Autauga County
Alabama Genealogy & History Network

Welcome to Autauga County ALGHN

Welcome to the Autauga County Alabama Genealogy & History Network website providing free information to genealogical and historical researchers.

To share your Autauga County, Alabama genealogy or history information, send an email to alghn@outlook.com - we will be pleased to include it here. If you have information to share for other Alabama Counties, visit the Alabama Genealogy & History Network state website and choose the appropriate county.

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About Autauga County, Alabama...

Autauga County was created on November 21, 1818 by the Alabama Territorial Legislature, a year before Alabama was admitted as a state. Initially, the county included the present-day Autauga County as well as Elmore County and Chilton County. At the time, the Autauga (also known as Tawasa) Indians lived in the area, primarily in a village named Atagi, which means "pure water" and was located on the banks of Autauga Creek (known as Pearl Water Creek by settlers). The Autauga tribe was part of the Alibamu and sent many warriors to resist Andrew Jackson's invasion during the Creek War.

The county was established on land ceded by the Creek tribe in the Treaty of Fort Jackson in 1814. The first county seat was at Jackson's Mill, but the court soon moved to a permanent location in 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 in Kingston, and Washington declined until it was deserted in the late 1830s.

In 1833, Daniel Pratt arrived in Autauga County and founded the town of Prattville north of Atagi on the banks of Autauga Creek. His cotton gin factory became the largest manufacturer of gins in the world and the first major industry in Alabama. With Pratt's financial backing, the Prattville Dragoons, a Confederate fighting unit, was organized at his factory in anticipation of the Civil War. Other units formed in Autauga County included the Autauga Rifles (Autaugaville), the John Steele Guards (western Autauga County), and the Varina Rifles (northern Autauga County). Although the Civil War did not reach Autauga County, Pratt was able to secure payment of debts from Northern accounts soon after the war, reducing the impact of the Reconstruction period.

Charles Atwood, a former slave belonging to Daniel Pratt, purchased a house in the center of Prattville after emancipation and was a founding investor in Pratt's South and North Railroad. The presence of such a prominent African-American family owning land in Alabama as early as the 1860s is uncommon.

In 1866 and 1868, Elmore and Chilton counties were split from Autauga County, and the county seat was moved to the population center of Prattville, where a new courthouse was built by local builder George L. Smith in 1870. In 1906, a larger courthouse was built in a modified Richardsonian Romanesque style by the Bruce Architectural Co. of Birmingham and Dobson & Bynum of Montgomery.

The county has a total area of 604 square miles, of which 594 square miles is land and 10 square mile (1.7%) is water. The population recorded in the 1820 Federal Census was 3,853. The 2010 census recorded 54,571 residents in the county.

Neighboring counties are Chilton County (north), Elmore County (east), Montgomery County (southeast), Lowndes County (south), and Dallas County (west). Communities in the county include Millbrook (partly in Elmore County), Prattville (partly in Elmore County), Autaugaville, Billingsley, Marbury, Pine Level, Booth, Evergreen, Jones, Kingston, and Washington.

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Autauga County, Alabama Records

Alabama Genealogy & History Network has many records on our county websites - marriage records, cemetery listings, etc. Please visit the county or counties of interest to you.

Birth Records - The Alabama Department of Public Health maintains records of births from 1908 to present. This was the year Alabama began keeping official birth records. You can obtain official copies of birth certificates by visiting the birth record page on their website and following the instructions. Since there are no official birth records before 1908 for births prior to that date you will need to determine birth information from census records, bible records, baptismal records, cemetery tombstones, etc.

Death Records - The Alabama Department of Public Health maintains death records after 1908 on file. This was the year Alabama began keeping official death records. You can obtain official copies of death certificates by visiting the death record page on their website and following the instructions. Since there are no official death records before 1908 for deaths prior to that date you will need to determine death information from census records, bible records, funeral home records, cemetery tombstones, etc.

Marriage Records - We have thousands of county marriage records on our county websites. These dates will assist you greatly in obtaining a copy of the original marriage license. The Alabama Department of Public Health can provide you with information for marriages that took place from 1936 to present by by visiting the marriage record page on their website and following the instructions.

All existing county marriage records for any date not listed above (and for the dates listed above for that matter) may be obtained from the county's Probate Office in which the marriage was held.

Divorce Records - The Alabama Department of Public Health maintains divorce records from 1950 to present. You can obtain official copies of devorce records by visiting the divorce record page on their website and following the instructions. Records for divorces occuring before 1950 may be obtained from the Circuit Clerk in the county where the divorce took place.