Madison County Genealogical and Historical Society

The Madison County Genealogical and Historical Society (MCGHS) was organized in July 1981 by eight Madison County residents with the goal of establishing an organization to gather, preserve, and disseminate the history of Madison County.

In 1982, the MCGHS began publication of a quarterly magazine titled The Madison County Musings. The Musings has been in continuous publication since that time, beginning small but growing to over fifty-five pages of historical and genealogical data and photographs. Articles found in The Madison County Musings contain school history, cemetery enumerations, marriage records, information on historical landmarks, homesteaded land information, historical and Civil War stories, and genealogical information.

By the end of 1981, the society’s membership stood at eighty-five people. Membership in the society is open to anyone interested in Madison County history and/or genealogy. Members pay a yearly membership fee, which entitles them to receive all four issues of The Madison County Musings for the membership year. Total membership for each year since 2000 has been more than 700 members located in thirty-five different states.

In October 1986, the society opened a combination research facility and library, which is run solely by volunteers, in Huntsville (Madison County) and began acquiring family history books and other genealogical reference materials through purchase and donation. The society’s library provides Madison County information, although limited information from adjoining counties is also available. Since 1994, the library has recorded more than 1,000 visitors each year.

The society functions by volunteer labor. Three volunteer co-editors compile The Madison County Musings and oversee its quarterly printing. The society is proud of the fact that all available census records for Madison County have been transcribed, printed into book form, and are available for use or purchase at the society’s library. Another ongoing project of the society is enumeration and printing of information on more than 200 cemeteries within the county’s boundaries. Volunteers visit each cemetery, record the information from the tombstones, research the genealogy of the people buried there, and compile and publish this information.

Other published books available from the society include marriage records for 1901 through 1951; tax records from the 1830s, 1840s and 1860s; history books on the Madison County towns of Hindsville, Huntsville, Witter, and St. Paul; and books containing newspaper obituaries printed in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. The society supports itself by the publication and sale of these publications.

The society welcomes family histories for addition to their library and encourages members’ donations.

For additional information:
Madison County Genealogical & Historical Society. http://www.mcghs.info/ (accessed February 28, 2021).

 Joy Russell
Madison County Genealogical and Historical Society