“Research in Alabama: A Guide to the States by LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson JD, LLM, CG, CGL” is a 2021 publication by NGS. This softcover, saddle-stapled guide includes 54 pages, of which 48 are numbered. The book carries the NGS Special Publication Number 136, and is identified by ISBN: 978-1-935815-48-8 and Item#: NGS41. The cost is $20.
This guide offers an extensive summary of Alabama’s multifaceted history, culture, and demographic evolutions, tracing its journey from being an indigenous settlement to the 22nd American state. Present-day Alabama had a significant indigenous population that established large mound settlements around Moundville, between 1000 CE and 1450 CE. Pre-colonial Alabama was dominated by Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek tribes. Several European powers also established their colonies at varying times. The territory’s turbulence continued with the introduction of slavery in 1721 and later became a state on 14th December 1819.
Records of Alabama’s intricate history began from 1702, dating back to French colonization. Travel through the area during the colonial era and the early 19th century necessitated land passports due to the Native American and foreign government territories. Following the War of 1812 and the 1813-1814 Creek War, Alabama saw an influx of settlers from neighboring states, and the number of enslaved people also proliferated. Alabama’s decision to secede from the Union in 1861 marked a significant historical milestone, with the state joining the Confederacy shortly after.
“Research in Alabama” enriches familial research by offering data about valuable resources, such as Archives, Libraries, and Societies, Atlases, Gazetteers, Maps, Census Records, among other valuable records. The guide also lends other requisite details like contact information for each repository, a comprehensive coverage of the state’s enslaved population, and free people of color.
Unique to Alabama, married women were conferred property rights even before the Civil War. The guide provides insights on this facet of the state’s history, unveiling possible tracks to ancestral lineage. Furthermore, discussions also extend to lesser-known resources like the 1862 Salt Vouchers and Southern Claims Commission for Southern Loyalists. All these aspects are exhaustively covered in “Research in Alabama”.
Published by NGS, this guide is part of the Research in the States series, edited by Barbara Vines Little, CG, FNGS, FUGA, FVGS.
The entire Table of Contents and ordering details are shown here: https://www.familyrootspublishing.com/store/product_view.php?id=3847