Marshall County Alabama Genealogy

Marshall County was created by an act of the legislature January 9, 1836. Its original territory was taken from Jackson, Blount and the last Cherokee cession. It has been greatly reduced in size to form Etowah County but compensated by a small strip from Jackson County. It has a total area of 610 square miles, or 390,400 acres. The county was named “to perpetuate” the name of Chief Justice John Marshall. The county has a total area of 623 miles, and a population of 82,231 as of the 2000 census.

The first inhabitants of the county were Cherokees, who had a village at Guntersville, as early as 1790, which they called Kusa-nunnahi, meaning “Creek Path,” because it was situated near the great passage leading from the Creek country in middle Alabama to the hunting grounds in the valleys of the Tennessee, the Cumberland and Ohio River.

The county was first settled by immigrants from Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. Upon the formation of the county in 1836, Claysville, a small village north of the Tennessee River, became the county seat by popular election, though more votes were cast for the place now known as Guntersville. In 1838 Marshall, became the county site, and continued as such until 1841, when in a general election Warrenton was chosen; in 1848 Guntersville was successful and has remained the county site ever since.

Marshall County Alabama Genealogy Research:

This website has undergone a complete conversion. I hope you find the new format easier to get around with! To access the various pages (which have been updated and corrected) please use the links to the right of every page.

The goal of this website is to freely provide you with as much genealogical and historical information concerning Madison County, Alabama as is practical. Since I do not reside in the county, I cannot provide onsite genealogical assistance, but can provide guidance and online assistance to your genealogical research. If you don’t ask a question then I definitely cannot help you… so please ask!

Last Updated: Apr 21, 2023 @ 5:14 pm

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Madison County Alabama

Claybank Cemetery, Ozark, Alabama

This is a transcription taken in 1948-1949 by Eustus Howard Hayes of the Claybank Cemetery in Ozark, Alabama.

Old City Cemetery, Ozark, Alabama

Tombstone inscriptions from City Cemetery located behind Racetrack Road off College Street in downtown Ozark. One of the oldest cemeteries in Ozark. Census compiled from photographs of tombstone inscriptions courtesy of Mr. Wali Sharif. Recording of tombstone inscriptions is incomplete. Many gravesites were obscured by foliage, and by dirt and debris left from severe weather at time of census.

Paint Rock, Jackson County, Alabama

“Early Settlement of Paint Rock” by Coy E. Michael, published in the Valley Leaves, chronicles the history of Paint Rock, a community in Jackson County. Settled after a Cherokee land cession in 1819, the town became a significant settlement with influential early settlers like the Kennamer and Keel families. It saw economic growth with key industries like mills and manufacturing until the Civil War brought devastation and battles, notably involving local leader Col. Lemuel G. Mead. The 1931 Scottsboro Boys incident and devastating tornadoes in 1932 further marked Paint Rock’s tumultuous history. The article highlights the enduring resilience of the…

Elam Baptist Church Cemetery, Elamville, Alabama

Elam Baptist Church Cemetery, west of Elamville in southwestern Barbour County, mainly holds twentieth-century graves. Of the approximately 470 identified interments, nearly all date from 1900 onward. There are also numerous unmarked burials. Prominent surnames include Adamson, Andrews, Arrington, Baker, Barber, Barr, Black, and many others. The survey was completed in May 2000 by Richard and Karen Price, assisted by Gene L. Pugh.

Sidney Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church Cemetery

Located in T15N, R5E, Sec 24 off Hwy 28 in Consul. Visited in Oct 1998 with Elijah Shaw, Superintendent of Bethel AME Church in Boiling Spring, as guide. Mr. Shaw identified some of the unmarked graves. Surveyed completely in Oct 2000 by B. J. Smothers. Listed all the headstones and unmarked sites that were visible but there may be others that are buried or hidden in the woods.

Good Hope Cemetery – Black Families

In 1997, there were at least 173 known black burials in Good Hope cemetery in Covington County Alabama. This represents 15% of the more than 1,200 burials at the cemetery. Joecephus Nix enumerated the cemetery in 1997 in an attempt to identify the black families buried there. Good Hope cemetery is located across the street from the church of the same name on County Hwy 63 and at the time in 1997 the cemetery was still active and cared for.