Find Sumter County Genealogy Records

Sumter County genealogy records go back to 1831, the year the county was formed from Lee County in southwest Georgia. The Probate Court in Americus holds marriage licenses, wills, estate files, and guardianship records from that year forward. Land deeds, court cases, and divorce files are at the Superior Court Clerk office. Sumter County also has some early birth records from 1875 to 1876 under a short-lived state act, which gives researchers an edge over most other Georgia counties. The courthouse in Americus is the central source for Sumter County genealogy research.

Sumter County Probate Court Records

The Sumter County Probate Court handles marriage and estate records. Marriage licenses go back to 1831. Wills, letters of administration, guardianship files, and estate inventories are held at the courthouse. 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 500 W. Lamar Street in Americus. The phone number is 229-928-4500. You can visit in person or send mail requests. Include names, dates, and a check or money order for the search fee. Staff can check records and give you a cost estimate. Certified copies cost more than plain copies. Call ahead to confirm fees and hours.

Estate records are among the best genealogy sources in Sumter County. Wills name heirs and describe property. Inventories list holdings at death. Annual returns show how estates were managed over the years. For the 1830s through the Civil War period, these files can reveal family details that no other record type captures.

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

Sumter County Early Birth Records

Sumter County has some birth records from 1875 to 1876. The Georgia legislature passed an act in 1875 that briefly required birth registration at the county level. Most counties barely complied, and enforcement did not last. But Sumter County filed some records under this law. These early birth records predate statewide registration by over 40 years.

If your ancestors had children in Sumter County around 1875 or 1876, ask the Probate Court about these records. They may list the child's name, parents, date of birth, and place of birth. The Georgia Archives in Morrow may also have copies. This is a rare resource. Most Georgia counties have nothing before 1919.

Sumter County Superior Court Genealogy

The Superior Court Clerk holds land records, divorce files, and court cases from 1831 to the present. Deed books track property transfers over time. Plat maps show parcel locations. These records help you find where your ancestors lived in Sumter County and who their neighbors were.

Divorce records often list children, property, ages, and birth dates. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, most court records are open to the public. Tax digests list property owners each year. Georgia lost the 1790, 1800, 1810, and 1890 censuses. Tax records fill those gaps for Sumter County research.

Vital Records for Sumter County Genealogy

Georgia started statewide vital records in 1919 under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-9. Certificates from that year forward are at the 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, birth certificates are restricted to close family members.

The Virtual Vault has death certificates from 1919 to 1943 online for free. FamilySearch has Georgia death records from 1914 to 1943 at no cost. For records before 1919 (aside from the 1875-76 birth records), check church records, cemetery inscriptions, or Family Bible entries.

Sumter County GAGenWeb Genealogy

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

Volunteers post records from courthouses, libraries, and archives around the state. You can add your own findings too. The site connects people tracing the same Sumter 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.

Research Tips for Sumter County

Start with what you know. Write down names, dates, and places. Then work backward. Census records from 1840 to 1940 cover Sumter County and are at the Georgia Archives through Ancestry.com (free in the search room).

Sumter County was formed from Lee County in 1831. Parts of it later became Schley and Webster counties. If your ancestors seem to vanish from Sumter County records, check those counties. 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 Sumter 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. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, copy fees are capped at 10 cents per page.

• Check the 1875-76 birth records at the Probate Court
• Search cemetery records when vital records are missing
• Review church records for baptisms, marriages, and burials
• Use tax digests for years when census records were destroyed
• Look at the Vanishing Georgia photo collection for local images

Cities in Sumter County

Sumter County includes Americus, Plains, Leslie, and De Soto. All genealogy records are maintained at the Sumter County Probate Court and Superior Court Clerk in Americus. No cities in this county meet the population threshold for individual pages.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Sumter County. If your ancestors lived near county lines, check neighboring records. Some of these counties were formed from Sumter County land.