# content
The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is April 2025)

Institutional records are another class of collections that should be part of one’s genealogy research repertoire. Although most of your ancestors may not have spent time in an institution, I’ll bet that almost every family tree has several that have. So they are worth your effort to research.

Here are a few good primers for searching institutional records:

FamilySearch – Institution and School Records

Finding Your Ancestors in Poor House or Poor Farm Records

Researching Ancestors in Asylums

What kind of institutions and types of records can we discover?

Poorhouse

Poor Farm

Orphanage

Orphan Train

Mental Hospital

Workhouse

Almshouse

Institutional School

Sanitarium

Asylums

Correctional institutions

Acquiring records from each of these types of institutions may be difficult because of privacy concerns, but they are worth the effort.

Below you will find free online institutional records you can use to help you discover more about your relatives who have spent time in an institution.

Note: Some links listed take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. To take full advantage make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.

Alabama Free Online Institutional Records

Alabama, Alabama State Penitentiary 1846 Index of Prisoners

Alabama, Death Records of State Convicts

Alabama, Deaths of State Convicts, 1884-1951; Deaths of County Convicts, 1885-1922, 1884-1951

Alabama, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, Prisoners, Insane, In Hospitals, 1917-1918

Baldwin County, JD Hand’s Convict Camp, 1900 Index of Prisoners

Barbour County, Orphans’ Court, Court Minutes, 1833-1852

Barbour County, Orphans’ Court, Orphans’ Records, 1835-1886

Bibb County, Lucile Prison Cemetery

Bibb County, Orphans’ Court, Probate Court Records, 1818-1930

Blount County, Insane Register, (1876,1878,1885-1886,1895,1898,1909,1911-1936), 1876-1912

Blount County, Orphans’ Court, Minute Books, 1820-1852

Bullock County, Orphans’ Court, Orphans’ Records, 1867-1895

Butler County, Bolling Prison Cemetery

Cherokee County, Almstead House of Cedar Bluff

Chilton County, Orphans’ Court, Exemption to Widows and Orphans

Clarke County, Asylum Records

Clarke County, Orphans’ Court, Minutes, 1829-1850

Clay County, Alabama State Prison Camp, 1930 Index of Prisoners

Clay County, Pauper Farm/Poor House Cemetery and Census Records

Clay County, Poor Farm Cemetery

Cleburne County, Poor House Records

Coffee County, 1910 Almshouse Census

Conecuh County, Conecuh Alms House

Coosa County, Orphans’ Court, Probate Records, 1834-1939

Dallas County, Orphans’ Court, Minutes, 1818-1851

Dallas County, Pauper Records, 1905-1911

Dallas County, Street Manual Training School

Dallas County, Stringer Convict Camp 1910 Index of Prisoners

Elmore County, Wetumpka State Penitentiary Cemetery

Elmore County, Wetumpka State Prison 1930 Prisoner Index, A-L

Elmore County, Wetumpka State Prison 1930 Prisoner Index, M-Z

Escambia County, Atmore State Prison Cemetery

Freedmen’s Bureau Hospital and Medical Records, 1865-1872.

Greene County, Orphans’ Court, Court Records, 1822-1850; Court Minutes, 1837-1852

Henry County, Orphans’ Court, Court Records, 1839-1931; Index, 1839-1928

Houston County, Poor House Cemetery

Houston County, Poor House Cemetery

Jackson County, Wilhelm-Mordah Cemetery AKA Poorhouse Hill”

Jefferson County, Convict Camp # 7, 1930 Index of Prisoners

Jefferson County, Convict Camp, 1930 Prisoner Index

Jefferson County, Jefferson County Jail1930 Index of Prisoners

Lauderdale County, 1931 Jail Register

Lauderdale County, 1932 Jail Register

Lauderdale County, 1935 Jail Register

Lauderdale County, 1936 – 1938 Jail Register

Lauderdale County,1927 Jail Register

Lee County, Alms House Lee County Cemetery AKA County Poor Farm Cemetery

Limestone County, Record of Inmates at County Home (Poor-house), 1923-1926

Lowndes County, Orphans’ Court, Estate Papers, 1833-1898

Lowndes County, Orphans’ Court, Minutes, 1838-1853

Macon County, Orphans’ Court, Probate Records, 1834-1930

Madison County, Orphans’ Court, Record of Wills, Inventories and Other Returns of Executors, Administrators and Guardians, 1818-1820

Madison County, Orphans’ Court, Records, 1853-1865

Marengo County, Orphans’ Court, Apprentice Records, 1867-1870

Marshall County, Orphans’ Court, Probate Records, 1854-1861; Orphans’ Court Minutes, 1836-1851; Probate Minutes, 1851-1931; Final Records, 1836-1930

Marshall County, Miscellaneous Circuit and Probate Files of the Insane, 1836-1950,

Mobile County, Mount Vernon Searcy Hospital Cemetery

Mobile County, Orphans’ Court, Court Book and Jury List Book, 1818-1840

Mobile County, Orphans’ Court, Original Will Records, ca. 1813-1961; Index, 1813-1957

Mobile County, Orphans’ Court, Probate Court Archival Records (1814-1851, 1865) and Indexes (ca. 1715-1811) –, 1715-1865

Mobile County, Poor Asylum Hospital Cemetery

Montgomery County, Kilby Prison, 1930 Prisoner Index

Montgomery County, Kilby State Prison Cemetery AKA Alabama State Prison Cemetery

Montgomery County, Number Four Prison Cemetery

Morgan County, Orphans’ Court, Court Records, 1830-1844,1851-1853,1868-1874, 1830-1874

Morgan County, Poor House Cemetery

Perry County, Orphans’ Court, Orphans’ Records, 1821-1859; Probate Records, 1859-1929; Inventories, 1823-1925; Index, 1832-1975

Pickens County, Deaths of State Convicts of Pickens County

Pickens County, Pickens County Cemetery AKA Poor House Cemetery

Pike County, Orphans’ Court, Court Minutes, 1844-1853

Randolph County, List of Convicted 1886 – 1930

Randolph County, Pauper Farm Cemetery AKA Poor House Cemetery

Randolph County, Pauper Farm/Poor Farm Cemetery and Census Records

Russell County, Orphans’ Court, Abstracts of Wills and Estates, 1840-1848:

Russell County, Orphans’ Court, Court Docket Book, 1843-1848

Russell County, Orphans’ Court, Court Minutes, 1838-1847

Shelby County, Convict Records, 1883-1913

Shelby County, Orphans’ Court, Court Records, 1818-1851

Shelby County, Orphans’ Court, Court Records, 1818-1867

Shelby County, Orphan Court Records, 1818-1851

St. Clair County, Orphans’ Court, Court Minutes, 1827-1850

Sumter County, Orphans’ Court, Court Minutes, 1833-1848; Probate Minutes, 1848-1946; Probate Records, 1884-1937

Sumter County, Abstracts from Orphans’ Minutes Book #1 1833-1839

Sumter County, Orphans’ Minutes Book #2, 1839-1841

Talladega County, Poorhouse Cemetery

Talladega County, Talladega Alms Home Cemetery

Tallapoosa County, Orphans’ Court, Court Minutes, 1835-1852

Tuscaloosa County, Bryce Hospital Cemetery #1A

Tuscaloosa County, Bryce Hospital Cemetery #2

Tuscaloosa County, Bryce Hospital Cemetery #3

Tuscaloosa County, Bryce Hospital Cemetery AKA Old Cemetery

Tuscaloosa County, Partlow State School Cemetery

Tuskegee, Orphans’ Home of the Synod of Alabama, Organized 1864

Walker County, Alms House Cemetery

Wilcox County, Orphans’ Court, Court Minutes, 1821-1929

For all Free Alabama Collection Links in 24 Genealogy Categories, go to the By Location Page, click on Alabama, and then click on the category of interest.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

# contentMap.en
The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is April 2025)

Institutional records are another class of collections that should be part of one’s genealogy research repertoire. Although most of your ancestors may not have spent time in an institution, I’ll bet that almost every family tree has several that have. So they are worth your effort to research.

Here are a few good primers for searching institutional records:

FamilySearch – Institution and School Records

Finding Your Ancestors in Poor House or Poor Farm Records

Researching Ancestors in Asylums

What kind of institutions and types of records can we discover?

Poorhouse

Poor Farm

Orphanage

Orphan Train

Mental Hospital

Workhouse

Almshouse

Institutional School

Sanitarium

Asylums

Correctional institutions

Acquiring records from each of these types of institutions may be difficult because of privacy concerns, but they are worth the effort.

Below you will find free online institutional records you can use to help you discover more about your relatives who have spent time in an institution.

Note: Some links listed take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. To take full advantage make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.

Alabama Free Online Institutional Records

Alabama, Alabama State Penitentiary 1846 Index of Prisoners

Alabama, Death Records of State Convicts

Alabama, Deaths of State Convicts, 1884-1951; Deaths of County Convicts, 1885-1922, 1884-1951

Alabama, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, Prisoners, Insane, In Hospitals, 1917-1918

Baldwin County, JD Hand’s Convict Camp, 1900 Index of Prisoners

Barbour County, Orphans’ Court, Court Minutes, 1833-1852

Barbour County, Orphans’ Court, Orphans’ Records, 1835-1886

Bibb County, Lucile Prison Cemetery

Bibb County, Orphans’ Court, Probate Court Records, 1818-1930

Blount County, Insane Register, (1876,1878,1885-1886,1895,1898,1909,1911-1936), 1876-1912

Blount County, Orphans’ Court, Minute Books, 1820-1852

Bullock County, Orphans’ Court, Orphans’ Records, 1867-1895

Butler County, Bolling Prison Cemetery

Cherokee County, Almstead House of Cedar Bluff

Chilton County, Orphans’ Court, Exemption to Widows and Orphans

Clarke County, Asylum Records

Clarke County, Orphans’ Court, Minutes, 1829-1850

Clay County, Alabama State Prison Camp, 1930 Index of Prisoners

Clay County, Pauper Farm/Poor House Cemetery and Census Records

Clay County, Poor Farm Cemetery

Cleburne County, Poor House Records

Coffee County, 1910 Almshouse Census

Conecuh County, Conecuh Alms House

Coosa County, Orphans’ Court, Probate Records, 1834-1939

Dallas County, Orphans’ Court, Minutes, 1818-1851

Dallas County, Pauper Records, 1905-1911

Dallas County, Street Manual Training School

Dallas County, Stringer Convict Camp 1910 Index of Prisoners

Elmore County, Wetumpka State Penitentiary Cemetery

Elmore County, Wetumpka State Prison 1930 Prisoner Index, A-L

Elmore County, Wetumpka State Prison 1930 Prisoner Index, M-Z

Escambia County, Atmore State Prison Cemetery

Freedmen’s Bureau Hospital and Medical Records, 1865-1872.

Greene County, Orphans’ Court, Court Records, 1822-1850; Court Minutes, 1837-1852

Henry County, Orphans’ Court, Court Records, 1839-1931; Index, 1839-1928

Houston County, Poor House Cemetery

Houston County, Poor House Cemetery

Jackson County, Wilhelm-Mordah Cemetery AKA Poorhouse Hill”

Jefferson County, Convict Camp # 7, 1930 Index of Prisoners

Jefferson County, Convict Camp, 1930 Prisoner Index

Jefferson County, Jefferson County Jail1930 Index of Prisoners

Lauderdale County, 1931 Jail Register

Lauderdale County, 1932 Jail Register

Lauderdale County, 1935 Jail Register

Lauderdale County, 1936 – 1938 Jail Register

Lauderdale County,1927 Jail Register

Lee County, Alms House Lee County Cemetery AKA County Poor Farm Cemetery

Limestone County, Record of Inmates at County Home (Poor-house), 1923-1926

Lowndes County, Orphans’ Court, Estate Papers, 1833-1898

Lowndes County, Orphans’ Court, Minutes, 1838-1853

Macon County, Orphans’ Court, Probate Records, 1834-1930

Madison County, Orphans’ Court, Record of Wills, Inventories and Other Returns of Executors, Administrators and Guardians, 1818-1820

Madison County, Orphans’ Court, Records, 1853-1865

Marengo County, Orphans’ Court, Apprentice Records, 1867-1870

Marshall County, Orphans’ Court, Probate Records, 1854-1861; Orphans’ Court Minutes, 1836-1851; Probate Minutes, 1851-1931; Final Records, 1836-1930

Marshall County, Miscellaneous Circuit and Probate Files of the Insane, 1836-1950,

Mobile County, Mount Vernon Searcy Hospital Cemetery

Mobile County, Orphans’ Court, Court Book and Jury List Book, 1818-1840

Mobile County, Orphans’ Court, Original Will Records, ca. 1813-1961; Index, 1813-1957

Mobile County, Orphans’ Court, Probate Court Archival Records (1814-1851, 1865) and Indexes (ca. 1715-1811) –, 1715-1865

Mobile County, Poor Asylum Hospital Cemetery

Montgomery County, Kilby Prison, 1930 Prisoner Index

Montgomery County, Kilby State Prison Cemetery AKA Alabama State Prison Cemetery

Montgomery County, Number Four Prison Cemetery

Morgan County, Orphans’ Court, Court Records, 1830-1844,1851-1853,1868-1874, 1830-1874

Morgan County, Poor House Cemetery

Perry County, Orphans’ Court, Orphans’ Records, 1821-1859; Probate Records, 1859-1929; Inventories, 1823-1925; Index, 1832-1975

Pickens County, Deaths of State Convicts of Pickens County

Pickens County, Pickens County Cemetery AKA Poor House Cemetery

Pike County, Orphans’ Court, Court Minutes, 1844-1853

Randolph County, List of Convicted 1886 – 1930

Randolph County, Pauper Farm Cemetery AKA Poor House Cemetery

Randolph County, Pauper Farm/Poor Farm Cemetery and Census Records

Russell County, Orphans’ Court, Abstracts of Wills and Estates, 1840-1848:

Russell County, Orphans’ Court, Court Docket Book, 1843-1848

Russell County, Orphans’ Court, Court Minutes, 1838-1847

Shelby County, Convict Records, 1883-1913

Shelby County, Orphans’ Court, Court Records, 1818-1851

Shelby County, Orphans’ Court, Court Records, 1818-1867

Shelby County, Orphan Court Records, 1818-1851

St. Clair County, Orphans’ Court, Court Minutes, 1827-1850

Sumter County, Orphans’ Court, Court Minutes, 1833-1848; Probate Minutes, 1848-1946; Probate Records, 1884-1937

Sumter County, Abstracts from Orphans’ Minutes Book #1 1833-1839

Sumter County, Orphans’ Minutes Book #2, 1839-1841

Talladega County, Poorhouse Cemetery

Talladega County, Talladega Alms Home Cemetery

Tallapoosa County, Orphans’ Court, Court Minutes, 1835-1852

Tuscaloosa County, Bryce Hospital Cemetery #1A

Tuscaloosa County, Bryce Hospital Cemetery #2

Tuscaloosa County, Bryce Hospital Cemetery #3

Tuscaloosa County, Bryce Hospital Cemetery AKA Old Cemetery

Tuscaloosa County, Partlow State School Cemetery

Tuskegee, Orphans’ Home of the Synod of Alabama, Organized 1864

Walker County, Alms House Cemetery

Wilcox County, Orphans’ Court, Court Minutes, 1821-1929

For all Free Alabama Collection Links in 24 Genealogy Categories, go to the By Location Page, click on Alabama, and then click on the category of interest.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

# preview.content
[sc name="intro_april_2025" ][/sc]

Institutional records are another class of collections that should be part of one’s genealogy research repertoire. Although most of your ancestors may not have spent time in an institution, I’ll bet that almost every family tree has several that have. So they are worth your effort to research.

Here are a few good primers for searching institutional records:

FamilySearch – Institution and School Records

Finding Your Ancestors in Poor House or Poor […]

# summary
[sc name="intro_april_2025" ][/sc]

Institutional records are another class of collections that should be part of one’s genealogy research repertoire. Although most of your ancestors may not have spent time in an institution, I’ll bet that almost every family tree has several that have. So they are worth your effort to research.

Here are a few good primers for searching institutional records:

FamilySearch – Institution and School Records

Finding Your Ancestors in Poor House or Poor […]

# summaryMap.en
[sc name="intro_april_2025" ][/sc]

Institutional records are another class of collections that should be part of one’s genealogy research repertoire. Although most of your ancestors may not have spent time in an institution, I’ll bet that almost every family tree has several that have. So they are worth your effort to research.

Here are a few good primers for searching institutional records:

FamilySearch – Institution and School Records

Finding Your Ancestors in Poor House or Poor […]