Alabama Genealogy

Marengo County Alabama History and Profile:

Marengo County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is named in honor of a battlefield near Turin, Italy, where the French defeated the Austrians on June 14, 1800. As of 2000 the population was 22,539. The county seat is Linden.

Marengo County was created by the Alabama Territorial legislature on February 6, 1818, from land acquired from the Choctaw Indians by treaty on October 24, 1816. The name of the county commemorates Napoleon’s victory at the Battle of Marengo over the Austrian armies on June 14, 1800. This name was chosen as a compliment to the first Caucasian settlers, exiled French Bonapartists who in 1817 settled the area around Demopolis in an effort to establish a Vine and Olive Colony. The county seat was originally known as the Town of Marengo, but in 1823 the name was changed to Linden. Linden is a shortened version of Hohenlinden, scene of another Napoleonic victory in Bavaria in 1800.

Situated in Alabama’s Black Belt and having a naturally rich soil, the county became home to numerous cotton plantations and consequently a large number of slaves. In 1860 the population consisted of 24,409 slaves, 6761 free whites including 944 slave owners, and just 1 “free person of color” for a total combined population of 31,171. At this time there were 778 farms in the county. After the American Civil War, the economy continued to be based on agriculture with the former plantations turning to sharecropping.

The population began to diminish rapidly after World War II, with people leaving the farms for manufacturing jobs elsewhere. The former cotton fields were gradually converted to pastures for cattle and horses, woodlands for timber, and commercial catfish ponds for grain fed catfish. Beginning in the 1960s industry began to move into the area and the working force came to be employed by paper mills, lumber mills, and chemical plants. Courthouse fires occurred in 1848 and 1965, the courthouse records were largely saved in both instances.

Events

* Candlelight Evening at Gaineswood, part of Christmas in the Canebrake, in Demopolis
* Christmas on the River in Demopolis
* Faunsdale Biker Rally in Faunsdale
* Alabama Crawfish Festival in Faunsdale
* Harvest Festival in Demopolis
* Historic Demopolis Spring Pilgrimage in Demopolis
* Rural Fun Day in Thomaston
* Southern Literary Trail in Demopolis

Marengo County is home to the Alabama Rural Heritage Center and Chickasaw State Park. The Tombigbee River and Black Warrior River form portions of the western and northern county borders and provide recreational opportunities. Marengo County has twenty-eight sites on the National Register of Historic Places, one of which is also a National Historic Landmark.

Source: Wikipedia.

Cities and Towns of Marengo County, Alabama:

* Demopolis
* Linden

Towns

* Dayton
* Faunsdale
* Myrtlewood
* Providence
* Sweet Water
* Thomaston

Unincorporated communities

* Aimwell
* Alfalfa
* Clayhill
* Consul
* Coxheath
* Dixons Mills
* Exmoor
* Half Acre
* Half Chance
* Hampden
* Hoboken
* Hugo
* Jefferson
* Lasca
* McKinley
* Magnolia
* Marengo
* Moores Valley
* Moscow
* Nanafalia
* Nicholsville
* Octagon
* Old Spring Hill
* Pin Hook
* Putnam
* Rembert
* Salt Well
* Shiloh
* Siddonsville
* Surginer
* Vangale
* Vineland
* Wayne

Marengo County Government

Demopolis Public Library
211 East Washington Street
Demopolis, AL 36732

Marengo County Public Library
507 N. Main Street
Linden, AL 36748

Marengo Library System
211 East Washington Street
Demopolis, AL 36732

Marengo County Historic Places

Allen Grove
Altwood
Ashe Cottage
Bluff Hall
Cedar Crest
Cedar Grove Plantation
Cedar Haven
Confederate Park
Cuba Plantation
Curtis House
Demopolis Historic Business District
Demopolis Public School
Patrick Farrish House
Faunsdale Plantation
Foscue-Whitfield House
Gaineswood
Glover Mausoleum
C. S. Golden House
Half-Chance Bridge
Jefferson Historic District
Lyon-Lamar House
Old Courthouse
William Poole House
Roseland Plantation
Thomaston Central Historic District
Thomaston Colored Institute
U.S. Post Office
White Bluff

Marengo County Genealogy Resources

Marengo County Alabama USGenWeb Project Site

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

Marengo County, Alabama USGenWeb archives

Marengo County Genealogy page at KindredTrails

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

1850 Federal Census Index and Transcription

Tax Records

Cemeteries

USGS listing of Cemeteries in Marengo County

Marengo 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.

Marengo County, AL at
genforum

News Related to Marengo County, AL

“Marengo County” al – Google News

Jobless rate keeps falling – Demopolis Times

Jobless rate keeps falling Demopolis Times The jobless rate continues to drop in Marengo County, falling .7 points in the past month to settle at 8.6 percent for the month of April. Governor Robert Bentley on Friday announced that Alabama's preliminary April unemployment rate is 7.2 percent, … and more »

County schools may pass calendar Thursday – Demopolis Times

County schools may pass calendar Thursday Demopolis Times When the Alabama legislature passed the School Calendar Bill last week, it sent virtually every school system in the state scrambling back to the drawing board in an effort to revamp its school calendar for the 2012-13 year. 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 In March, hearings were held in Kellerman in Tuscaloosa County and Magnolia in Marengo County for the public to weigh in on the proposed closings. Post office officials had said that if the two post offices closed, the Brookwood post office would serve … and more »

Two Birmingham farmers markets now accepting food stamps – WBRC

Two Birmingham farmers markets now accepting food stamps WBRC By Melynda Sides, Digital Content Producer – email By Clare Huddleston – bio | email For the first time in Alabama food stamp recipients can use their EBT cards at certain farmers markets. The first one opened Thursday afternoon at Lawson State … and more »

Laws target cold medicines – Demopolis Times

Demopolis Times

Laws target cold medicines Demopolis Times A Marengo County jury convicted the woman, Diane Avera, in October of Unlawful Manufacturing of a Controlled Substance second degree and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. The DPD was acting on a tip from a local pharmacy who became suspicious of the …

DPD nabs Birmingham attorney in Internet case – Demopolis Times

Demopolis Times

DPD nabs Birmingham attorney in Internet case Demopolis Times Brown is presently in the Marengo County Detention Center awaiting bond. At the time of his arrest, Brown was an associate lawyer with WhatleyKallas, a Birmingham-based law firm specializing in healthcare litigation. Wilson's arrest marks the 11th such … and more »

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Popularity: 33% [?]