffie County. Check their records if your family lived near county lines or if your search in McDuffie County reaches a dead end.