About this Database
Jefferson County Probate Court, Loose Records is an Index for Boxes 1-637 (Birmingham) and Bessemer - 1916-1936. The microfilmed "loose records" are located in the Jefferson County Courthouse. Records that were not filmed can be accessed only through the Records Room of the Probate Court in Birmingham, AL. The Birmingham Public Library does not have this set of microfilm.
(Note: Boxes 1-637 refers to the Woodruff Boxes (Drawers) the cases were originally filed as -- not the archival boxes they are in now.)
A PDF of the finding guide is available
here
- Probate: Phase-Box-Reel - This is the identification used to locate a reel at the Jefferson County Probate Office
- FHL Number - Family History Library Microfilm Reel Number.
- ADAH Number - Alabama Department of Archives and History Microfilm Reel Number
Copies of these microfilm are housed at the Jefferson County Probate Court in the Records Room, at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery, Alabama.
- 0 : Adoptions and Sanity hearings. These files have not been filmed and are available only through the court.
- 1 : These records include mostly Court Woodruff Boxes (metal drawers) 1-275. There are a very few later boxes (276+) in this group.
- 2 : These records include mostly Court Woodruff Boxes 276-630. There are some earlier boxes included in this grouping as the records were miss-filed and found in the later boxes.
- 3 : Bessemer Records - 1916-1936.
The Given Name search field includes the
primary person's given name and also other primary persons in the case,
if applicable.
- Starts With - search by the first letter or letters of a name
- Contains - search for a letter or letters anywhere in the name
- Is Exactly - search a name exactly as spelled
Probate Date signifies the date the case was active in probate.
Keyword searches other pertitent data to the case, as well as other names extracted from the file.
