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On December 14, 1819, Alabama was admitted to the Union as the 22nd state. The first settlement was founded by the French in 1702, Fort Louis de la Mobile just north of present-day Mobile. During the War of 1812, American forces captured Mobile from the Spanish. General Andrew Jackson defeated the Creel Indians in several battles, including the Battle of Horsebend. The removal of the Creeks and other Indian tribes created an influx of European settlers into the region. These settlers brought their slaves with them. By 1990, about one quarter of the population was of African American descent.
This guide offers a selection of resources and strategies for Alabama local history and genealogy research. These include the print and digital collections of the Library of Congress, as well as external repositories and web sites key to finding forebears in the Yellowhammer state.
The Library of Congress has one of the world's premier collections of U.S. and foreign genealogical and local historical publications, numbering more than 50,000 compiled family histories and over 100,000 U.S. local histories. The Library's genealogy collection began as early as 1815 with the purchase of Thomas Jefferson's library.
