ALGenWeb : County Index : Washington County

Washington County is the oldest county in the State of Alabama . The area adjacent to the coastline that is now Washington County was claimed by Spain as part of Florida from 1519 to 1700; governed by France as part of Louisiana from 1700 to 1763; taken from France by England in 1763 and held by England until the end of the Revolutionary War, when it was again claimed by Spain.

Spain claimed as a northern boundary for Spanish West Florida the latitude of 32 degrees, which runs a few miles north of Montgomery. The United States claimed its sovereignty extended south to the 31 degree line, and the State of Georgia claimed title to the area between that line and the southern boundary of Tennessee. Eventually, it was this much disputed area that became Washington County.

With the Treaty of Lorenzo in 1795, Spain agreed to withdraw to the 31 degree line. In 1798, the United States then created the Mississippi Territory which included this area, and Georgia relinquished all claims to lands in Alabama and Mississippi in 1802.

At that time, only two population centers existed in the Mississippi Territory, Natchez on the Mississippi River, and the Tombigbee Settlements at the forks of the Tombigbee and Alabama Rivers. As a result, the area was divided into the Natchez District west of Pearl River and the Tombigbee or Mobile District east of Pearl River.

Washington County, in the Tombigbee District, was created on June 4, 1800 by proclamation of Governor Winthrop Sargent of the Mississippi Territory, and named in honor of General George Washington. Its original boundaries extended 300 miles east to west and 88 miles north to south. Out of this area sixteen counties in Mississippi and twenty-nine counties in Alabama have since been formed.

Now located in the southwestern part of Alabama, Washington County is bounded by Choctaw County to the north, the Tombigbee River to the east, across which lie Clarke and Baldwin Counties, by Mobile County to the South and by the State of Mississippi to the West. The County Seat is located at Chatom.

Researching Washington County

• Washington County, AL Queries!!. Submit your very own queries for people you are researching in Washington County; review queries left by others; sign-up for automatic notification of new queries!

• SURNAME Web Pages. Links to INTERNET Web Pages for Washington County Surnames.

• HISTORY of Washington County from the Alabama Department of Archives & History.

• Washington County STATISTICS from the University of Alabama at Huntsville.

• Washington County RESEARCH ROOM at Lineages, Inc.

• Location of CEMETERIES in Washington County from U.S. Geological Survey - National Mapping Information .

• CEMETERIES in Washington County by Martha Porco.

• Historical Society of Washington Co., AL.

• Visit Historical Old St. Stephens!Washington Co., AL.

• (MOWA) Band of Choctaw Indians, by Jacqueline A. Matte.

• 1770-1799 Pioneers of Washington Co., AL by Roy C. Brewer. (Warning! Page damaged and must be viewed with background and text colors manually selected through your Internet browser)

• 1797 Census of the District of San Esteban De Tombecbe, MS Territory.

• 1798 Map of the MS Territory.

• 1799 Petition to Congress, MS Territory.

• 1803 Map of the MS Territory.

• 1803 Personal Tax Roll, Washington Co., MS Territory.

• Old St. Stephens, A Historical Records Survey, by Jacqueline A. Matte..

• 1810 Census, Washington Co., MS Territory (Head of Household Only).

• 1818 Map of Alabama.

• 1827 - 1889 Index of Wills in Washington Co., AL.

• 1841 Map of Old St. Stephens, Washington Co., AL.

• 1850 Washington Co., AL Census, Head of Household. You can also purchase complete census from Mary Brooks or SK Publications.

• 1863 Petition to Confederate States Congress from Washington Co., AL.

• 11th Alabama Infantry Regiment, Company E from Washington Co., AL.

• Civil War Pension Applications (incomplete), Washington Co., AL.

• Stokley Confederates of Washington County, AL

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