Quitman County Genealogy Records

Quitman County genealogy records start in 1858, when the county was created from Randolph and Stewart counties in southwest Georgia along the Chattahoochee River. The Probate Court in Georgetown holds marriage licenses, wills, estate inventories, and guardianship records from that year forward. Land deeds, court cases, and divorce files are at the Superior Court Clerk office. Quitman County is one of Georgia's smallest counties by population, but its courthouse holds important records for families who lived in this part of the state. Researchers tracing southwest Georgia roots will find useful documents here.

Quitman County Probate Court Records

The Quitman County Probate Court handles marriage and estate records. Marriage licenses go back to 1858. Wills, letters of administration, guardianship files, and estate inventories are held here as well. Under O.C.G.A. § 15-9-30, the Probate Court has jurisdiction over wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and marriage licenses.

The courthouse is at 111 Main Street in Georgetown. The phone number is 229-334-2157. You can visit in person to search records. Mail requests are accepted too. Include names, dates, and a check or money order for the search fee. Staff will let you know the cost once they find the record you need. Certified copies cost more than plain copies.

Estate records from Quitman County are a good source for genealogy. Wills name heirs. Inventories list property. These records can show family connections that vital records and census data miss. For the mid-1800s, estate files may be your best option for finding family details in this area.

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

Quitman County Superior Court Genealogy

The Superior Court Clerk holds land records, divorce files, and court cases from 1858 onward. Deed books track property transfers. Plat maps show parcel locations along the Chattahoochee River. These records help find where your ancestors lived and who their neighbors were.

Divorce records often include children, property, ages, and birth dates. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, most court records in Quitman County are open to the public. Tax digests list property owners each year and are important for filling gaps from the destroyed 1890 census.

Quitman County was formed just before the Civil War. Records from the late 1850s and 1860s may be incomplete due to wartime disruption. Check the Georgia Archives for any supplementary records that might fill those gaps.

Vital Records for Quitman 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 Quitman County Probate Court or the Georgia Department of Public Health. Certified copies cost $25 for the first and $5 for each extra copy.

Under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-26, certified birth certificates are restricted to close family members. Death certificates are easier to get for genealogy. The Virtual Vault has death certificates from 1919 to 1943 free online. FamilySearch has Georgia death records from 1914 to 1943 at no cost.

For records before 1919, try church records, cemetery inscriptions, and Family Bible entries. In a small county like Quitman, church records can be especially helpful since communities were tight and churches kept good records of baptisms, marriages, and burials.

Quitman County GAGenWeb Genealogy

The Quitman County GAGenWeb page is a free volunteer-run genealogy resource with cemetery transcriptions, census data, family trees, and records shared by researchers working on Quitman County families.

Volunteers post records from courthouses, libraries, and archives. You can add your own research too. The site connects people working on the same Quitman County family 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 Quitman County genealogy.

Research Tips for Quitman County

Start with what you know. Write down names, dates, and places. Then work backward. Census records from 1860 to 1940 cover Quitman County and are at the Georgia Archives through Ancestry.com (free in the search room).

Quitman County was formed from Randolph and Stewart counties in 1858. If your family lived in this area before 1858, check those parent counties for earlier records. The Virtual Vault has "Georgia Counties: Their Changing Boundaries" to help track where your family was counted.

The Georgia Archives at 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260 has pre-1900 Quitman 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 from home. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, copy fees are capped at 10 cents per page for standard documents.

• Check cemetery records when vital records are missing
• Search church records for baptisms, marriages, and burials
• Look at Randolph and Stewart County records before 1858
• Use tax digests for years when census records were destroyed
• Review the Vanishing Georgia photo collection for local images

Cities in Quitman County

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

Nearby Counties

These counties border Quitman County. If your ancestors lived near county lines, check neighboring records. Boundary changes in Georgia mean a family could appear in different counties over time.