ALABAMA ROOM

Monday - Friday
​8:30AM - 5:00PM
Saturday
​1:30PM - 5:00PM
First and Third Sunday
​1:30PM - 5:00PM
​The Alabama Room offers assistance to individuals interested in Anniston, Calhoun County, Alabama History, and personal genealogical research.

​Annie Calhoun Bookshop
​View our list of books you can purchase from the Bookshop.

Digitized Historical and Genealogical Archives
​View our digital library collections including the Bessie Coleman Collection, the Lenore Martin Collection, Telephone Directories, and other Special Collections.

Alabama Room Research Policy
View the guidelines for submitting a research request to the Alabama Room.
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Alabama Room Research Form
Use this form to request research from the Alabama Room Staff.

AlaBenton Genealogical Society
The AlaBenton Genealogical Society supports the Alabama Room and offers membership to those interested in genealogy.

Helpful Genealogical Links
Find helpful links for genealogical research and the Mexican and Civil Wars.

Browse the Library's Digital Photo Collection
View the Library's Digital Photo Collection of almost 40,000 images.

Order Photos from the Library's Digital Photo Collection
Use these forms to order printed or digital copies from the digital photo collection.

Ancestry Library (in library use only)
Access Ancestry.com's resources while inside the public library.

Book A Genealogist
Interested in learning your ancestry, but don't know where to start?  Book one of our Genealogists for a 1-hour session!
Tee Morgan's books Annie's Town and Annie's Town Revisited are available for purchase in the Alabama Room. 
The Alabama Room contains the following:

​EARLY EDITIONS OF ANNISTON CITY DIRECTORIES
  • 1887-PRESENT (EXCLUDING 1891, 1895, 1897, 1899, 1902-04, 1906-07, 1910-12, 1915-16, 1919-21, 1923, 1925, 1927-28, 1930, 1932-34, 1937, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1946-47, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1968)

MICROFILM
  • ANNISTON STAR NEWSPAPER (1900-PRESENT)
  • CENSUS RECORDS (Click to view list of available records.)
  • ALABAMA CONFEDERATE SERVICE RECORDS - Complied military records of those who served in the Civil War from Alabama. These records are also indexed.
  • ALABAMA CONFEDERATE PENSION RECORDS - Records of those who applied for a Civil War pension. Some records are application by the widow.
  • REVOLUTIONARY WAR RECORDS - Selected records from the Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrants applications.
  • ANDREA' FILES - A microfilm copy of files compiled by Leonardo Andrea of South Carolina. His collection spans 20 years of genealogical work. INDEX ONLINE
  • HOLLINGSWORTH COLLECTION - This collection contains numerous sketches of families of the Southeast. Leon Hollingsworth was a certified genealogist from Georgia with over 30 years of experience.

VERTICAL FILES

SURNAME CARD INDEX

LARGE FAMILY FILE COLLECTION

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
  • BESSIE COLEMAN COLLECTION - Bessie Coleman Robinson was a local historian who also wrote articles for the Anniston Star. Her collection is catalogued by subject name.
  • LENORA MARTIN COLLECTION - Lenora Martin was a local genealogist. She wrote articles for the Jacksonville News in the mid-1970's. Her collection is catalogued by subject name.
  • RUSSELL BROTHER'S PHOTOGRAPHY - Photographs of Anniston and many of Annistonians taken in the late 1800's and early 1900's. These photographs are of the local business community and studio portraits. These may be accessed through the library's catalog.
  • LOCAL FUNERAL HOME RECORDS (1946-1998)
    Anniston Funeral Home - 1920-22, 1935-36, 1944-94, 1996-98
    Lucius Funeral Home - 1937-40, 1948, 1950-54, 1957-64
    Miller Funeral Home (Oxford) - 1970-1982
    Piedmont Funeral Home - 1943-1990
    Usrey Funeral Home (Talladega) - 1951-1984
    Kilgore Funeral Home (Pell City) - 1929-1994
    Chapel Hill Funeral Home (Pell City) - 1994-1997
    Perry Funeral Home (Centre)- 1932-1960
    Jordon Funeral Home (Centre) - 1974-1986
    Service Funeral Home (Sylacauga) - 1954-56, 1961
    Curtis & Sons Funeral Home (Sylacauga) - 1954-55
    Cleburne County Funeral Home (Heflin) - 1956-58, 1962-65
    Dryden Funeral Home (Heflin) - 1966-68, 1970-75, 1979-91
    Roebuck Funeral Home (Jacksonville) - 1972-76