The City of Savannah recently announced that historical minutes of City Council meetings from 1790 through 1900 are now available on Ancestry.com.
The City Council Minutes collection is for browsing only, as it has not been fully indexed by Ancestry.com. However, the minutes include indexes prepared by the Clerk of Council either in the front of each volume or in an accompanying volume.
Minutes of City Council meetings cover every aspect of City business considered by City Council, including budgets and appropriations, passing of resolutions and ordinances, evolvement of City departments and offices, City employees and appointments, vendors seeking licenses, residents petitioning to make property improvements or for relief from taxes, and much more.
The original hard-copy City Council Minute books — 1790 through present — are maintained in the Clerk of Council’s Office in City Hall and are available for research use by the public. Additionally, microfilm of the volumes covering 1790-1900 is available for researchers at the Bull Street Public Library in the Kaye Kole Genealogy and Local History Room.
Currently the following collections of City records are available to researchers online through Ancestry.com at http://collections.ancestry.com/search/GA/CityofSavannah:
Vital Records, 1803-1966
Cemetery and Burial Records, 1852-1939
Cemetery Burial Lot Cards, 1807-1995
Court Records, 1790-1934
Land Tax & Property Records, 1896-1938
Naturalization Records, 1790-1910
Records of Titles, 1791-1971
Registers of Free Persons of Color, 1817-1864
Voter Records, 1901-1917
City Council Minutes, 1790-1900
For more information, contact Luciana Spracher, Library & Archives Director, at (912) 651-6411.
