Search White County Genealogy

White County genealogy records date back to 1857, the year the county was formed from Habersham County in the north Georgia mountains. The Probate Court and Superior Court Clerk in Cleveland hold marriage licenses, probate files, land deeds, and court records from that year to the present. Researchers looking into families from the Blue Ridge foothills will find White County records useful. Birth and death certificates from 1919 forward are also available at the courthouse.

White County Probate Court Records

The White County Probate Court in Cleveland is the main source for marriage and estate records. Marriage licenses date to 1857. The court also holds wills, letters of administration, guardianship records, and estate inventories that go back to the year the county was formed.

Visit the courthouse at 65 S. Main Street in Cleveland to search in person. The staff can help you find what you need. Mail requests are also accepted. Send a letter that includes the name and date range you are searching, along with a check or money order for the fee. Call first to confirm the amount. Under O.C.G.A. § 15-9-30, the Probate Court has jurisdiction over wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and marriage licenses in White County. Certified copies are available for legal use. Plain copies work for genealogy.

Birth and death certificates from 1919 to the present can be ordered through the Probate Court as well. The cost is $25 for the first certified copy and $5 for each additional copy. All 159 Georgia county offices charge the same fee.

White County was carved from Habersham County. Records for this area before 1857 are in the Habersham County courthouse. If your family was here before that year, start your search there.

Note: Some pre-1900 White County records are on microfilm at the Georgia Archives in Morrow.

White County Genealogy Records Online

The White County GAGenWeb page is a free volunteer-run genealogy resource for the county.

This site features cemetery transcriptions, census data, family trees, and other records shared by researchers with roots in White County. You can post your own findings too.

For court records, use the state's E-Access to Court Records system. Registration is free. Basic case data is available at no charge. Document copies cost $2.50 for the first page and $1.00 for each page after that. It is a handy way to search White County records without driving to Cleveland.

Other free tools include FamilySearch, which has Georgia marriages from 1754 to 1960, probate records from 1742 to 1990, and death records from 1914 to 1943. The Virtual Vault at Georgia Archives has death certificates from 1919 to 1943 online for free. These databases are a good first step for any White County genealogy project.

White County Superior Court Genealogy

The White County Clerk of Superior Court holds land records from 1857, divorce files, and civil and criminal case records. Land deeds are some of the most valuable genealogy tools available. They name buyers and sellers, describe property boundaries, and often mention neighbors or family members who witnessed the transactions.

Divorce records can be very helpful too. These files often name children, list property, and provide ages or dates of birth. That kind of detail helps confirm family connections when other sources are thin. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, most court records in Georgia are open to the public. You can request copies in person or by mail from the clerk in Cleveland.

Tax digests from White County are at the courthouse and at the Georgia Archives. These records list property owners and their holdings for each year. When federal census data is missing, tax digests fill the gap. The 1790, 1800, 1810, and 1890 Georgia censuses were destroyed, so tax records may be the only way to track families in White County during those years.

Civil court cases can reveal family connections too. Property disputes, estate fights, and guardianship cases often name several relatives. These records add depth to your research when vital records are not available.

Vital Records for White County Genealogy

Georgia began statewide vital records in 1919 under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-9. Birth and death certificates from that year forward are available from the White County Probate Court or the Georgia Department of Public Health. Certified copies cost $25 for the first and $5 for each additional.

Under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-26, certified birth certificates are restricted to the person named, parents, grandparents, adult siblings, adult children, spouses, or legal guardians. Death certificates are less restricted, which makes them easier to get for genealogy. For records before 1919, look at church records, cemetery inscriptions, and Family Bible entries. Mountain churches in White County kept good records, and many have been transcribed by local genealogy groups.

The Georgia Virtual Vault has death certificates from 1919 to 1943 online at no cost. FamilySearch has Georgia death records from 1914 to 1943 indexed for free. These databases are strong starting points for White County vital record research. Marriage records from 1952 to 1996 were also filed with the Georgia Department of Public Health at the state level.

Research Tips for White County

Start with what you know. Write down names, dates, and places for your White County family. Then work backward one step at a time. Census records are often the best next step. Federal census data from 1860 to 1940 covers White County (the county was formed in 1857, so the 1860 census is the first one).

White County was created from Habersham County. For records before 1857, you need to check Habersham County. That parent county holds all the earlier land deeds, court files, and marriage records for the area that became White County. The Virtual Vault has "Georgia Counties: Their Changing Boundaries" to help you figure out which county held the records for a given year.

The north Georgia mountains had their own settlement patterns. Many families in White County trace back to Scots-Irish and English settlers who moved through the Carolinas and Virginia into the Blue Ridge foothills. Church records from Baptist and Methodist congregations in the area are useful for the period before civil vital records started in 1919.

• Check cemetery records and tombstone inscriptions 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 the Vanishing Georgia photo collection for historical images from White County
• Review estate and guardianship files when birth or death dates are unknown
• Check Habersham County for all records before 1857

The Georgia Archives is at 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Free access to Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and Fold3 is available in the search room. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, the Open Records Act caps copy fees at 10 cents per page for standard documents from public agencies. Court records may have different local fee schedules.

Note: The Georgia Archives search room gives you free access to Ancestry.com and FamilySearch for White County genealogy research.

Cities in White County

White County includes the city of Cleveland and the community of Helen. All genealogy records for these areas are kept at the White County Probate Court and Superior Court Clerk in Cleveland. None of these cities meet the population threshold for individual city pages.

Nearby Counties

These counties border White County in the north Georgia mountains. If your ancestors moved around this region, check neighboring county records too. Boundaries changed as Georgia grew, so records can turn up in an adjacent county.