Lamar County was created by the Alabama legislature on Feb. 4, 1867, and was originally named Jones County after E. P. Jones, a resident of Fayette County. On Nov. 13, 1867, the county was abolished. On Oct. 8, 1868, the county was re-created under the name of Sanford County. On Feb. 8, 1877, the name was changed to Lamar in honor of Senator L. Q. C. Lamar of Mississippi. Lamar County is bordered by Marion, Fayette, and Pickens counties in Alabama, and by Lowndes and Monroe counties in Mississippi. It currently encompasses 605 square miles. The county is drained by the Tombigbee River. In 1866, the community known as Swayne Courthouse, named for Gen. Wager Swayne, military governor of the Chattahoochee District of the state, was designated as the county seat. In 1868 the name was changed to Vernon, after Edmund Vernon, an immigrant from Vernon, England. Other towns and communities include Sulligent, Beaverton, and Millport.
Probate Office: 44690 Hwy 17, P. O. Box 338, Vernon, AL 35592.
Research Support Groups: Lamar County Genealogical and Historical Society, P. O. Box 793, Vernon, AL 35592. Publication: Links to Lamar.
Among Records Held: Births, 1919–1922; Deaths, 1931–1937; Marriages, 1891–1936; Direct and Reverse Index to Deed Records, 1897–1900; Deed Records of Jones and Sanford County, 1867–1868; Deed Records of Sanford County, 1868–1877; Voter Lists, 1901–1909; Wills, 1878–1961.
Other: Divorce, 1914–1916; Estate Records; Sanford County, 1868–1870; Estate Index, 1896–1939.