Autauga County Genealogy
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Autauga County Alabama History and Profile:
Autauga County is a county in the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2000 census the population was 43,671. The 2008 population estimate is 50,364. Its county seat is Prattville.
Autauga County is part of the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Autauga County was established on November 21, 1818, by an act of Alabama Territorial Legislature (one year before Alabama was admitted as a State). As established, the county included present-day Autauga County, as well as Elmore County and Chilton County. At the time, Autauga (aka, Tawasa) Indians lived here, primarily in a village named Atagi (meaning “pure water”) situated on the banks of a creek by the same name (called “Pearl Water Creek” by settlers). Autaugas were members of the Alibamu tribe. They sent many warriors to resist Andrew Jackson’s invasion in the Creek War. This county was part of the territory ceded by the Creeks in the Treaty of Fort Jackson in 1814. The first county seat was at Jackson’s Mill, but the court only met there long enough to select a permanent seat at Washington, built on the former site of Atagi in the southeast corner of the county. In 1830 the county seat was moved to a more central location at Kingston and the town of Washington dwindled until it was completely deserted in the late 1830s.
Daniel Pratt arrived in Autauga County in 1833 and founded the new town of Prattville, north of Atagi on the fall line of Autauga Creek. His cotton gin factory quickly became the largest manufacturer of gins in the world and the first major industry in Alabama. It was at his factory, and with his financial backing, that the Prattville Dragoons, a fighting unit for the Confederacy was organized in anticipation of Civil War. Other units formed in Autauga County included the Autauga Rifles (Autaugaville), The John Steele Guards (western Autauga Co.) and the Varina Rifles (northern Autauga Co.). None of the fighting of the Civil War reached Autauga County and Pratt was able to secure payment of debts from Northern accounts soon after the war, lessening the disabling effects of the Reconstruction period in the county.
Charles Atwood, a former slave belonging to Daniel Pratt bought a house in the center of Prattville immediately after emancipation and was one of the founding investors in Pratt’s South and North Railroad. The presence of such a prominent African-American family owning land in an Alabama city as early as the 1860s is exceptional.
In 1866 and 1868, Elmore and Chilton counties were split off from Autauga County, and the county seat was moved to the population center of Prattville, where a new courthouse was completed by local builder George L. Smith in 1870. In 1906, a new and larger courthouse was erected in a modified Richardsonian Romanesque style a block north of the older one. The building was designed by Bruce Architectural Co. of Birmingham and built by Dobson & Bynum of Montgomery.
Autauga County is home to several parks, such as Wilderness Park, Heritage Park, and Overlook Memorial Park.
Some notable residents of Autauga County were:
* Samuel Smith Harris, (1841-1888), born in Autauga County, Presbyterian clergyman, founder and editor of Living Word magazine, and bishop of the Diocese of Michigan.
* Wilson Pickett, born in Prattville, Alabama, American recording artist best known for singing In the Midnight Hour and Mustang Sally.
Source: Wikipedia.
Historical Maps of Autauga County
Cities and Towns of Autauga County, Alabama:
* Autaugaville
* Billingsley
* Booth (unincorporated)
* Millbrook (part – some of Millbrook is in Elmore County)
* Prattville (part – some of Prattville is in Elmore County)
* Marbury
Government
Autauga County Government
135 North Court Street
Suite B
Prattville, AL 36067
(334) 358-6700
Historic Places
Bell House
Daniel Pratt Historic District
Lassiter House
Montgomery–Janes–Whittaker House
Mount Sinai School
Genealogy Resources
Autauga County USGenWeb Archives
Autauga Genealogical Society
Post Office Box 680668
Prattville, Alabama 36067-0668
Dues are $20 a year and include a subscription to Autauga Ancestry.
For more information, contact John K. Brown, jkbrown2@knology.net
Autauga County Heritage Association
102 E. Main Street
Prattville, AL 36067
Dues are $20 a year
For more information contact autaugaheritage@juno.com
Vital Records
Autauga County Clerk
134 N Court St
Prattville, AL 36067-0488
(334) 361-3725
If you are outside the state of Alabama and are looking to request copies of vital records you must contact the statewide office of vital records:
Alabama Vital Records
P.O. Box 5625
Montgomery, AL 36103-5625
(334) 206-5418
Fax: (334) 262-9563
You can also call (334) 206-5418
There were no birth certificates prior to 1908, some counties may have recorded births in a ledger howeer. One way to search this centrally is by contacting:
Department of Archives and History
624 Washington Ave
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-4363
Birth and Death Records have been recorded in Alabama since 1908, Marriage Records since August 1936 and Divorces since 1950.
Census
1850 Autauga County Federal Census Index text file index.
1850 Autauga County Census Images
1860 Autauga County Census Images
Tax Records
Cemeteries
USGS listing of Cemeteries in Autauga County
Autauga County Cemetery Transcriptions
Cemetery Transcriptions (Although both are usgenweb this seems a slightly different listing.)
Query Forums
Genealogy Forums can be a great way to find other people that are researching the same ancestors as you are. Even if they may be not be researching the same direct line but related lines you may find information that is useful in your own research. Make sure to verify any other research that you add to your own research and try to document it well. If asking questions in genealogy forums it is good to provide as much information as possible and in the subject of the posting try to give name and a date or range of dates to help make your query more likely to be found. Posts with titles like “looking for family” or “help!” are too generic and something along the lines of “John Smith b. abt 1828 md. Hannah Jones” would be more helpful to get your post read by those that are interested in the John Smith/Hannah Jones family.
Autauga County, AL at
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News Related to Autauga County, AL
“Autauga County” al – Google News
1-year-old dead after morning fire in Autaugaville – al.com (blog)
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1-year-old dead after morning fire in Autaugaville
al.com (blog) By Natalie Wade, al.com The child's parents and two siblings were injured in the blaze and were taken to Baptist Medical Center South. Their conditions have not been released at this time. The fire started around 6 am in the 2500 block of Dutch Bend … |
Panel meets to pick 9 nominees for Auburn Board of Trustees after interviewing … – The Republic
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Panel meets to pick 9 nominees for Auburn Board of Trustees after interviewing …
The Republic Others nominated include Robert Dumas, an Auburn banker and president of the Alabama Banking Association; BT Roberts, a Mobile area realtor; Clark Sahlie, a Montgomery businessman; Jimmy Sanford, a farmer and businessman from Autauga County; … |
Autauga County Sheriff’s Office turns to Texas for help in case – Montgomery Advertiser
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Autauga County Sheriff's Office turns to Texas for help in case
Montgomery Advertiser 12 in a wood- ed field about 300 yards off Autauga County 19 in the Vida community, which is about 20 miles northwest of Prattville. Investigators are waiting for a complete report from the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences on the sex, … |
Skeletal remains found in Autauga County – WSFA
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Skeletal remains found in Autauga County
WSFA AUTAUGA COUNTY, AL (WSFA) – The Autauga County Sheriff's Department is searching for answers after hunters found human skeletal remains in a rural area of Autauga County. According to the Autauga County Sheriff, a hunter bagged a deer Thursday morning … Skeletal human remains found in Autauga County |
Couple rides out storms in old school bus – KSN-TV
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Couple rides out storms in old school bus
KSN-TV AUTAUGA COUNTY, Alabama (NBC) — An Alabama couple have found a unique use for an old school bus. "It's the whole bus underground," James Hunter explained. He and his wife buried the bus to make a creative storm shelter. "I'm ready for the tornado, … Riding Out The Storm Mobile home park uses old school bus as tornado shelter |
Many southern Ala. counties under tornado watch – Gadsden Times
 msnbc.com |
Many southern Ala. counties under tornado watch
Gadsden Times AP Much of the southern half of Alabama has spent part of the day under a tornado watch, while metro Birmingham saw flash flooding as storm systems moved across the state. Birmingham firefighters were called to rescue a stranded motorist near the … Many southern Alabama counties under tornado watch |
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