Murray County Genealogy Records

Murray County genealogy records start in 1832, the year this northwest Georgia county was formed from Cherokee County after the removal of the Cherokee Nation. The Probate Court in Chatsworth holds marriage licenses, wills, estate inventories, and guardianship papers from that year forward. Land deeds, court cases, and divorce records are at the Superior Court Clerk office. Murray County sits in the scenic ridge-and-valley region of north Georgia, and its courthouse records capture the families who settled this area in the 1830s and after.

Murray County Probate Court Records

The Murray County Probate Court handles marriage and estate records. Marriage licenses date to 1832. The court also holds wills, letters of administration, guardianship files, and estate inventories. Under O.C.G.A. § 15-9-30, the Probate Court has jurisdiction over wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and marriage licenses in Murray County.

Visit the courthouse at 121 N. 3rd Avenue in Chatsworth to search in person. The phone number is 706-695-2411. Staff can help you find specific records. For mail requests, include names, dates, and a check or money order for the search fee. Certified copies cost more than plain copies. Call ahead to check current fees and hours before you visit.

Estate records are useful for genealogy in Murray County. Wills name heirs and often describe property. Inventories list what a person owned at death. Annual returns show how estates were managed. These files can give you names and family ties that do not appear in any other record.

Note: Before 1974, the Court of Ordinary handled probate matters. All older records were transferred to the Probate Court.

Murray County Superior Court Genealogy

The Superior Court Clerk holds land records, divorce files, and court cases from 1832 onward. Deed books document property transfers over time. Plat maps show the location of land parcels. These records help you find where your ancestors lived in Murray County and who their neighbors were.

Divorce records are filed here too. They 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. You can get copies in person or by mail. The clerk sets per-page copy fees.

Civil case files are also worth checking. Lawsuits over property, estate disputes, and guardianship cases often name multiple family members. These records fill gaps when vital records are not available for the time period you need. Tax digests list property owners each year and help cover the census gaps for 1790, 1800, 1810, and 1890.

Vital Records for Murray 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 at the Murray 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 only available to the person named, parents, grandparents, adult siblings, adult children, spouses, or legal guardians. Death certificates have fewer limits, which makes them easier to get for genealogy. For records before 1919, try church records, cemetery inscriptions, or Family Bible records.

The Virtual Vault has death certificates from 1919 to 1943 online for free. FamilySearch also has Georgia death records from 1914 to 1943 at no cost. These free sources are a strong starting point for Murray County genealogy.

Murray County GAGenWeb Genealogy

The Murray County GAGenWeb page is a free volunteer-run genealogy site with cemetery transcriptions, census data, family trees, and documents shared by researchers working on Murray County lines.

Volunteers post records from courthouses, libraries, and state archives. You can add your own research. The site connects people tracing the same Murray County families.

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 and legal notices useful for Murray County genealogy.

Research Tips for Murray County

Start with what you know. Write down names, dates, and places. Then work backward one generation at a time. Census records are often the best next step. Federal census data from 1840 to 1940 covers Murray County and is at the Georgia Archives through Ancestry.com (free in the search room).

Murray County was formed from Cherokee County in 1832 after Cherokee removal. If your ancestors were among the first settlers, check the Georgia land lottery records from 1832. The Virtual Vault has land lottery records online. Also check Gilmer and Whitfield county records, since borders shifted in this part of Georgia.

The Georgia Archives is at 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. You can also search Murray County records through the E-Access to Court Records system. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, copy fees are capped at 10 cents per page for standard public records.

• Check cemetery records when vital records are missing
• Search church records for baptisms, marriages, and burials
• Use tax digests to fill gaps from destroyed census years
• Review land lottery records for early Murray County settlers
• Look at the Vanishing Georgia photo collection for local images

Cities in Murray County

Murray County includes Chatsworth, Eton, and Spring Place. All genealogy records are maintained at the Murray County Probate Court and Superior Court Clerk in Chatsworth. No cities in this county meet the population threshold for individual pages.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Murray County. If your ancestors lived near county lines, check neighboring records. Borders changed as Georgia grew, so a family could appear in different counties at different times.