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In the 1820s many white settlers migrated into the new state
which was once a part of the Mississippi Territory and it is a true
honor to find my own grandfathers on the first census.
From 1798
to 1819, a steady influx of Europeans into Alabama settled on land
formerly occupied by several Native American tribes. Alabama became
a part of the Mississippi Territory in 1798 after Indian cessions in
north Alabama. Migration increased after the end of the Creek War in
1814. In 1817, the Alabama Territory was created, and Alabama became
the 22nd state in December 1819.
The Mobile area was settled even
earlier. Founded in 1702 by French explorers, Mobile served as the
capital of French Louisiana for 16 years. In 1763, Mobile and the
Gulf area of Florida became a British colony. Control of Mobile and
British West Florida changed hands several times between 1780 and
the War of 1812.
Approximately one-half of all the counties in
Alabama have had their courthouse to burn. Some of them were burned
during the Civil War era of 1860-1865. Some have burned as many as
four times. The destruction of courthouses greatly affects
genealogists in every way. No only are these historic structures
torn from our lives, so are the records they housed: marriage,
wills, probate, land records, and others. Once destroyed they are
lost forever. Even if they have been placed on mircofilm, computers
and film burn too. The most heartbreaking side of this is the fact
that many of our courthouses are destroyed at the hands of arsonist.
Ten Alabama counties have had significant destruction of records by
fire. However, not all records were lost.Below is a list of the
Counties with the County seat and dates of Fires ...
Butler -
Greenville - 1853
Calhoun - Anniston - 1861, 1895
Cherokee -
Fort Payne - 1882, 1895
Chilton - Clanton - 1870
Choctaw -
Butler - 1859, 1871
Clay - Ashland - 1875
Coffee - Elba -
1851, 1863
Conecuh - Evergreen - 1868, 1875, 1885, 1895
Covington - Andalusia - 1895
Crenshaw - Luverne - 1898
Dale - Ozark - 1869, 1884
Escambia - Brewton - 1868
Fayette - Fayette - 1866
Franklin - Russellville - 1890
Geneva - Geneva - 1898
Greene - Eutaw 1868
Jackson -
Scottsboro - 1864
Jefferson - Birmingham - 1870
Lamar -
Vernon - 1866
Lawrence - Moulton - 1859
Limestone - Athens -
1862
Marengo - Linden - 1848, 1965
Marion - Hamilton - 1866
Mobile - Mobile - 1823, 1840, 1872
Morgan - Decatur - 1925,
1938
Pickens - Carrollton - 1876
Pike - Troy - 1828
Randolph - Wedowee - 1896
Sumter - Livingston - 1901
Walker - Jasper - 1865, 1877, 1896, 1932
Winston - Double
Springs - 1891
The state of Alabama was named after the river.
The Alabama River was named by early European explorers after the
Indian tribe that lived in the territory and first appeared in 1540
spelled as "Alibamu", "Alibamo" and even "Limamu" in the journals of
the Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto (c.1500-1542). The origin of
the name Alabama is thought to come from a combination of two
Choctaw words; Alba and Amo. In Choctaw, "Alba" means vegetation,
herbs, plants and "Amo" means gatherer or picker. "Vegetation
gatherers" would be an apt description for the Alabama Indians who
cleared much land for agricultural purposes.
Alabama's history as
a state began in 1819 when delegates gathered in a cabinetmaker's
shop in Huntsville to write the Alabama Constitution. In 1819
construction began on what was later to be known as Fort Morgan at
Mobile Point. On December 14, 1819 Alabama entered the union as the
22nd state. In 1846 the state capital was moved to Montgomery.
Alabama was establisted on 14 December 1819, and the official state
website is located at http://www.alabama.gov/.
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