Cook County, Georgia Genealogy

United States

Georgia

Cook County

Guide to Cook County, Georgia ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Georgia Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Adel Organized: July 30, 1918 Parent County(s): Berrien Neighboring Counties Berrien  • Brooks  • Colquitt  • Lowndes  • Tift See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The County was named for Philip Cook. The County is located in the south area of the state.

County Courthouse

Cook County Courthouse
212 N Hutchinson Avenue
Adel, GA 31620
Phone: 912-896-2266
Cook County Website

Clerk Superior Court has divorce, land and court records from 1919.
Probate Court has birth, marriage and death records from 1918.

Cook County, Georgia Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1918	1918	1918	1919	1919	1918	1820
*Statewide registration of births and death began in 1919. General compliance for births by 1928 and deaths by 1922.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

1918 Cook County was created 30 July 1918 from Berrien County. County seat: Adel For animated maps illustrating Georgia county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Georgia County Boundary Maps" (1758-1932) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cities
Adel (county seat)
Towns
Cecil Lenox	Sparks
Unincorporated communities
Barnesdale Barneyville Burney Hill	Flat Ford Greggs Laconte	Massee Staunton

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Cook, Georgia online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com GAGenWeb GAGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project Billion Graves
TombstoneTranscriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves Cook County Cemeteries Georgia Cemetery Records FamilySearch Places
See Georgia Cemeteries for more information

The following web site may have additional information on Cook County cemeteries.

• Interment.net Georgia cemetery records

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1920	11,180	—
1930	11,311	1.2%
1940	11,919	5.4%
1950	12,201	2.4%
1960	11,822	−3.1%
1970	12,129	2.6%
1980	13,490	11.2%
1990	13,456	−0.3%
2000	15,771	17.2%
2010	17,212	9.1%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Georgia denominations, see the Georgia Church Records wiki page.
List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places

Land and Property Records

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Georgia Land and Property for additional information about early Georgia land grants from the government. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions (generally buying and selling deeds) were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Cook County, Georgia Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Georgia Local Histories.

• Parrish, June Jackson. The History of Cook County, Georgia and Its Municipalities. Adel Ga.? s.n.,: unknown, 1967?. Digital version at Ancestry ($)

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
• Maps of Georgia (1758-1932)

Military Records

• Georgia USGenWeb Archives Project

Civil War

Online Records

• 1861-1865 Georgia Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection
• 1861-1865 Georgia Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection
• 1861-1865 U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
• 1861-1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
• 1867-1868 Georgia, Reconstruction Registration Oath Books, 1867-1868 at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection
• 1879-1920 Georgia, Confederate Pension Rolls, 1879-1920 at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection

World War I

• 1920-1929 Georgia, World War I, Statement of Service Cards, 1920-1929 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection

Other Records

Voting Records

• 1867-1868 Georgia, Reconstruction Registration Oath Books, 1867-1868 at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection

Probate Records

Colonial courts kept some early probate records.  From 1777 to 1798 and since 1852, the court of ordinary or register of probates has kept probate and guardianship records.  The inferior court handled probate and guardianship matters from 1798 to 1852.

Many probate records to the 1930s and 1940s are at the Georgia Department of Archives and History and the Family History Library on microfilm.

Content: Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.

Record types: Wills, estates, guardianships, naturalizations, marriage, adoption, and birth and death records (not all years).

Online Probate Records

Taxes were levied on free white males over 21 and all slaves up to age 60. These persons are referred to as "polls." Tax listings, or digests, of a county generally list the taxable landowners and other polls and the amount of tax. The records for each county are divided by militia district.

• 1742-1990 Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
• 1742-1992 Georgia Wills and Probate Records 1742-1992 at Ancestry — index and images ($)

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information — How to Use this Collection.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

Taxes were levied on free white males over 21 and all slaves up to age 60. These persons are referred to as "polls." Tax listings, or digests, of a county generally list the taxable landowners and other polls and the amount of tax. The records for each county are divided by militia district.

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Georgia State Department of Health , the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred or order electronically online.

For some online statewide indexes, see the FamilySearch Historical Record Collections for Georgia.

Birth

• 1870-1960 Georgia, County Delayed Birth and Death Records, 1870-1960 at FamilySearch — index, and some images — How to Use this Collection

Marriage

• 1560-1993 Georgia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index ($)
• 1699-1944 Georgia Marriages 1699-1944 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1754-1960 Georgia Church Marriages, 1754-1960 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
• 1785-1950 Georgia County Marriages 1785-1950 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
• 1787-1962 Georgia, Church Marriages, 1787-1962 at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection
• 1808-1967 Georgia Marriages 1808-1967 at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection
• 1828-1978 Georgia Marriage Records from Select Counties 1828-1978 at Ancestry — index and images ($)

Death

• 1870-1960 Georgia, County Delayed Birth and Death Records, 1870-1960 at FamilySearch — index, and some images — How to Use this Collection
• 1914-1927 Georgia Deaths 1914-1927 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
• 1919-1998 Georgia Deaths 1919-1998 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1919-1930 Georgia Death Certificates at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - index and images
• 1928-1930 Georgia Non-Indexed Death Certificates at Georgia Archives Virtual Vault - images
• 1928-1942 Georgia Deaths, 1928-1942 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
• 1933-1998 Georgia Death Index 1933-1998 at FamilySearch — index — How to Use this Collection

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Cook County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Georgia Archives and Libraries.

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.

• Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator

Local Centers and Libraries

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Cook County. For state-wide library facilities, see Georgia Archives and Libraries.

• Cook County Historical Society Museum & Genealogical Library
  115 E. Fourth St.
  Adel, GA 31620
  Phone: 229-896-2417 or 229-896-4360
  Website

Museums

• Cook County Historical Society Museum & Genealogical Library
  115 E. Fourth St.
  Adel, GA 31620
  Phone: 229-896-2417 or 229-896-4360
  Website

Societies

Listed below are societies in Cook County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Georgia Societies.

Websites

• Cook County, GA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Georgia Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• USGenWeb Cook County, Georgia project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
• GAGenWeb Archives
• Cook County, Georgia Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• FamilySearch Catalog - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.