Tennessee Genealogy - Ancestry Research & Family History
  • Home
  • Archives and Libraries
  • county records
  • databases
  • hire a genealogist
  • societies

Welcome to Tennessee Genealogy

Research in Tennessee can be an exciting and rewarding experience. With records available for more than 200 years of the state's history, your family is sure to be found in a variety of records available online and at the many archives and libraries located throughout the state.

Hire a Genealogist

African-American Genealogy

Google Books - African American Historic Places - Page 467 

Google Books - 1790-1865 The Negro in Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - ​People of Color in the Old Tennessee

Archives and Libraries

FamilySearch Catalog - Meigs County, Tennessee

Meigs County - Decatur Public Library

Tennessee Secretary of State - Meigs County, Tennessee

USGenWeb Archives - Meigs County, Tennessee

Bibliography

Amazon - 1850-1900 Census and Marriage Records of Meigs County, Tennessee

Amazon - Meigs County Tennessee: A Documented Account of Its European Settlement and Growth                                     

FamilySearch.org - 1808 through 1850 A compendium of Rhea and Meigs counties, Tennessee

Google Books - 1836-1841 Meigs County, Tennessee: County Court Minute Book

Meigs County District Public Library - Meigs County Cemeteries

National Library of Australia - 1836-1881 Meigs County, Tennessee Records

Tennessee Secretary of State - Bibliography of Tennessee Local History Sources > Meigs County

WorldCat - 1836-1997 The History of Meigs County, Tennessee and its People

WorldCat - Leaves From the Family Tree by Penelope Allen

Biographies

Genealogy Trails History Group - Meigs County, Tennessee

Tennessee Encyclopedia - Return Jonathan Meigs

TNGenWeb Project - ​Goodspeed's Biographies

TNGenWeb Project - Meigs County Biographies

TNGenWeb Project - ​Meigs County, Tennessee Family Histories & Biographies

Wikipedia.org - Arthur Boggess Culvahouse Jr.

Wikipedia.org - ​Colonel Return J. Meigs

Cemeteries

ePodunk - Meigs County, Tennessee

Find A Grave - Meigs County, Tennessee

Genealogy Trails History Group - Meigs County, Tennessee

The Political Graveyard - Meigs County, Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - Cemeteries of Meigs County, Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - ​Mt. Zion Cemetery, Ten Mile

TNGenWeb Project - ​Sharp Cemetery, Little Egypt Rd., Ten Mile

USGenWeb Archives - Meigs County, Tennessee

USGenWeb Tombstone Project - Meigs County, Tennessee

Census Records

Genealogy Trails History Group - Meigs County, Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - Index to the 1840 Census of Meigs County

USGenWeb Archives - Meigs County, Tennessee

Court Records

Meigs County Clerk of Circuit Court - Decatur, TN

TNGenWeb Project - ​Tennessee Law, the Early Days

Family Trees

TNGenWeb Project - ​DNA Projects Links

TNGenWeb Project - Home Pages with Family Ties to Meigs County ​

TNGenWeb Project - ​Meigs County Surnames

TNGenWeb Project - ​USGenWeb Lineage Researcher Pages

General Resources

FamilySearch Wiki - Meigs County, Tennessee

Meigs County - Decatur, TN

TNGenWeb Project - ​Meigs County, Tennessee Resources

Historic Places

Big Sewee Creek Bridge - Meigs County, Tennessee

Blythe Ferry Bridge - Meigs County, Tennessee

Buchanan House - Meigs County, Tennessee

The Herald News - A Ferry Lived Here

Hutsell Truss Bridge - Meigs County, Tennessee

Kings Mill Bridge - Meigs County, Tennessee

Surprise Bridge - Meigs County, Tennessee

Wikipedia.org - Blythe Ferry

Wikipedia.org - Decatur United Methodist Church

Wikipedia.org - Elisha Sharp House

Wikipedia.org - McKenzie Windmill

Wikipedia.org - Meigs County Courthouse

Wikipedia.org - Meigs County Historical Museum

Wikipedia.org - Oak Grove Methodist Church

Wikipedia.org - Rice-Marler House

Wikipedia.org - Sam Hutsell House

Wikipedia.org - Surprise Truss Bridge

History

Genealogy Trails History Group - Meigs County, Tennessee

National Register of Historic Places - Meigs County, Tennessee

Tennessee Encyclopedia - Meigs County, Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - ​Pre-1796 East Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - ​Meigs County, Tennessee Family Histories & Biographies

TNGenWeb Project - ​Pre-1796 Middle Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - William Blythe Had Early Ferry

Wikipedia.org - Meigs County, Tennessee

Land Records

Meigs County Register of Deeds - Decatur, TN

Maps

TNGenWeb Project - Maps by Charles Reeves

TNGenWeb Project - Road Map of Meigs County

TNGenWeb Project - ​The Maps Our Ancestors Followed

TNGenWeb Project - ​Tennessee Census Maps

Military Records

Genealogy Trails History Group - Meigs County, Tennessee

National Archives - WWII Army Casualties: Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - ​Tennessee and the Civil War

TNGenWeb Project - ​Tennesseans in the Revolutionary War

TNGenWeb Project - ​Tennesseans in the War of 1812

TNGenWeb Project - ​Tennesseans in World War I

USGenWeb Archives - Meigs County, Tennessee

Wikipedia.org - Tennessee in the American Civil War

Native American Genealogy

The Chickasaw Nation - Ada, Oklahoma

TNGenWeb Project - Cherokee By Blood

TNGenWeb Project - First People of Tennessee and the American Southeast

TNGenWeb Project - The Intruders

Newspapers

Genealogy Trails History Group - Meigs County, Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - ​1853-1862 Nashville Union and American

Obituaries

Genealogy Trails History Group - Meigs County, Tennessee

USGenWeb Archives - Meigs County, Tennessee

Photographs

National Archives - Meigs County, Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - ​Meigs County Photo Album

TNGenWeb Project - ​Tennessee Courthouse Photograph

Queries & Mailing List

TNGenWeb Project - Archived Queries for Meigs County

TNGenWeb Project - Meigs County Queries

​TNGenWeb Project - ​Pre-1796 East Tennessee 

TNGenWeb Project - ​Pre-1796 Middle Tennessee

School Records

Meigs County School System - Decatur, TN

Societies

Chattanooga Delta Genealogical Society - Rossville, GA

East Tennessee Historical Society - Knoxville, Tennessee

Meigs County Historical Museum - Decatur, TN
​
Tennessee Society Daughters of the American Revolution - Meigs County, TN

​Towns, Cities & Townships

Town of Decatur - Meigs County, Tennessee

Wikipedia.org - ​Decatur, Tennessee

Vital Records

Genealogy Trails History Group - Meigs County, TN Birth Records

Genealogy Trails History Group - Meigs County, TN Death Records

Meigs County Clerk - Decatur, TN

Shelby County Register of Deeds - 1949-2014 Death Records Index 

TNGenWeb Project - 1850 - 1900 Meigs County Marriages 

TNGenWeb Project - 1838 - 1850 Meigs County Marriages 

TNGenWeb Project - ​Tennessee Records Repository

USGenWeb Archives - Meigs County, Tennessee

VitalChek - Tennessee Vital Records

​Vitalrec.com - Tennessee Vital Records
Many Tennessee family records can be found online and at various archives and libraries located throughout the state of Tennessee. Many millions of records aren't yet available online, though, and many of these are awaiting your discovery at the local level at county courthouses, historical societies, churches, county clerks' offices, cemeteries, and elsewhere in Tennessee. To find these and other records, click on the links below to find more information about the specific counties where your ancestors lived in Tennessee. You'll find information on these pages that will lead you to the specific documentation you're searching for.

It is important to keep in mind when doing research that the names and boundaries of certain counties in Tennessee have changed over the past two hundred years. Your ancestors may have lived on a certain farm in one county and when borders were redrawn records relating to your family history might have been located in another area entirely. When searching for land, court, tax, and other records it is also a good idea to search for these records in adjacent counties. Following is a complete list of Tennessee's 95 counties along with their formation dates, county seats, and names of parent counties.
County

Anderson County

Bedford County

Benton County

Bledsoe County

Blount County

Bradley County

Campbell County

Cannon County

Carroll County

Carter County

Cheatham County


Chester County


Claiborne County

Clay County

Cocke County

Coffee County

Crockett County


Cumberland County


Davidson County

Decatur County

DeKalb County


Dickson County

Dyer County

Fayette County

Fentress County

Franklin County

Gibson County

Giles County

Grainger County

Greene County

Grundy County

Hamblen County

Hamilton County

Hancock County

Hardeman County

Hardin County

Hawkins County

Haywood County

Henderson County

Henry County

Hickman County

Houston County


Humphreys County

Jackson County

Jefferson County

Johnson County

Knox County

Lake County

Lauderdale County

Lawrence County

Lewis County


Lincoln County

Loudon County


Macon County

Madison County

Marion County

Marshall County


Maury County

McMinn County

McNairy County

Meigs County

Monroe County

Montgomery County

Moore County

Morgan County

Obion County

Overton County

Perry County

Pickett County

Polk County

Putnam County


Rhea County

Roane County

Robertson County

Rutherford County


Scott County


Sequatchie County

Sevier County

Shelby County

Smith County

Stewart County

Sullivan County

Tipton County

Trousdale County


Unicoi County

Union County


Van Buren County

Warren County


Washington County

Wayne County

Weakley County

White County

Williamson County

Wilson County
Formation Date

1801

1807

1835

1807

1795

1836

1806

1836

1821

1796

1856


1879


1801

1870

1797

1836

1871


1855


1783

1845

1837


1803

1823

1824

1823

1807

1823

1809

1796

1783

1844

1870

1819

1844

1823

1819

1786

1823

1821

1821

1807

1871


1809

1801

1792

1836

1792

1870

1835

1817

1843


1809

1870


1842

1821

1817

1836


1807

1819

1823

1836

1819

1796

1871

1817

1823

1806

1819

1879

1839

1854


1807

1801

1796

1803


1849


1857

1794

1819

1799

1803

1779

1823

1870


1875

1850


1840

1807


1777

1817

1823

1806

1799

1799
County Seat

Clinton

Shelbyville

Camden

Pikeville

Maryville

Cleveland

Jacksboro

Woodbury

Huntingdon

Elizabethton

Ashland City


Henderson


Tazewell

Celina

Newport

Manchester

Alamo


Crossville


Nashville

Decaturville

Smithville


Charlotte

Dyersburg

Somerville

Jamestown

Winchester

Trenton

Pulaski

Rutledge

Greeneville

Altamont

Morristown

Chattanooga

Sneedville

Bolivar

Savannah

Rogersville

Brownsville

Lexington

Paris

Centerville

Erin


Waverly

Gainesboro

Dandridge

Mountain City

Knoxville

Tiptonville

Ripley

Lawrenceburg

Hohenwald


Fayetteville

Loudon


Lafayette

Jackson

Jasper

Lewisburg


Columbia

Athens

Selmer

Decatur

Madisonville

Clarksville

Lynchburg

Wartburg

Union City

Livingston

Linden

Byrdstown

Benton

Cookeville


Dayton

Kingston

Springfield

Murfreesboro


Huntsville


Dunlap

Sevierville

Memphis

Carthage

Dover

Blountville

Covington

Hartsville


Erwin

Maynardville


Spencer

McMinnville


Jonesborough

Waynesboro

Dresden

Sparta

Franklin

Lebanon
Parent County

Knox and Grainger

Rutherford County

Humphreys County

Roane & Indian lands

Knox County

Indian lands

Anderson & Claiborne

Rutherford, Smith & Warren

Indian lands

Washington County

Davidson, Dickson, Montgomery, & Robertson

Henderson, McNairy & Madison

Grainger & Hawkins

Jackson & Overton

Jefferson County

Bedford, Warren & Franklin

Haywood, Madison, Dyer & Gibson

White, Bledsoe, Rhea, Morgan, Fentress & Putnam

Part of North Carolina

Perry County

Franklin, Cannon, Jackson & White

Montgomery and Robertson

Indian lands

Indian lands

Morgan, Overton & White

Rutherford & Indian lands

Indian lands

Indian lands

Hawkins & Knox counties

Washington County

Coffee, Warren & Franklin

Jefferson, Grainger & Greene

Rhea & Indian lands

Hawkins & Claiborne

Hardin & Indian lands

Indian Lands

Sullivan County

Indian lands

Indian lands

Indian lands

Dickson County

Dickson, Humphreys, Montgomery & Stewart

Stewart County

Smith County & Indian lands

Greene & Hawkins

Carter County

Greene & Hawkins

Obion County

Haywood, Dyer & Tipton

Hickman & Indian lands

Hickman, Lawrence, Maury & Wayne

Bedford County

Roane, Monroe, Blount & McMinn

Smith and Sumner counties

Indian lands

Indian lands

Giles, Bedford, Lincoln & Maury

Williamson & Indian lands

Indian lands

Hardin County

Rhea County

Indian lands

Tennessee County

Bedford, Lincoln & Franklin

Anderson & Roane

Indian lands

Jackson & Indian lands

Humphreys & Hickman

Fentress & Overton

McMinn & Bradley

Fentress, Jackson, Smith, White & Overton

Roane County

Knox & Indian lands

Tennessee & Sumner

Davidson, Williamson & Wilson

Anderson, Campbell, Fentress & Morgan counties

Hamilton, Marion & Warren

Jefferson County

Chickasaw Nation lands

Sumner & Indian lands

Montgomery County

Washington County

Shelby County

Wilson, Macon, Smith
& Sumner counties

Washington & Carter

Grainger, Claiborne, Campbell, Anderson & Knox

Warren & White

White, Jackson, Smith & Indian lands

Part of North Carolina

Hickman County

Indian lands

Jackson & Smith

Davidson County

Sumner County

USA State Resources

Follow the links below to find many other helpful resources available in the U.S. states where your ancestors lived in the past.

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Web Hosting by iPage