Cherokee County was created in 1836 from land formerly held by the Cherokee Indians. Its county seat is Centre.
There were fires at the courthouse in 1882 and 1895. Source: ADAH and map.

Availability of Vital Records: Alabama law did not require the recording of birth or death certificates until 1908.
The statewide recording of marriage certificates began in 1936 and divorce certificates in 1950.
Prior to 1908 some vital records were recorded at the county level. Generally this practice began around 1880. ADAH has: Marriage Records (Colored), 1928-1952;
Marriage Records (White), 1930-1952; Deed records, 1892-1901; Probate minutes, 1882-1929;
Probate records, 1885-1932; Lists of registered voters, 1919-1920; Military discharge records, 1919-1959; Will records, 1948-1952.
Additional records are available at the court house.

Search aids provided through the USGenWeb Project:

• Search the entire USGenWeb Archives
  

Cherokee County Resources

About Cherokee County --Profile, statistics, county and town histories

Historical Preservation Society of Cherokee County     On Facebook
Cherokee County Historical Museum

A Picture of Cherokee County in 1860, researched and presented by Alan J. Pitts of Shelby County, Alabama.

Cherokee County Statistics from U.S. Census Bureau
Brief History from ADAH
Cherokee County Boundary through the years
Welcome to the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce
USCounties.com/Alabama-commercial site
Bluffton (Hardin)
Bluffton at Digital Alabama
Cedar Bluff
Centre
Political Graveyard - Cherokee County
Political Graveyard - Where dead politicians are buried (A database of historic cemeteries )
The Path of De Soto, and Where is Costa?

African Americans

African American Cemeteries Online
Alabama African American Geneological Research by Alabama Genealogy
Alabama African American Genealogy (Access Genealogy.com)
Uncle Jerry Akin -- county's oldest man?

AfriGeneas Online-The Web's premier African American genealogy destination. Transcriptions, databases, message boards, chats and much, much more.
African and Native American History and Genealogy Web Page

Alabama Arfican American Genealogy from AlaGenWeb (not sure if this is maintained, and it is on the defunct Rootsweb. Download and keep the site if it is important to you. )
Freedmen's Bureau Operations from Bluffton, Alabama 1865-1872

American Indians

History of the Cherokee from Roadside Georgia
NativeWeb , Resources for Indigenous Cultures around the World, including American Indian
Index of Native American Resources on the Internet - WWWVL American Indians
Indian Land Cessions Maps, all states

Bibles

Books

Biographies

Bass, Arthur Lee "Tommie" of Cherokee County, who at the time of his death (August 31, 1996) at age 88, was probably the most well-known herbalist in the United States. Film by Allen Tullos.
Savage, Judge Joseph LaFayette

Cemeteries

African American Cemeteries Online--The oldest and largest African American cemetery transcription site
All county cemeteries at USGenWeb Archives
All county cemeteries at files.usgwarchives.net/al/cherokee/cemeteries/
Bankson Cemetery (FTP)
Barkley Family Cemetery, Sand Rock
Bethel Church Cemetery (partial) Traditional decoration day is second Sunday in May (James Conaway)
Black Oak Cemetery
Broomtown/Bethel Baptist
Cedar Bluff Cemetery  Sue of Cedar Bluff points out Harton is ocassionally misspelled Horton here.
Clark Cemetery - partial
Davis Cemetery, Blanch
Friendship Baptist Church
Goshen
Gnatville (Pisgah Baptist)
Hardman Cemetery, Farill (Travis Hardin) decoration day-first Sat. June
Hardman Cemetery, Farill (Johnny Williams)
Henderson Hill
Laney/Moshat Baptist Cemetery
Lawrence/Demaris decoration day-last Sun. May- Russelecr[delete]@aol.com
Matthews Cemetery, Pollards Bend
Moseley
Mountain Springs Cemetery, southern Cherokee County
Mount Olive Church Cemetery, Ellisville
Randle Cemetery, Gaylesville (Hardin)
Salem Baptist Church Cemetery at Findagrave.com (incomplete)
Salem Baptist Church Cemetery at Tracking Your Roots ®
Sewell Cemetery, Pollards Bend
Shiloh-Bothwell Cemetery, Pollards Bend
Smith Chapel Cemetery, Pollards Bend
Steele Cemetery, Pollards Bend
Taylor's Chapel
Weaver's (private)
Tracking Your Alabama Roots ® - includes these Cherokee cemeteries: Salem, Goshen Valley, Friendship, Lawrence/Demaris, Mt. Olive, and Cedar Bluff. (Scroll to see all cemeteries.)
Findagrave.com
Political Graveyard - Cherokee County
Political Graveyard Where dead politicians are buried (A database of historic cemeteries )
Links to cemetery history and preservation, and cemetery lists, from politicalgraveyard.com

Census Extracts and Indexes

Census Districts and geographical features of Cherokee County
Census Districts of Neighboring Floyd County, Georgia
1840 Census Aggregate Population Facts for Cherokee, Blount, Benton, St. Clair, and DeKalb Counties Page1 Page2 Page3
1850 census index (FTP)

Church History

Cedar Bluff Baptist Church history
Salem United Methodist Church history

The Civil War and the 1860's in Cherokee County

A Picture of Cherokee County in 1860, including civil war units raised in that county. Researched and presented by Alan J. Pitts of Shelby County, Alabama.
Stories from the 1860's
Cherokee County Soldiers and Veterans
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (Search, National Parks Service)
Southern Claims Commission Claims, 1871-1880,a PDF at Tracking Your Roots
Alabama in the Civil War Message Board from HistorySites.com
Freedmen's Bureau Operations from Bluffton, Alabama 1865-1872

Deeds

Diaries

Espy, Sarah Rousseau, Private Journal 1859-1868 (On this site in RTF, with notes, transcribed by Martha Bankson Lyle)
Sarah Rousseau and Thomas Espy owned a warehouse in Cherokee County prior to the Civil War. The diary describes the lives of the family, relatives, neighbors, and friends during the period of Mr. Espy's death, the sons' activities in the military, and the hardships of life during and after the War - Posted by Martha Lyle.
Espy Diary at USGenWeb archives (text format, transcribed by Martha Lyle)
Espy Diary at Alabama Department of Archives and History (original)

Family histories, famous people, stories

Political Graveyard - Where dead politicians are buried (A database of historic cemeteries )

Genealogies of Cherokee Co. - same as Surnames, below

Letters and memorabilia

Barkley 1849-"Cherokee Co. Alabama, Letters From Forgotten Ancestors "(click on Alabama then Cherokee.)
Tucker, Mrs. M. C., clipping 1935

Libraries

Libraries in Alabama
Anniston-Calhoun County Public Library - [Genealogy]
Birmingham Public Library - [ Catalog ] [Genealogy]
Cheaha Regional Library System (includes Cherokee Co.)
Cherokee County Library on Facebook
About Cherokee County Library (librarytechnology.org) 310 Mary St Centre, AL 35960 (256) 927-5838

Gadsden Public Library , Etowah County
Sara Hightower Regional Library, Floyd County, Rome, GA

Maps

The National Map from USGS -- Quickly make a map of Cherokee County or any U.S. area

Alabama Public Land Survey System Locator with Townships, Ranges, and Sections. at alabamamaps.ua.edu interactive
All U.S. Indian Land Cessions Maps, all states -- Contains many Indian place names and villages; also Township and Range numbers. From USGenWeb Map Project.
Aerial Photos from U. of Ala., some pre-Weiss Reservoir
Cherokee County with Township and Range Numbers
Atlas of Historic County Boundaries from The Newberry Library.
Alabama map 1915, with Township and Range numbers
Cherokee County now with highways, from the University of Alabama
Historical maps from the University of Alabama.
Cherokee County historical maps from UA.
USGenWeb Archives Alabama maps

GNIS -- USGS Geographical Names Data Base for U. S. and territories
US GenWeb Digital Map Library
Deedmapper software (commercial), land record reference, deed data pool

Marriages

Military, except Civil War

The Revolutionary War

Newspapers

Cherokee County Herald (news site)
Cherokee County Herald, Centre (e-edition)
The Cherokee County Herald on Facebook
The Post, Centre
The Gadsden Messenger
The Gadsden Times
Rome News-Tribune
Alabama Newspapers with Web sites
Newspapers on microfilm at Alabama State Archives
Hardbound Newspaper Availability (ADAH)

Obituaries

Pensions

Photographs

Before 1890 Uncle Jerry Akin -- county's oldest man in 1895? 1891-1930 1951-1970 1971-present
Clicking will take you to thumbnail photos. You may optionally view a larger photo.

Reunions

School History

Cedar Bluff School

Societies

Societies statewide listed at the Alabama State Archives
AlaBenton Genealogical Society - Calhoun County/Anniston on Facebook
Birmingham Genealogical Society (also see Facebook)
Historical Preservation Society of Cherokee County   On Facebook
Northeast Alabama Genealogical Society , PO Box 8268, Gadsden, AL 35902. Publication: Northeast Alabama Settlers.

Northeast Alabama Settlers,Quarterly of the Northeast Alabama Genealogical Society.
Link is to the full archives at the Alabama Department of Archives and History

Surnames and Websites of Cherokee County Families

Vital Records

Cherokee County Vital Records at ADAH
Social Security Death Index 1962-2014 (familysearch.org)
Social Security Death Index at MyTree.com
Social Security Death Index (SSDI) at GenealogyBank ($)

War Between the States - Please see The Civil War, above

ALGenWeb is part of the USGenWeb Project
All of the information provided at these sites is contributed by researchers like you, and posted by a group of very dedicated volunteers.
Send comments about ALGenWeb to Jeff Kemp, msgwsc@gmail.com State Coordinator
Send comments about this page to Travis Hardin, clarity@intelec.us Cherokee County Coordinator
Alternate email: t.hard@intelec.us ° ke3y@comcast.net.

Last updated 2 May 2021