WILCOX COUNTY, AL HISTORY AND LOOKUP
County History Books
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Wilcox County, Alabama: A Genealogical Overview
As a quintessential Black Belt county in Alabama, Wilcox county is renowned for its rich soil, its deep history tied to the cotton kingdom and the Alabama River, and its significant role in the Civil Rights Movement. Its well-preserved antebellum architecture stands as a testament to its past, making genealogical research here particularly evocative.
I. County Formation and Evolution
Understanding Wilcox county’s formation from two of Alabama’s earliest counties is the starting point for tracing families who settled along the Alabama River.
- 1819: County Formed: Wilcox county was established on December 13, 1819, by an act of the first Alabama state legislature.
- Parent Counties: It was created from portions of Dallas and Monroe counties.
- Name Origin: The county was named in honor of Lieutenant Joseph M. Wilcox, a U.S. Army officer from Connecticut who was killed in action during the Creek War in a skirmish on the Alabama River near the present-day county line.
- County Seat History: The first county seat was located at Canton, a port on the Alabama River. In 1833, the seat was moved to the more central location of Camden (then called Barboursville), where it has remained.
II. Settlement and Early History
- Early Inhabitants: The area was a border region between the territories of the Creek and Choctaw nations, with the Alabama River serving as a major thoroughfare and boundary.
- The Cotton Kingdom: Following the land cessions, the county’s exceptionally fertile soil attracted wealthy planters from Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia. They established vast cotton plantations and brought a large population of enslaved African Americans. By 1860, the county’s population was more than 75% African American. The entire economy was driven by cotton and riverboat commerce on the Alabama River.
- Civil Rights Era: Due to its history and demographics, Wilcox county became a major focus of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, particularly the struggle for voting rights. The Freedom Quilting Bee, an agricultural and crafts cooperative founded in 1966, was an important part of the movement for economic independence for Black residents.
III. Genealogical Records and Resources
This section provides practical information for locating ancestral records specific to Wilcox county.
- Courthouse:
- Wilcox County Probate Office: Located at 12 Water Street, Camden, AL 36726. This office is the primary repository for county records, including wills, estate files, land deeds, and marriage licenses, dating back to the county’s formation in 1819.
- Vital Records:
- Birth and Death Records: Statewide registration began in 1908. These records are held by the Alabama Center for Health Statistics in Montgomery.
- Marriage Records: Marriage records from 1819 to the present are held by the Wilcox County Probate Office.
- Libraries with Genealogy Collections:
- Wilcox County Public Library: Located at 100 Broad Street, Camden, AL 36726. The library is a key resource for local history and genealogical research. The Wilcox Historical Society is also a very active organization and a vital contact for anyone researching families from the county.
- Bordering Jurisdictions:
- Butler county
- Clarke county
- Dallas county
- Lowndes county
- Marengo county
- Monroe county