African-American Genealogy

Google Books - 1790-1865 The Negro in Tennessee

Archives and Libraries

FamilySearch Catalog - Overton County, Tennessee

Millard Oakley Public Library - Livingston, TN

Overton County Archives - Livingston, TN

Tennessee Secretary of State - Overton County, Tennessee

USGenWeb Archives - Overton County, Tennessee

Bible Records

RootsWeb - Beaty Franklin Bible Records

RootsWeb - Dodson Bible Records

RootsWeb - Green Bible Records

RootsWeb - Hyder Bible Records

RootsWeb - Jackson Bible Records

RootsWeb - Lee Bible Records

RootsWeb - Matlock Bible Records

RootsWeb - Norrod Bible Records

RootsWeb - Norrod, Allen Family Bible

RootsWeb - Overton County Bibles

RootsWeb - Officer Bible Records

RootsWeb - Pitts' / Matthews Family Bible

RootsWeb - Ray Bible Records

RootsWeb - Willis Family Bible

USGenWeb Archives - Overton County, Tennessee

Bibliography

East Tennessee Roots - East Tennessee Roots Historical/Genealogical Magazine

RootsWeb - Common and Uncommon Men

RootsWeb - The Decendants of Joseph Ezekiel Gilpatrick and Sarah Emoline Watkins

RootsWeb - 1908 -1912 Order form for Overton County Birth & Death Record Book   

RootsWeb - ​Overton County Books

RootsWeb - Tennessee Convicts: Early Records of the State Penitentiary

RootsWeb - Zollicoffer Book

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

Biographies

Genealogy Trails History Group - Overton County, Tennessee

RootsWeb - 1868 - 1946 ​Albert Houston 

RootsWeb - David Beaty, Sr.

RootsWeb - Interview with William Felix Copeland of Overton County

RootsWeb - 1783 John Whitaker 

RootsWeb - 1818 - 1909​ Stokely R. Chadick

TNGenWeb Project - Overton County Biographies

Cemeteries

ePodunk - Overton County, Tennessee

Find A Grave - Overton County, Tennessee

Genealogy Trails History Group - Overton County, Tennessee

RootsWeb - Bear Creek Cemetery

RootsWeb - Bilbrey Cemetery Project

RootsWeb - Falling Springs Cemetery

RootsWeb - Hammock Cemetery

RootsWeb - ​Historic Cemeteries in Overton County

RootsWeb - Holly Cemetery 

RootsWeb - Hunter Cemetery

RootsWeb - Masters Cemetery

RootsWeb - ​Overton County Cemeteries

RootsWeb - Poteet Family Cemetery

RootsWeb - Roaring River Cemetery

RootsWeb - Shiloh Cemetery

RootsWeb - Sells Cemetery

RootsWeb - Speck Cemetery

RootsWeb - Thompson Flat Cemetery

RootsWeb - Tyler Point Cemetery

RootsWeb - Wilson Cemetery

RootsWeb - Pictures of area Cemeteries

The Political Graveyard - Overton County, Tennessee

USGenWeb Archives - Overton County, Tennessee

USGenWeb Tombstone Project - Overton County, Tennessee

Census Records

Census Finder - Tennessee Census Records

Census Tools - Electronic Census Spreadsheets

Genealogy Trails History Group - Overton County, Tennessee

RootsWeb - 1820 Overton County, TN Census

RootsWeb - 1860 Overton County, TN Mortality Census

RootsWeb - 1890 Civil War Census Names for Fentress, Pickett, and Clay

RootsWeb - 1920 Index Part 1

RootsWeb - 1920 Index Part 2

TNGenWeb Project - Information Provided on Each Census Year Schedule

USGenWeb Archives - Overton County, Tennessee

Church Records

Overton County - Places of Worship

RootsWeb - 1821-1971 Cave Springs Cumberland Presbyterian Church

RootsWeb - 1956 First Cumberland Presbyterian Church

RootsWeb - Historical Foundation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church

RootsWeb - History of Roaring River Baptist Church

RootsWeb - 1870-1995 Mt. Union Church 

Court Records

Overton County Clerk of Circuit Court - Livingston, TN

TNGenWeb Project - ​Tennessee Law, the Early Days

Estate Records

RootsWeb - ​Overton County Wills

Family Trees

RootsWeb - Family Stories

RootsWeb - Fancher Family

RootsWeb - Fancher Society Webpage

RootsWeb - Masters, Smith, Bowers, Hull & Beaty Families

RootsWeb - Overton County Migrations

RootsWeb - Ramsey Family of Overton County

RootsWeb - Stewart Family

RootsWeb - West Family

RootsWeb - Wright Families

TNGenWeb Project - ​DNA Projects Links

TNGenWeb Project - ​USGenWeb Lineage Researcher Pages

Funeral Home Records

Speck Funeral Home - Livingston, Tennessee

General Resources

Census Tools - Electronic Census Spreadsheets

FamilySearch Wiki - Overton County, Tennessee

Overton County - Livingston, TN

Overton County, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce - Livingston, Tennessee

RootsWeb - County Addresses For Overton County, Tennessee

RootsWeb - Deciphering Old Handwriting

RootsWeb - Epidemics in the United States

RootsWeb - Records Available for Overton County

RootsWeb - Search the DAR Library Catalog

RootsWeb - The Association for Gravestone Studies

​RootsWeb - Weather Links for Overton County & Surrounding Areas

History

Genealogy Trails History Group - 1876 Overton County, TN Local History 

Genealogy Trails History Group - 1874 Overton County, TN Resources

RootsWeb - Historical Collections of Tennessee

RootsWeb - History of Overton County Tennessee

RootsWeb - 1932 Holbert Murder

RootsWeb - May 1933 Tornado

RootsWeb - Mohawk Valley Document

RootsWeb - North and South Boundaries of Tennessee

RootsWeb - Overton County History

RootsWeb - Overton County Poorhouse

RootsWeb - Private Acts of Overton County, Tennessee

Tennessee Encyclopedia - Overton County, Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - ​Pre-1796 East Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - ​Pre-1796 Middle Tennessee

USGenWeb Archives - Overton County, Tennessee

Wikipedia.org - Overton County, Tennessee

Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places - Overton County, Tennessee

RootsWeb - Overton County, TN Poorhouse

RootsWeb - Places in Overton County Tennessee

Wikipedia.org - National Register of Historic Places in Overton County, Tennessee

Land Records

Overton County Register of Deeds - Livingston, TN

RootsWeb - 1806-1809 Overton County: Vol. A

RootsWeb - 1801-1809 Overton County: Vol. B

RootsWeb - 1811-1813 Overton County: Vol. C

RootsWeb - 1806-1859 W. P.A. Records. Deeds of Overton Co. Tennessee, Books A,B,E,I,J,K,N,O.

Maps

TNGenWeb Project - Maps by Charles Reeves

RootsWeb - 1923 Maps of Clay, Pickett and Overton County (Map 1)

RootsWeb - 1923 Maps of Clay, Pickett and Overton County (Map 2)

RootsWeb - 1923 Maps of Clay, Pickett and Overton County (Map 3)

RootsWeb - 1923 Maps of Clay, Pickett and Overton County (Map 4)

RootsWeb - 1834 Overton County District Map

TNGenWeb Project - Goodspeed’s 1886 Tennessee Map 

TNGenWeb Project - ​Tennessee Census Maps

TNGenWeb Project - 1818 Tennessee Map

TNGenWeb Project - ​The Maps Our Ancestors Followed

TNGenWeb Project - Three Grand Divisions of Tennessee

Military Records

Genealogy Trails History Group - Overton County, Tennessee

National Archives - WWII Army Casualties: Tennessee

RootsWeb - Biographies and Photographs of Overton County Civil War Soldiers

RootsWeb - Champ Ferguson's Muster Roll

RootsWeb - Civil War Information

RootsWeb - Confederate States of America Formation of the Confederacy

RootsWeb - February 27, 1863 Communication from the Secretary of War ​

RootsWeb - Index of Tennessee Civil War Soldiers

RootsWeb - James T. Davis

RootsWeb - Letters of Geo. A. Smith Written During the Civil War

RootsWeb - Letters from Sergeant James Forrester Parrott of the 28th Consolidated Infantry

RootsWeb - 1868 Medal of Honor for Benoni Strivson

RootsWeb - ​Overton County Pensions

RootsWeb - Sketch of Tinker Dave Beaty

RootsWeb - Tennessee Civil War Sourcebook

RootsWeb - Tinker Dave Beaty's Muster Roll (Union)

RootsWeb - War of 1812

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 - Overton County, Tennessee

Wikipedia.org - Tennessee in the American Civil War

Native American Genealogy

RootsWeb - Mohawk Valley Document

RootsWeb - 1730-1842 Southeastern Native American Documents

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

Livingston Enterprise - Livingston, TN

RootsWeb - Abstracts from Tennessee Newspapers

RootsWeb - Josephine’s Journal

RootsWeb - The Overton County News

RootsWeb - The Overton County Early Newspaper Project

Obituaries

Genealogy Trails History Group - Overton County, Tennessee

RootsWeb - John Allen Reynolds 

RootsWeb - Martha Ann (Atkins) Reynolds

RootsWeb - Obituaries with Overton County Ties

RootsWeb - 1863 Rev. Overton Ely

RootsWeb - Various Newspaper Obituaries

Photographs

National Archives - Overton County, Tennessee

RootsWeb - July 4, 1922 in Livingston, Tennessee

RootsWeb - Lacy's Grocery

RootsWeb - Lacy's Store

RootsWeb - Morgan Mines near Crawford, Overton County, Tennessee

RootsWeb - 2000 Overton County Genealogy Fair

RootsWeb - ​Overton County Heritage Museum

RootsWeb - Overton County Photo Gallery

RootsWeb - Photograph Collection from the Overton County Historical Society

RootsWeb - Pictorial History of Overton County

RootsWeb - Wilder, TN Coal Mine Picture

TNGenWeb Project - Pre 1900 Courthouse

Queries & Mailing Lists

RootsWeb - Overton County Mailing List

TNGenWeb Project - ​Pre-1796 East Tennessee 

TNGenWeb Project - ​Pre-1796 Middle Tennessee

School Records

Genealogy Trails History Group - Overton County, Tennessee

Overton County Board of Education - Livingston, TN

Societies

East Tennessee Historical Society - Knoxville, Tennessee

Facbook - Overton County Heritage Museum

Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society - Nashville, Tennessee

Overton County Historical Society - Livingston TN

Tennessee Society Daughters of the American Revolution - Overton County, TN

Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association - Cookeville, TN

​Towns, Cities & Townships

City of Livingston - Livingston, TN

Wikipedia.org - Livingston, Tennessee

Vital Records

Genealogy Trails History Group - Overton County, TN Birth Records

Genealogy Trails History Group - Overton County, TN Death Records

Genealogy Trails History Group - Overton County, TN Marriage Records

Overton County Clerk - Livingston, TN

RootsWeb - Early Overton County, Tennessee Marriages

RootsWeb - 1857 - 1904 Overton County Abstracts from the Nashville Christian Advocate

RootsWeb - 1925 - 1938 Overton County Deaths

RootsWeb - 1914 Overton County Deaths

RootsWeb - ​Overton County Divorces

RootsWeb - 1852-1862 Overton County Records

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

TNGenWeb - Sickness & Death in the Old South 

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