Alabama Genealogy

Calhoun County Alabama History and Profile:

Calhoun County is a county in the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of John C. Calhoun, famous member of the United States Senate from South Carolina. As of 2000 the population was 112,249. It is included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county seat is Anniston.

Benton County was established on December 18, 1832, named for Thomas Hart Benton, a member of the United States Senate from Missouri, with its county seat at Jacksonville. Benton, a slave owner, was a political ally of John C. Calhoun, another slaveholder and a U.S. senator from South Carolina. Through the 1820s-1840s, however, Benton’s and Calhoun’s political interests diverged, with Calhoun increasingly using secession as a weapon to maintain and expand slavery throughout the United States. Benton, on the other hand, was slowly coming to the conclusion that slavery was wrong and that preservation of the union was paramount. On January 29, 1858, Alabama supporters of slavery, objecting to Benton’s change of heart, renamed Benton County as Calhoun County. The county seat was moved to Anniston after years of controversy and a State Supreme Court ruling in June 1900. An F4 tornado struck here on Palm Sunday March 27, 1994. It destroyed Piedmont’s Goshen United Methodist Church twelve minutes after the National Weather Service of Birmingham issued a tornado warning for northern Calhoun, southeastern Etowah, and southern Cherokee.

The following National Protected areas are within Calhoun County: The Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge, and part of the Talladega National Forest

Calhoun County is home to the Anniston Museum of Natural History and the Berman Museum of World History.

Source: Wikipedia.

Newspapers in Calhoun County, Alabama

Anniston Star
P.O. Box 189
Anniston AL 36202-0189

The Jacksonville News
203 Pelham Road, S.
Jacksonville, AL 36265

The Oxford Independent – Seems to be the correct address – but no valid page currently. (July 2010)
P.O. Box 7188
Oxford, AL 36203

Cities and Towns of Calhoun County, Alabama:

* Alexandria
* Anniston
* Blue Mountain
* Bynum
* Choccolocco
* Eastaboga
* Hobson City
* Jacksonville
* Pleasant Valley
* Minden
* Ohatchee
* Oxford (part – part of Oxford is in Talladega County)
* Piedmont (part – part of Piedmont is in Cherokee County)
* Saks
* Weaver
* Webster’s Chapel, Alabama
* Wellington, Alabama
* West End-Cobb Town

Government

Calhoun County Court House
1702 Noble St., Suite 102
Anniston, AL 36201-3889

Anniston-Calhoun County Library
108 E. 1Oth Street
P.O. Box 308
Anniston, AL 36202
(256) 237-8501; fax (256) 238-0474
The Alabama Room – great genealogy research collection
HOURS
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM MONDAY-FRIDAY
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM SATURDAY
1:00 PM – 5:00 PM SUNDAY

Piedmont Public Library
106 North Main Street
Piedmont AL 36272

Jacksonville Public Library
200 Pelham Road South
Jacksonville, AL 36265
(256) 435-6332
Depository for John Pelham Papers (Artillerist, C.S.A.)

Historic Places

Aderholdt’s Mill
Anniston Cotton Manufacturing Company
Old Anniston Electric and Gas Company Plant
Anniston Inn Kitchen
Anniston Transfer Company
Bagley-Cater Building
Bank of Anniston
Caldwell Building
Calhoun County Courthouse
Coldwater Creek Covered Bridge
Davis C. Cooper House
Crowan Cottage
Downtown Anniston Historic District
Downtown Jacksonville Historic District
East Anniston Residential Historic District
First Presbyterian Church
Fort McClellan Ammunition Storage Historic District
Fort McClellan Industrial Historic District
Fort McClellan Post Headquarters Historic District
Fort McClellan World War II Housing Historic District
Dr. J.C. Francis Office
Glen Addie Volunteer Hose Company Fire Hall
Glenwood Terrace Residential Historic District
Henry Burt Glover House
Grace Episcopal Church
Greenwood
Charles B. Henry Barn
Hillside Cemetery
Richard P. Huger House
Janney Furnace
Kilby House
Kress Building
Lyric Theatre
McKleroy-Wilson-Kirby House
Montgomery Ward-Alabama Power Company Building
Mount Zion Baptist Church
Noble Cottage
Noble, Samuel, Monument
Noble-McCaa-Butler House
Nonnenmacher Bakery
Nonnenmacher House
Oak Tree Cottage
Parker Memorial Baptist Church
Parker-Reynolds House
Peerless Saloon
Profile Cotton Mills Historic District
St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church
Saint Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church
Security Bank Building
Lansing T. Smith House
Dudley Snow House
Southern Railway Depot
Temple Beth-El
Ten Oaks
The Pines
Tyler Hill Residential Historic District
U.S. Post Office
Union Depot and Freight House
West Fifteenth Street Historic District
Wikle Drug Company
Alexander Woods House

Calhoun County Genealogy Resources

Calhoun County Alabama USGenWeb

Calhoun County Alabama USGenWeb Archives

Calhoun County Alabama at Kindredtrails

Calhoun County Historical Society
PO Box 1771
Anniston, AL 36202

AlaBenton Genealogical Society
c/o The Alabama Room
P. O. Box 308
Anniston, AL 36202

Vital Records

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

Tax Records

Cemeteries

USGS listing of Cemeteries in Calhoun County

Calhoun County Cemetery Transcriptions
Cemetery Transcriptions (Although both are usgenweb this seems a slightly different listing.)

Calhoun County Cemetery Transcriptions

Interment.net Records for Calhoun County, Alabama

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.

Calhoun County, AL at
genforum

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