Alabama Genealogy

Hale County Alabama History and Profile:

Hale County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is named in honor of Confederate Colonel Stephen F. Hale. As of 2000 the population was 17,185. Its county seat is Greensboro and it is part of the Tuscaloosa Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Hale County was established on January 30, 1867. Hale County is connected to three major twentieth century artists: Walker Evans photographed the area in 1936 while he collaborated with James Agee on the 1941 book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Since the 1960s, artist William Christenberry, born in Tuscaloosa, has been photographing various structures in Hale County as part of his multi-media artistic investigations. More recently, Hale County has become the home of the nationally-recognized Auburn University Rural Studio, an architectural outreach program founded by architect and artist Samuel Mockbee and D. K. Ruth.

Hale County is the birthplace of Eugene Sawyer, the second African American mayor of Chicago. Since the American Civil War, whites controlled economic and political power in Hale County. However, in 1997 after a highly contested mayoral election the City of Greensboro elected its first African American Mayor,John E. Owens Jr. At this time Greensboro appointed its first African American Police Chief, Claude E. Hamilton. Though racial tensions in the small Alabama town remain high (in part because the African American political action organization, Campaine 2000 and the political action organization Democracy Defense League,which is composed of African American and white citizens, frequently clash over political candidates). In 2006, African American and white citizens joined together and elected Hale County’s first African American Sheriff, Kenneth W. Ellis. Prior to being elected Sheriff, Ellis served as the Police Chief of the Town of Moundville, in north Hale County. In recent years Hale County has suffered from the effects of voter fraud. In the late 1990s former Greensboro police officer, Aaron Evans, who is African American, was convicted of voter fraud in a Greensboro Municipal Election. In 2008, former Hale County Circuit Clerk Gay Nell Tinker Singleton and former Greensboro City Councilperson Valaida Paige, both whom are African American, were indicted by a Hale County grand jury for voter fraud in county and municipal elections. Though significant strides have been made in recent years in race relations, many still consider Hale County a divided land.

Greensboro, the county seat, is home to the Safe House Museum. This house was used to shelter Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from the Ku Klux Klan during a 1960′s meeting at St. Matthew Church, also located in Greensboro.

Greensboro is also the home to many stately antebellum mansions. Some of these homes are the finest examples of Greek revival architecture in Alabama.

Source: Wikipedia.

Cities and Towns of Hale County, Alabama:

* Akron
* Greensboro
* Moundville (partial; part of Moundville is in Tuscaloosa County)
* Newbern

Hale County Government

Akron Public Library
First Avenue South
Akron, AL 35441

Hale County Library
1103 Main Street
Greensboro, AL 36744

Moundville Public Library
411 Market Street
Moundville, AL 35474

Hale County Historic Places

Battersea
Bermuda Hill
Borden Oaks
Emory School
John Erwin House
Greensboro Historic District
Hatch House
Alfred Hatch Place at Arcola
Hawthorne
Kerby House
Magnolia Grove
McGehee-Stringfellow House
Millwood
Moundville
Oak Grove School
Payne House
St. Andrew’s Church
Augusta Sledge House
Tanglewood
Waldwic

Hale County Genealogy Resources

Hale County Alabama GenWeb Project Site

Hale County Alabama GenWeb Archives

Hale County Genealogy page at KindredTrails

Black Belt African American Genealogical & Historical Society
Covering the Counties of Alabama’s Black Belt Region–Bullock, Choctaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Perry, Pickens, Sumter and Wilcox

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 however. 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 Hale County

Hale 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.

Hale County, AL at
genforum

News Related to Hale County, AL

“Hale County” al – Google News

Alabama catfish farmers say foreign production damaging industry – Southeast Farm Press

Alabama catfish farmers say foreign production damaging industry Southeast Farm Press HALE COUNTY catfish farmer Bill Kyser, right, speaks with US Sen. Jeff Sessions, at Auburn University's Fish Farming Center in Greensboro. US Sen. Jeff Sessions, (R-Ala.), promised west Alabama's catfish farmers he will protect United States industries … and more »

U.S. Postal Service seeks to keep rural sites open – Tuscaloosa News

U.S. Postal Service seeks to keep rural sites open Tuscaloosa News Fifty-two post offices in Alabama had been on a list compiled by the US Postal Service last year of possible closures. The post offices in rural West Alabama that were under the gun included Abernant in Tuscaloosa County, Bankston in Fayette County; … and more »

Park part of Moundville downtown renovation plan – Tuscaloosa Magazine

Park part of Moundville downtown renovation plan Tuscaloosa Magazine Although Moundville's population grew nearly 35 percent between 2000 and 2010, from 1809 people to 2427, most of that growth occurred outside of downtown, which is in northern Hale County. The city limits now extend into southern Tuscaloosa, … and more »

Greene County is location for company turning wood chips into fuel – Tuscaloosa News

Greene County is location for company turning wood chips into fuel Tuscaloosa News Coskata is one of several bio-energy projects that have popped up in West Alabama within the past few years in an industry that is heating up big time. Biofuels Digest, a daily that follows the industry, noted that Coskata is the 14th biofuel company …

Eugene Collins – Demopolis Times

Eugene Collins Demopolis Times Mr. Eugene Collins of Faunsdale, Alabama entered into eternal rest at the Hale County Hospital, Greensboro, Alabama. Funeral Services will be held Saturday, April 28, 2012 at 1 pm at the Bethlehem Baptist Church, Allenville, Alabama. Rev. and more »

College news – Tuscaloosa News

College news Tuscaloosa News She has worked for the Hale County School System since 1996 as a counselor, special education director and is now the federal program director. Kalik May of Northport, was inducted into Theta Xi chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor …

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Popularity: 19% [?]