Access Putnam County Genealogy Records

Putnam County genealogy records date to 1807, when the county was formed from Baldwin County in central Georgia. The Probate Court in Eatonton holds marriage licenses, wills, estate inventories, and guardianship records from that year forward. The Superior Court Clerk office keeps land deeds, court cases, and divorce files. Putnam County was a major cotton-producing area before the Civil War, and its courthouse records document the planters, farmers, and families who shaped this region. Researchers looking into Putnam County ancestry will find records going back over two hundred years.

Putnam County Probate Court Records

The Putnam County Probate Court is the main source for marriage and estate records. Marriage licenses go back to 1807. Wills, letters of administration, guardianship papers, and estate inventories are also held here. Under O.C.G.A. § 15-9-30, the Probate Court has jurisdiction over wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and marriage licenses in Putnam County.

You can visit the courthouse at 100 S. Jefferson Avenue in Eatonton. The phone number is 706-485-4501. 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 but are needed for legal use. Call ahead to check fees and hours before you visit.

Estate records from Putnam County are some of the best genealogy sources available. Wills name heirs and describe property. Inventories list personal items and sometimes enslaved people in pre-Civil War records. Annual returns track how estates were managed over time. For early 1800s research, these files often provide information you cannot find anywhere else.

Note: The Court of Ordinary handled these records before 1974. All older files were transferred to the Probate Court.

Putnam County Superior Court Genealogy

The Superior Court Clerk holds land records, divorce files, and court cases from 1807 to the present. Deed books document property changes over time. Plat maps show where parcels were located. These records help you find where your ancestors lived in Putnam County.

Divorce records are filed here too. They often list children, property, ages, and birth dates. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, most court records are open to the public. You can request copies in person or by mail. Tax digests list property owners each year and are important for filling census gaps. Georgia lost the 1790, 1800, 1810, and 1890 census records.

Putnam County was a major plantation area before the war. Land records from this period can reveal large holdings, neighbors, and family connections that other records miss.

Vital Records for Putnam 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 Putnam 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 are easier to get. For records before 1919, use church records, cemetery inscriptions, or Family Bible records.

The Virtual Vault has death certificates from 1919 to 1943 online for free. FamilySearch has Georgia death records from 1914 to 1943 indexed at no cost. These free databases are strong starting points.

Putnam County GAGenWeb Genealogy

The Putnam County GAGenWeb page is a free volunteer-run genealogy site. It has cemetery transcriptions, census data, family trees, and documents shared by researchers working on Putnam County families.

Volunteers post records from courthouses, libraries, and archives around the state. You can submit your own research too. The site connects people tracing the same Putnam County lines.

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 newspapers with obituaries and legal notices for Putnam County genealogy.

Research Tips for Putnam County

Start with what you know. Write down names, dates, and places. Then work backward one generation at a time. Census records from 1810 to 1940 are at the Georgia Archives through Ancestry.com (free in the search room).

Putnam County was formed from Baldwin County in 1807. If your ancestors disappear from records at some point, check Baldwin County and neighboring counties. The Virtual Vault has "Georgia Counties: Their Changing Boundaries" to help you track where your family was counted for any given year.

The Georgia Archives at 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260 has pre-1900 Putnam County records on microfilm. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. You can also use the E-Access to Court Records system to search from home. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, copy fees are capped at 10 cents per page.

• Check cemetery records when vital records are missing
• Search church records for baptisms, marriages, and burials
• Look at Family Bible records on microfilm at the Georgia Archives
• Use tax digests for years when census records were destroyed
• Review the Vanishing Georgia photo collection for local images

Cities in Putnam County

Putnam County includes Eatonton and a few small communities. All genealogy records are maintained at the Putnam County Probate Court and Superior Court Clerk in Eatonton. No cities in this county meet the population threshold for individual pages.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Putnam County. If your ancestors lived near county lines, check neighboring records. Borders shifted over time in Georgia, so a family could appear in different counties.