Tennessee Genealogy - Ancestry Research & Family History
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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 - 1790-1865 The Negro in Tennessee

Archives and Libraries

FamilySearch Catalog - White County, Tennessee

Newspaper Archives - Obituaries & Family History Records

Tennessee Secretary of State - White County, Tennessee

Tennessee Virtual Archive -White County, Tennessee

USGenWeb Archives - White County, Tennessee

White County Archives - Sparta, TN

White County Public Library - Sparta, TN

Bible Records

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County Gillette Family Bible

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County Knowles Family Bible

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County Swindell Family Bible

USGenWeb Archives - White County, Tennessee

Bibliography

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

Biographies

Genealogy Trails History Group - White County Biographies

Genealogy Trails History Group - White County Notables

My Genealogy Hound - White County, Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - ​1887 Goodspeed Bios of White County

TNGenWeb Project - White County Biographies

TNGenWeb Project - ​Medical Profession in White County

USGenWeb Archives - White County, Tennessee

Cemeteries

ePodunk - White County, Tennessee

Find A Grave - White County, Tennessee

Genealogy Trails History Group - White County, Tennessee

TNGenWeb Cemetery Database - White County, Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - ​Mary Dibrell Fiske Letter

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County, Anderson Cemetery

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County, Big Fork Cemetery

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County, Lost Creek Austin Cemetery

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County, Moore Cemetery

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County, Old Jericho Cemetery

TNGenWeb Project - ​White Co. TN Cemetery Records

TNGenWeb Project - ​Mary Dibrell Fiske Letter

TNGenWeb Project - ​White Co. TN Cemetery Records

The Political Graveyard - White County, Tennessee

USGenWeb Archives - White County, Tennessee

USGenWeb Tombstone Project - White County, Tennessee

Census Records

Census Finder - Tennessee Census Records

Census Tools - Electronic Census Spreadsheet

Genealogy Trails History Group - White County, Tennessee

FamilySearch.org - 1810 US Census Records

FamilySearch.org - 1820 US Census Records

FamilySearch.org - 1830 US Census Records

FamilySearch.org - 1840 US Census Records

FamilySearch.org - 1850 US Census Records

FamilySearch.org - 1860 US Census Records

FamilySearch.org - 1870 US Census Records

FamilySearch.org - 1880 US Census Records

FamilySearch.org - 1900 US Census Records

FamilySearch.org - 1910 US Census Records

FamilySearch.org - 1920 US Census Records

FamilySearch.org - 1930 US Census Records

FamilySearch.org - 1940 US Census Records

TNGenWeb Project - ​1820 White County Census Transcription

TNGenWeb Project - ​1870 White County Census

TNGenWeb Project - ​1840-1930 White County 5th Civil District

USGenWeb Archives - White County, Tennessee

Church Records

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County Big Fork Baptist Church

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County Church Records by Daniel Haston

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County Mt. Gilead Methodist Church

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County Mt. Pisgah Methodist Church

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County Union Cumberland Methodist Church

Court Records

USGenWeb Archives - White County, Tennessee

White County Clerk of Circuit Court - Sparta, TN

Estate Records

TNGenWeb Project - 1810-1828 White County Inventories & Will Book A

TNGenWeb Project - 1831-1840 White County Inventories & Will Book B

USGenWeb Archives - White County, Tennessee

Family Trees

RootsWeb - Descendants of William Bohannon

RootsWeb - Descendants of Abraham Broyles

RootsWeb - Descendants of Francis Fergus

RootsWeb - Descendants of Samuel Alexander Moore

RootsWeb - Descendants of Samuel and John Weaver

​TNGenWeb Project - ​Ancestors of William B. Rice

​TNGenWeb Project - ​The Family of  William McGowan, Sr.

​TNGenWeb Project - ​Creeley Family Page

​TNGenWeb Project - ​Descendants of Lollar Family

TNGenWeb Project - ​DNA Projects Links

TNGenWeb Project - ​Genealogy Calculators

TNGenWeb Project - ​Hembree Family History

TNGenWeb Project - The Heritage of Daniel Haston

TNGenWeb Project - ​Keathley National Website

​TNGenWeb Project - ​Pryor Family Genealogy

TNGenWeb Project - White County Surnames

TNGenWeb Project - ​USGenWeb Lineage Researcher Page

General Resources

Census Tools - Electronic Census Spreadsheets

FamilySearch Wiki - White County, Tennessee

RootsWeb - The Association for Gravestone Studies

RootsWeb - Comfort Foods

RootsWeb - Create a timeline of History

RootsWeb - Deciphering Old Handwriting

RootWebs - 1657 - 1918 Epidemics in the United States

RootWebs - 1702 - 1942 Epidemics in the United States

RootWebs - Good Things to Know

RootsWeb - ​Historical Collections of Tennessee

RootWebs - List of Diseases with Meanings

RootsWeb - Search the DAR Library Catalog

TNGenWeb Project - White County Research Aids

TNGenWeb Project - ​19th Century Medical Terminology

White County Government - White County, Tennessee

Yesterday's Perry Co. - Introduction to the Resources of Tennessee​

History

Genealogy Trails History Group - White County, Tennessee

Tennessee Encyclopedia - White County, Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - ​Pre-1796 East Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - ​Pre-1796 Middle Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County History

TNGenWeb Project - White County, Tennessee Convicts

USGenWeb Archives - White County, Tennessee

Wikipedia.org - White County, Tennessee

Historical Places

National Register of Historic Places - White County, Tennessee

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

Land Records

Tennessee Century Farms - White County, TN

USGenWeb Archives - White County, Tennessee

White County Register of Deeds - ​Sparta, TN

Maps

My Genealogy Hound - White County, Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - Goodspeed’s 1886 Tennessee Map

TNGenWeb Project - Maps by Charles Reeves

TNGenWeb Project - ​Tennessee Census Maps

TNGenWeb Project - 1818 Tennessee Map

TNGenWeb Project - ​Tennessee Maps

TNGenWeb Project - ​The Maps Our Ancestors Followed

TNGenWeb Project - Three Grand Divisions of Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County Topography & Migration

Military Records

FamilySearch.org - Tennessee in the War of 1812

Genealogy Trails History Group - White County, Tennessee

RootsWeb - Tennessee Civil War Sourcebook

RootsWeb - War of 1812

National Archives - WWII Army Casualties: Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - ​A Salute To Our Fallen Heroes

TNGenWeb Project - ​American Civil War

TNGenWeb Project - ​The Civil War In Wayne County

TNGenWeb Project - ​Civil War Soldiers

TNGenWeb Project - Goodspeed Regimental Sketches

TNGenWeb Project - ​Hidden Ancestors Veteran Project

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

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County Civil War Sources

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County Newspaper Article about John Knowles

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County White County, TN Revolutionary War Veterans

TNGenWeb Project - ​White County Veterans

USGenWeb Archives - White County, Tennessee

Wikipedia.org - Tennessee in the American Civil War

Native American Genealogy

Museum of the Cherokee Indian - Cherokee, NC

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 Intruder

TNGenWeb Project - Native American History

Newspapers

Genealogy Trails History Group - White County, Tennessee

Sparta Expositor - Sparta, TN

TNGenWeb - Historical News Index

USGenWeb Archives - White County, Tennessee

Obituaries

Genealogy Trails History Group - White County, Tennessee

USGenWeb Archives - White County, Tennessee

Photographs

National Archives - White County, Tennessee

Tennessee Encyclopedia - White County, Tennessee

Queries & Mailing Lists

TNGenWeb Project - All Tennessee Query Systems

TNGenWeb Project - ​Pre-1796 East Tennessee 

TNGenWeb Project - ​Pre-1796 Middle Tennessee

TNGenWeb Project - White County Queries

School Records

White County Schools - White County, Tennessee

Societies

Bon Air Mountain Historical Society

Boones Creek Historical Trust - Gray, TN


East Tennessee Historical Society - Knoxville, Tennessee

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

White County Genealogical Historical Society - Sparta, TN

Tax Records

TNGenWeb Project - 1811 – 1826 White County, TN Tax Lists

TNGenWeb Project - White County Tax Districts Overview

USGenWeb Archives - White County, Tennessee

White County Property Assessor - Sparta, TN

​Towns, Cities & Townships

City of Sparta - Sparta, TN

Genealogy Trails History Group - Memories of Sparta, Tennessee

Wikipedia.org - Doyle, Tennessee

Wikipedia.org - Sparta, Tennessee

Vital Records

Genealogy Trails History Group - White County, TN Birth Records

Genealogy Trails History Group - White County, TN Death Records

Genealogy Trails History Group - White County, TN Marriage Records

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

Shelby County Register of Deeds - 1980-2014 Divorce Records Index 

Shelby County Register of Deeds - 1980-2014 Marriage Records Index

TNGenWeb - Historical News Index

USGenWeb Archives - White County, Tennessee
​
VitalChek - Tennessee Vital Records

​Vitalrec.com - Tennessee Vital Records

White County Clerk - Sparta, TN
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
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