Wilkinson County Genealogy Records

Wilkinson County genealogy records date back to 1803, the year this county was formed from Creek Indian cession lands in central Georgia. The Probate Court and Superior Court Clerk in Irwinton hold marriage records, wills, estate files, land deeds, and court cases spanning over 220 years. Wilkinson County served as a parent county for several other Georgia counties, including Twiggs, Laurens, and Telfair. That makes its early records relevant to a wide swath of central Georgia genealogy research.

Wilkinson County Probate Court Records

The Wilkinson County Probate Court is the main source for marriage and estate records. Marriage licenses go back to 1803. The court also holds wills, letters of administration, guardianship papers, and estate inventories. Under O.C.G.A. § 15-9-30, the Probate Court has jurisdiction over wills, estates, guardianships, and marriage licenses in Wilkinson County.

You can request records in person or by mail. Send a written request with the full name of the person and the approximate date range. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope and a check or money order for fees. Copy fees are typically $1 per page. Certified copies cost more. Call ahead to confirm current prices. Staff at the Probate Court in Irwinton can help you find what you need, but older records from the early 1800s may take more time to locate. Be as specific as you can with dates and names to speed up the process.

Wilkinson County estate records from the early 1800s are a strong genealogy source. Wills and inventories from this period name heirs, list property, and sometimes describe family relationships that are hard to find in other documents. Letters of administration were issued when a person died without a will, and these records often name the spouse or oldest son.

Note: Wilkinson County was a parent county for several other counties in central Georgia. If your family was here before 1810, their records may be in Wilkinson County even if they later ended up in a different county.

Wilkinson County Online Genealogy Records

The Georgia Probate Courts Directory is a helpful starting point for finding court contact details across the state, including Wilkinson County.

This directory lists the address, phone number, and judge for every probate court in Georgia. Use it to confirm Wilkinson County contact details before making a trip to Irwinton.

The E-Access portal from the Georgia court system lets you search court records from participating counties online. Check this portal for Wilkinson County records before driving to the courthouse. The database grows each year as more counties add their records to the system.

Free online tools for Wilkinson County genealogy include FamilySearch, which has 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. Search for obituaries, legal notices, and family announcements from the Wilkinson County area. Both of these resources are free to use.

Wilkinson County Superior Court Genealogy

The Wilkinson County Superior Court Clerk holds land records, divorce files, and civil and criminal case records dating to 1803. Deed books show property sales, gifts, and transfers between family members. Land records are one of the most useful genealogy tools for early Wilkinson County research. They name neighbors and adjoining landowners, which helps put families on a map.

Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, most court records in Wilkinson County are open to the public. The clerk's office is in the courthouse on Main Street in Irwinton. Divorce records often list children by name, give ages, and describe how property was split. These can fill gaps that other records leave open. Tax digests are also at this office. They list property owners each year and work as a census substitute when federal counts are missing or damaged.

Wilkinson County land records from the early 1800s document the initial settlement of this part of Georgia after the Creek land cessions. The earliest deeds show land grants from the state lottery system and head-right grants to settlers. These records are heavily used by genealogists because they are among the first to place families in central Georgia with an exact location and date.

Vital Records for Wilkinson County

Georgia started statewide vital records in 1919 under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-9. For Wilkinson County births and deaths before that year, you need church registers, cemetery records, and family Bibles. The Virtual Vault has death certificates from 1919 to 1943 online for free. These are searchable by name and county.

Birth certificates from the state office cost $25 for the first copy and $5 for each additional copy. Death certificates have the same price. Under O.C.G.A. § 31-10-26, certified birth certificates are restricted to the named person, parents, grandparents, adult siblings, adult children, spouses, or legal guardians. Death certificates have fewer restrictions and are more widely available for genealogy work. The Georgia Department of Public Health handles state-level vital record requests.

Marriage records in Wilkinson County go back to 1803. The Probate Court holds these. The state only has marriage records from 1952 to 1996. For marriages outside that window, contact the Wilkinson County Probate Court directly. Always call first to confirm availability and current fees.

Research Tips for Wilkinson County

Start with what you know. Write down all names, dates, and places for your Wilkinson County family. Then work backward one generation at a time. Census records are usually the best next step. Wilkinson County first appears in the 1810 federal census. The 1820 and 1830 censuses show head of household only, while the 1850 census lists each family member by name and age.

Wilkinson County was created in 1803 from lands ceded by the Creek Nation. Parts of Wilkinson later went to form Twiggs, Laurens, Telfair, and other counties. If your ancestor lived on the edge of Wilkinson County, check whether that land stayed in Wilkinson or was carved off for a new county. Georgia has 159 counties, and the lines changed often. The Virtual Vault has a free resource called "Georgia Counties: Their Changing Boundaries" that shows which county covered a specific area in any given year. This tool is very important for Wilkinson County research because so many counties came out of it.

The Georgia Archives in Morrow holds pre-1900 Wilkinson County records on microfilm. The collection includes marriage records, estate files, deed books, and court minutes. The search room gives free access to Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and Fold3. Staff can help you navigate the catalog and find the right reels. The archives are at 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260, open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, public record copy fees are capped at 10 cents per page for standard documents at public agencies. The Georgia Archives follows this fee structure for most research copies. Court records may have different fee structures set by local rules.

• Check cemetery records and tombstone inscriptions when vital records are not available
• 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 Wilkinson County images
• Review estate records when birth or death dates are unknown
• Check land lottery records for Wilkinson County grants

Cities in Wilkinson County

Wilkinson County includes Irwinton, the county seat, along with smaller communities like Toomsboro, McIntyre, and Gordon. All genealogy records for these areas are maintained at the Wilkinson County Probate Court and Superior Court Clerk in Irwinton. No cities in this county meet the population threshold for a dedicated city page.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Wilkinson County. Several were carved from the original Wilkinson County territory, so records for the same family may appear in multiple counties depending on when they lived here.