Baker County was created on Dec. 12, 1825 by an act of the General Assembly. Georgia's 66th county was formed entirely from the eastern portion of Early County. According to the legislation:
That from and immediately after the passage of this act, the county of Early shall be divided as hereafter pointed out, to-wit, beginning at the corners of the twelfth and thirteenth districts of said county, on the Decatur line, thence north on the district line between said districts and districts six and seven until said district line shall strike the Pechitler creek, thence up the main prong of said creek to the county line between the county of Early and the territory lately acquired of the Creek nation of Indians.
However, early maps of Georgia do not show a Pechitler Creek, and the boundary between Early and Baker counties is shown as a straight line falling between land lots 3 and 4, 6 and 7, and 12 and 13 (see 1839 map).
Two counties were created entirely from Baker County: Dougherty (1853) and Mitchell (1857). Additionally, portions of Baker County were used to help create two other counties: Calhoun (1854) and Miller (1856).
Baker County was named for Col. John Baker, who was a member of Georgia's 1775 Provincial Congress and later served in the American Revolution.
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.
Baker County Clerk of Superior Court has Court Records from 1879 and Land Records from 1850 and is located at 167 Baker Place or P.O. BOX 10, NEWTON,
GA 31770; Phone: (229) 734-3004, Fax: (229) 734-7770. The Superior Court, Georgia's general jurisdiction trial court, has exclusive constitutional authority over felony cases, cases regarding title to land and equity, declaratory judgments, habeas corpus, mandamus, adoptions, name changes, divorces, child custody, and child support enforcement. The clerk is responsible for recording deeds and maintaining the chain of title to all property in the county.
Lands were given to Georgia citizens by lotteries from
in 1805, 1807, 1820, 1821, 1827, 1832, 1832 (Gold), 1833. Where Georgians sold lots won in these lotteries, researchers
will find that deeds may be valuable sources of genealogical
information. Those deeds should have been recorded in the counties
where the land was located, but in some cases references may
be found in the counties where the owner resided. Land transaction
between private individuals are recorded with the clerk of superior
court in the appropriate county.
Baker County Clerk of Probate Court has Marriage Records from 1820 , Probate Records from 1868 and is located at P.O.
Box 548, Newton, GA 31770-0548; 229-734-3007 / FAX 734-8822. The jurisdiction of Probate Court are all legal proceedings that deal with Wills, Estates, Guardianships of minor children, Involuntary Committals Hearings, Filing of Wills for saf, Issuance of Marriage License, ect... The office of the probate judge is the county office where the
most significant genealogical records are created and maintained
in Georgia.
Below is a list of online resources for Baker County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Baker County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Georgia Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
Click Here to Search Georgia Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Baker County Health Departmenthas Birth
and Death
Records since January 1919 and is located at P.O. Box 365,
100 Sunset Boulevard,
Newton, Georgia 39870;
(229) 734-5226. You may go to any county health department in the State of Georgia to obtain a certificates can be issued while you wait.
Contact Clerk of Superior Court For County Divorce Records (See Baker County Court Records for Address and Phone number) in the county where divorce was granted, and Contact Probate Judge For County Marriage Records (See Baker County Court Records for Address and Phone number) in county where license was issued
Georgia State Vital Records, Center for Health Statistics Office is located at State
Dept of Human Resources,
2600 Skyland Drive NE,
Atlanta, GA 30319-3640;
(404) 679-4730 info,
(877) 572-6343;
Fax: (404) 524-4278. They have the following records:
Birth & Death Certificates: Birth records are available from 1919 to the present.
For earlier records
in Atlanta or Savannah or other cities or counties, write to the
Vital Records Office (see above) in county where event occurred. Fees are listed below. You can download an application online for Birth Certificates. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates much quicker by ordering HERE
Death Certificates: Certified copies of death records are available from 1919 to the present. Death certificates are available to the general public.
For earlier records
in Atlanta or Savannah or other cities or counties, write to the
Vital Records Office (see above) in county where event occurred. Fees are listed below. You can download an application online for Death Certificates. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates much quicker by ordering HERE
Marriage Certificates: Centralized State records since June 9, 1952. Certified copies
of marriage documents up to 1966 are issued at State office. Contact the Baker County Probate office for marriages in Baker County occurring before June 9, 1952, and all other counties will be forwarded
to appropriate Probate Judge in county where license was issued.The
state office does no record marriage license or applications after
July 1, 1997.
The fee to search for a birth, Marriage or Death certificate is $10.00, which includes one certified copy of the certificate or a "Certificate of Failure to Find." For each additional copy of the certificate ordered at the same time, the fee is $5.00. Make certified checks and money orders should be made payable to "Vital Records, GA. DHR". Credit Cards may be uses by using VitalChek services. Please do not send cash or checks. Fees are non refundable. Additional fees are required for expedited service. Mail all Applications to:Vital Records,
2600 Skyland Drive NE,
Atlanta, GA 30319-3640. You can download an application online for Birth Certificates or Death Certificates. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates much quicker by ordering HERE
Below is a list of online resources for Baker County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Baker County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Georgia Death Certificates, 1919-1927 - Georga Death Certificates and Images from 1919 through 1927. The collection also includes a number of certificates predating 1919, mostly from 1917 and 1918. Free from the Georgia State Archives
Georgia Marriages, 1699-1944: This database contains marriage information from selected areas of Georgia from 1699-1944.
Georgia Marriages to 1850: This database of Georgia marriages to 1850 contains over 165,000 names. Each entry includes groom, bride, marriage date, county, and state. Every name is indexed so you can search for one name, or two names that are linked.
Georgia Marriages, 1851-1900: This collection of records contains marriage data from several Georgia counties between 1851 and 1900.
Georgia Deaths, 1919-98: This database is an index of more than 2.7 million deaths recorded by the state of Georgia from 1919 to 1998
Click Here to Search Georgia Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Federal Population Schedules that exist for Georgia are 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. The 1820 census is the earliest enumeration of Georgia's population
to have survived, making it necessary to substitute other lists
for the missing censuses. Land lottery, military and tax lists, and other records, are available
as census substitutes and supplements for the 1820 and earlier
censuses.
The first three census schedules for Georgia (1790, 1800 & 1810) are missing. A total of seventeen volumes of 1790-1820 censuses were lost by the federal government, evidently before 1895, and the cause is unknown. Tax lists for various years for a few of the counties have been published.. These can be used as a substitution for the first three census schedules. Additionally, Wills, deeds, tax digests, court minutes, voter lists, and newspapers can be searched to locate ancestors during this period The 1820 schedules for Franklin, Rabun, and Twiggs Counties are missing.
Georgia conducted state censuses for various years from 1787 to
1866. Only a relatively few of these returns survive, and they
are only lists of heads of households with some minor statistical
information. The returns prior to 1852 have been published in
various sources. Later census returns, when they survive, are
almost all on microfilm at the Georgia Department of Archives and History . The Georgia Census, 1790-1890 contains the following indexes: 1790 Tax Substitute Index; 1792-1819 Tax Lists Index; 1800 Oglethorpe County Territorial Census Index; 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860 & 1870 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1838 & 1845 State Census Index; ,1860 Slave Schedule; 1890 Veterans Schedule.
There are many other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in the state of Georgia. There are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880.
Below is a list of online resources for Baker County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Baker County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Georgia Antique Maps & Atlases has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Georgia and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Georgia showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Georgia showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries . You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps. The Georgia Department of Transportation has county maps the show the locations of churches, cemeteries, roads, ect... free for viewing or download here
Below is a list of online resources for Baker County Maps. Email us with websites containing Baker County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Georgia Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design. A list of Wars fought on American.
Below is a list of online resources for Baker County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Baker County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 from the State of Georgia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Georgia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
None of Georgia's colonial tax records have survived. Surviving Georgia tax records begin on a county basis in the late 1780s. By 1783 Georgia tax laws provided for taxing land according to its quality and quantity, and male polls were white males over twenty-one. Other taxes were imposed on town lots, slaves, and free persons of color, buildings and improvements, merchandise, lawyers, and doctors. The poll tax on all adult males made Georgia tax digests good census substitutes and supplements.
1818-1839: The acts during these years are all based on the
tax act of 1817. These tax acts continually revive preceding
acts, often with amendments. Many simple tax questions can be
answered by a glance at the 1817 law. Complex or refined questions
may require consulting the specific act for the year in question
and then backward through a chain of revived acts.
1840: This
act revives the Tax Act of 1804, with amendments. This was probably
an attempt at simplification. The stated intention was to make
this act permanent.
1842: This
act increased the taxes of 1840 by 25%.
1843-50:
The final years of the first half of the nineteenth century
the Georgia Legislature re-enacted the 1840 act, which itself
was a revival of the 1804 act. The 1847 act did require that
taxes be paid in the county in which the land was held in jurisdiction.
Previously, the tax had been paid in the county of residence.
There is a online tax database for Georgia Tax Index, 1789-99 an index of tax records held by the state government from 1789-99.
Below is a list of online resources for Baker County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Baker County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories
in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical
and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical
Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly,
quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies
should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are
usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived
materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be
more generalized and over look the smaller details that local
societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to
look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy
section and may have some resources that are not located at
archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums
in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years
gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All
these places are vitally important to the family genealogist
and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Baker County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Baker County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Georgia Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.
Click Here to Search Georgia Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
Early denominations present in Georgia in fewer numbers include Baptist, Methodist, Lutherans, Catholics, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Congregationalists. While their respective repositories house historical records, the Georgia Department of Archives and History has a good collection of church records on microfilm. Consult the holdings of other major genealogical libraries with southern collections for additional sources, including the FHL.
There is a online Cemetery database for the book 30,638 Burials in Georgia an list of 30,638 burials in the state of Georgia was copied over a 35-year period from headstones and markers in 600 cemeteries located in nearly 100 Georgia counties
Below is a list of online resources for Baker County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Baker County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Georgia Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Baker County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Baker County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Georgia Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Other Information: Baker County was created on Dec. 12, 1825. Twelve days later, the legislature passed an act organizing the county and providing that the house of William Howards serve as the site for holding court and handling other county business until a courthouse could be built. On Dec. 16, 1828, the legislature designated the town of Byron as county seat. Shortly afterwards, a courthouse was built in Byron, though details about the structure are missing. In 1831, the legislature moved the county seat to a land lot more centrally located and named commissioners with responsibility for having a courthouse and jail built. Apparently, nothing was done for the following six years, as the legislature in 1837 appointed a new group of commissioners to oversee building of a county courthouse. At some point, a courthouse was built in the new town of Newton. In 1874, the legislature authorized Baker County to borrow up to $5,000 to build a new courthouse. At some point thereafter, county officials built a courthouse -- but it exceeded the $5,000 authorized by the legislature. In 1881, the legislature passed an act allowing Baker County to levy a special tax for 1881 and 1882 to pay off the debt for building the court house and repairing public bridges. This building was replaced a new courthouse in 1900. Renovations to the 1900 courthouse were required because of major flooding of the Flint River in 1925, 1929, and 1994. The devastating flood of 1994 brougt waters from the Flint River almost to the second floor of the courthouse. As a result, Baker County officials moved to a vacant school building several blocks away . This building served as temporary courthouse for six years. In 2000, the county remodeled a vacant school building adjacent to the temporary courthouse and made it new courthouse.
County Seat: The Dec. 12, 1825 act creating Baker County made no provision for location of a county seat. However, an act of Dec. 24, 1825 named five commissioners with responsibility for selecting a county seat and building a courthouse and jail. Until this was done, the legislation directed that court sessions and county business be conducted at the house of William Howards. It is believed that the commissioners selected the settlement of Byron near the northern border of Baker County as the county seat. First settled in the mid-1820s, Byron was a stage coach stop on one of the major roads crossing southwest Georgia. The origin of the name is uncertain, but it may have been named for English author Lord Bryon (who died in 1824). On Dec. 16, 1828, the Georgia legislature passed an act designating Byron as county seat of Baker County. However, county residents soon began to complain because of Byron's location only one mile south of the Lee County border (see map). Consequently, on Dec. 26, 1831, the legislature directed that Baker's county seat be moved to lot 172 in the 8th District. The act also named commissioners with authority to select a site in lot 172 for the courthouse, to lay out town lots, and to have a courthouse built. For whatever reason, the commissioners failed to carry out their responsibility, for the legislature enacted legislation on Dec. 25, 1837 naming eight new commissioners and entrusting them with the same responsibilities as the previous commission. Subsequently, a town was laid out in land lot 172 on the west bank of the Flint River. The new town was named Newton in honor of Sgt. John Newton, a South Carolina hero who was imprisoned and died after the British captured Charleston in 1780.
Perhaps because of the frequent flooding of the Flint River, some Baker County residents were unhappy with Newton as county seat. In Dec. 1858, the General Assembly authorized a referendum the next month on moving the county seat. That referendum failed, as did another on removal held in July 1877.
The following companies are currently offering free trials on their subscriptions from 7 to 14 days. You can receive more information by clicking the links below:
. The Official County Website is located at ?
Georgia 
