Dooly County was created on May 15, 1821 by an act of the General Assembly. Dooly, Houston, Monroe, Fayette, and Henry County were created in that order by the Georgia Land Lottery Act of 1821, which was enacted at a special session of the General Assembly four months after the Creek Indians ceded lands between the Ocmulgee and Flint rivers on Jan. 8, 1821 in the first Treaty of Indian Springs. Dooly County was organized by an act of the legislature approved Dec. 24, 1821. Later, portions of Dooly County were used to create the following counties: Worth (1853), Wilcox (1857), Crisp (1905), and Turner (1905).
Georgia's 48th county was named for Col. John Dooly (1740-1780), who commanded a regiment at the the Battle of Kettle Creek in 1779 and was killed at his home by Tories in 1780. The County Courthouse burned in 1847 destroying all records
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.
Dooly County Clerk of Superior Court has Court Records from 1847 and Land Records from 1847 and is located at 104
2nd ST.,
P.O. BOX 326,
Vienna, GA 31092;
Phone: (229) 268-4234,
Fax: (229) 268-1427
. 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.
Dooly County Clerk of Probate Court has Marriage Records from 1846 , Probate Records from 1847 and is located at P.O.
Box 304 , Vienna, GA 31092-0304; 229-268-4217/F
268-6142
. 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 Dooly County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Dooly 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.
Dooly County Health Departmenthas Birth
and Death
Records since January 1919 and is located at 204 West Union Street,
Vienna, Georgia 31092;
(229) 268-4725. 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 Dooly County Court Records for Address and Phone number) in the county where divorce was granted, and Contact Probate Judge For County Marriage Records (See Dooly 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 Dooly County Probate office for marriages in Dooly 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 Dooly County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Dooly 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 Dooly County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Dooly 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 Dooly County Maps. Email us with websites containing Dooly 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 Dooly County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Dooly 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 Dooly County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Dooly 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 Dooly County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Dooly County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Vienna Historic Preservation Society; PO Box 309; Vienna, GA 31092-0309; (912) 268-2045.
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 Dooly County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Dooly 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 Dooly County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Dooly 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: The Dec. 24, 1821 act organizing Dooly County provided that until the inferior court designated a county seat, court sessions initially be held in the house of Isaac Jones. A Dec. 10, 1823 act made the house of John Goldsmith temporary courthouse until a courthouse could be built. An act passed Dec. 20, 1824 continued Goldsmith's house as the temporary courthouse. At some point, a wooden courthouse was built in Drayton. In Dec. 1841, the legislature moved the county seat from Drayton back to Berrien, which it renamed Vienna. The legislation directed Dooly County officials to make the move by Feb. 1, 1842 -- so presumably a courthouse was quickly erected in early 1842. This wooden building burned in 1847 and was replaced by another wooden courthouse in 1849. This structure was later replaced by the current courthouse in 1892. The courthouse was renovated in 1963 and again in the late 1980s.
County Seat: The Dec. 24, 1821 act organizing Dooly County authorized the justices of the inferior court to select the location of the county seat. Apparently, no action was taken by the inferior court, for an act approved Dec. 25, 1822 named William T. Smith, Asa Richardson, Daniel McNear, Reuben Mannen, and Ezekiah Fountain as commissioners to pick a temporary site for the county seat, "which shall be as near central as convenience will admit". Until such site was selected, the law directed that Dooly County courts hold their sessions at the house of Isaac Jones. What happened next is not clear -- but on Dec. 10, 1823, the legislature named Blasingain Pollet, William Hillard, Thomas E. Ward, Thomas Cobb, and Littleberry Richardson as new commissioners to select a county seat. Until a courthouse was erected, Dooly County courts were to meet at the house of John Goldsmith. Again, there is uncertainty about what happened next -- but apparently the commissioners could not agree on the location of the county seat. On Dec. 20, 1824, the legislature named five new commissioners -- James Powell, Etheldred Farcloth, Moses Ramsey, John Harvard, and William Slaid -- to select the site for the county seat "as near the centre of said county as convenience will admit of, paying due regard to that part of the county which is most inhabited or likely to be so. . . ." . Until such site was selected, county elections and courts would continue to be held at the house of John Goldsmith.
On Dec. 26, 1826, the legislature designated land lot 57 in the seventh district as the permanent county seat of Dooly County and directed that the site be known as Berrien. The name honored John Berrien (1781-1856), who at the time represented Georgia in the U.S. Senate. On Dec. 23, 1833, the legislature changed the name of Berrien to Drayton. William Drayton, a U.S. Representative from South Carolina, had served as chairman of the House Military Affairs Committee until his term ended in March 1833.
A group of Dooly County residents were unhappy with Drayton's location and signed a petition asking that the county seat be moved to a site on the Flint River. On Dec. 25, 1835, the legislature authorized Dooly County's inferior court to move the county seat "to the most suitable situation on [the] Flint river, in the ninth district of said county". The legislation also directed that if the county seat was moved, the new county seat continue to be called Drayton. Subsequently, the county seat was moved to a site near -- but not on -- the Flint River. On Dec. 30, 1836, the legislature confirmed the new Drayton as permanent county seat and incorporated it as a town.
On Dec. 23, 1839, criticism over the location of Drayton led the legislature to appoint William Smith, David Scarboro, Joel Dorsey, James Oliver, Thomas Cobb, John Eubanks, and John Crumpler as commissioners to select a new seat of government for Dooly County -- one "which shall be as near the centre of the county as convenience of water and health of situation will admit. The act further directed that the new county seat be named Glascock.
Nevertheless, Drayton continued to serve as county seat. On Dec. 22, 1840, the legislature amended the 1839 legislation by giving the authority to select a new county seat to the Dooly County inferior court. Moreover, any change would have to be approved by Dooly County voters in a public referendum. Finally, if a majority of voters favored removal, the new county seat was to be named Centreville.
If a referendum was held, it failed -- for on Dec. 11, 1841, the General Assembly moved the county seat from Drayton back to Berrien, and renamed the town Vienna. Presumably, the name was based on the famous Austrian city of the same name. On Feb. 18, 1854, the legislature incorporated Vienna.
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