Genealogy
SEARCHING BURIAL RECORDS
Riverdale, Porterdale and East Porterdale City Cemetery Database
The City of Columbus maintains a database of interments in Riverdale, Porterdale (limited) and East Porterdale Cemeteries. The database can be found on the Public Works page of the City website. Type of paste the following into your task bar, then click on the “Cemetery Records” link: https://www.columbusga.gov/publicworks/Divisions/Cemeteries
Porterdale and Linwood Original Burial Records
Images of the original burial records from 1866 through 2000 are available at familysearch.org. This site is FREE, but you must establish a User Name and Password. Use the Search tab, then type in the followin under the Collection bar: GEORGIA, COLUMBUS, LINWOOD AND PORTERDALE COLORED CEMETERIES, INTERMENT RECORDS, 1866-2000
Genealogy Trees on Family Search and Ancestry
Learn more about the people buried at local historic cemeteries and connect with others whose ancestors are buried in these sacred spaces. Type or paste the following link into your task bar, then search for your cemetery of choice:
www.familysearch.org/en/cemeteries/
www.ancestry.com
There are trees associated with families at Linwood, Riverdale, Porterdale and East Porterdale; as well as the nearby Pierce Chapel African Cemetery (Harris County, 1828).
OTHER COLUMBUS-AREA CEMETERIES
Historic Linwood Foundation
An organization dedicated to the preservation of Columbus’s oldest cemetery.
Historic Linwood Cemetery Database
A database of individuals buried in Linwood Cemetery.
Pierce Chapel African Cemetery, Harris County, 1828. Supported by the Hamilton-Hood Foundation, Inc.; learn more at https://hamiltonhood.org/
African-American Cemeteries – Covers Muscogee, Chattahoochee, Harris, Marion, Schley and Sumter Counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama.
Muscogee County Cemeteries – List of cemeteries in Muscogee County, with location information, posted by the Chattahoochee Valley Cemetery Society
Find-A-Grave – Includes entries (some with photographs) for various cemeteries in Muscogee and surrounding counties.
LINKS TO LOCAL HISTORY/GENEALOGY WEB SITES
Researchers with roots in Columbus, Georgia, may also want to visit the following websites:
Muscogee Genealogical Society
This is the genealogical society for the Columbus area. It holds meetings 4 times a year and
publishes a journal, Muscogiana, twice a year. There is a cumulative index to the journal from 1989 to
2007 on the webpage.
Columbus State University Archives
The Columbus State University Archives houses an extensive local history collection, comprised
on manuscripts, records, photographs, architectural drawings and newspapers relating to Columbus
history.
Columbus Public Library, Local History and Genealogy Room Click on “Genealogy”
The CPL Genealogy Room contains a comprehensive collection of published materials on
the history of Columbus. Its book collection also treats the South and Eastern Seaboard. It also has
extensive microfilm copies of records for Muscogee and surrounding counties. Its webpage contains a
few locally-generated databases.
US Genweb, Muscogee County, Georgia
This web site contains a wide variety of materials related to genealogical research in the
Columbus, Georgia, area.
Historic Columbus Foundation
The HCF’s primary mission is the preservation of the built environment in Columbus. They also
maintain some research files and a website for research-related topics.
The Columbus Enquirer Archive
This is a FREE database created by the University System of Georgia’s GALILEO Initiative. It
requires installation of DJ-Vu software on the user’s computer. Access is to scanned articles in the
Columbus Enquirer for 1832-1890. There is also a copy of the first issue of the paper, published in 1828.
Access to the Columbus newspapers is also available via Genealogybank (www.genealogybank.com) for a fee. Coverage in this database is, roughly, 1855 to 1922.