Dale County AlArchives News.....Records in Dale County Probate Office June 30 2004
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Christine Thacker http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00033.html#0008100 July 13, 2004, 1:44 pm

The Southern Star
 Records In  Dale County Probate Office

             By Manonia Snell
 The Probate Judge's Office in Dale County not only contains a wealth of well-
organized and easily accessible information, but also employs a group of 
courteous, well-informed employees who will point you in the right direction. I 
spent last Friday afternoon in the Probate Office, talking with Judge Eunice 
Hagler and her efficient staff and examining some of the old records stored in 
the Records Room.
  Dale County, established in 1824, lost all of its public documents 
accumulated during the first 60 years, when the Courthouse burned in 1884. 
However, public records dating from 1884 to the present have been preserved and 
made easily accessible in the Probate Office of Dale County Courthouse.
  Hagler began her career in the Dale County Probate Office some 46 years ago 
as a clerk and has worked her way to the top. She became chief clerk in 
February 1960 and served under five Probate Judges: Judge Alton Head, Judge 
Kirke Adams, Judge William Shellgrove, Judge Curt Head, and Judge Floyd 
Johnston. When Judge Johnston died in January 1999, Hagler was appointed to 
fill his unexpired term. Her valuable experience led to her election as Probate 
Judge in the 2000 General Election.
  When asked about loose records in the Probate Office, Hagler replied, "As far 
as I know, we have no loose records. All of our records are recorded in bound 
books with the exception of Unified Commercial Code [UCC] Records. Under the 
Alabama Law, these personal property mortgage records are filed rather than 
recorded."
  Since 1996, Marriage Records, Land Deeds, Mortgages, Estates, and other 
Probate records, with the exception of Adoption Records and Military 
discharges, have been recorded electronically and can br accessed by computers 
in the Records Room. Land Deeds, Marriages, and indexes for both, from 1996 
back to 1884, have also been scanned into computers and are accessible to the 
public. An index for Estates is available on computers. Four computer 
workstations in the records room provide public access for anyone researching 
these public documents.
  Records from 1884 through August 31, 1996, are kept in bound books. This 
includes Marriage Records, Land Deeds, Mortgages, Estates, Wills, and 
Miscellaneous Records, such as Administration, Orphan, Guardianships. Orders, 
etc. Indexes for these records are available. Bound copies of The Southern Star 
can be found on these shelves.
  Other records bearing the titles of Orders and Decrees, Delinquent Tax 
Documents, Book of Collections, Record of License, Record of Claims,Land 
Redemption, Poll Tax, Homestead Exemptions, List of Lands Assessed in  Dale 
County, Judgment Records, Administrators Records, Incorporation Records, Bond 
Records, Election Records, and others are stored neatly on roller shelving.
  All Real and Personal Property Mortgage Records, dated prior to 1955, are 
recorded in hard-bound books and stored in the Dale County Annex Building on 
South Union.
  The oldest record available in the Probate Office is an original Tract Book 
that gives names and dates of persons applying for Land Patents, location of 
the property by Township, Range, and Section, price per acre, and amount of 
land. This book was saved in 1884 because it was out of the office at the time 
of the fire. Another old record is that of Registered Voters 1914-1928. These 
entries are listed by sex, men in one section and women in the other.
  Not only are these records kept in a controlled environment, the record room 
itself is a fire-proof vault, located on the first floor of the Dale County 
Court House. As a citizen and taxpayer of Dale County, I am deeply appreciative 
of manor in which our official documents are recorded and preserved in the 
Probate Office. I appreciate the open-door policy which makes public records 
readily accessible to those who conduct research in Dale County.

 The Southern Star June 30, 2004.

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