Gibson County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Gibson County





West Tennessee county. Established 1823.

County Courthouse


Gibson County Courthouse P.O. Box 228 1 Court Square Trenton, Tennessee 38382 Phone: (731) 855-7642

County Clerk has marriage and probate records Register of Deeds has land records Circuit Court Clerk has court records

Hours: Monday - Friday 8 am - 4:30 pm Saturday 8 am - noon

Parent County
The Tennessee General Assembly created Gibson County on October 21, 1823, out of lands ceded by the Chickasaws in the Jackson Purchase. It was named in honor of John H. Gibson, who served with distinction under Andrew Jackson in the Natchez Expedition and in the Creek Wars.

In 1819 Thomas Fite built the first cabin in Gibson County, which was then part of Carroll County. Luke Biggs, Davy Crockett, and others followed. Settlement progressed rapidly, and residents soon petitioned the general assembly for the formation of a new county, citing the difficulty of getting to the courts of Carroll County.

Commissioners appointed by the general assembly selected a county seat site near the center of the county where Thomas Gibson, a brother of John Gibson, operated a trading post. Initially called Gibson-Port, the name was soon changed to Trenton. County government was organized in January 1824, when the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions met at Biggs's residence. Following terms of the court met in the residence of William C. Love until April 1825, when the first term of court met in a temporary courthouse made of hewn logs.

For a more extensive history see Goodspeeds History of Gibson County.

Boundary Changes
In 1837 the county line between Gibson and Weakley counties was adjusted to include the southwestern corner of Weakley County, all land below the South Fork of the Obion in Gibson County. This simplified travel to a county seat by eliminating the need for river crossings but thereby robbed Weakley County of its most famous citizen, David Crockett, who had been killed in Texas the year before. In 1871 the newly created Crocket County acquired Gibson County territory south of the Middle Fork of the Forked Deer River for essentially the same reasons.

Record Loss
There was a fire at the Gibson County courthouse in 1941, but records are complete.

Populated Places
Cities and Towns:

Neighboring Counties

 * Carroll
 * Crockett
 * Dyer
 * Madison
 * Obion
 * Weakley

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Gibson County, courtesy: TSLA. (Identifies published county histories, published local records, census records, newspapers and local records on microfilm, and select manuscripts.)

African Americans

 * Free African Americans Enumerated in the 1850 and 1860 Gibson County, Tennessee Census, available online, courtesy: Christine's Genealogy Website: Who are Your People?

Cemeteries
Tennessee cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation. A local volunteer through Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness offers to take photographs of headstones found in Gibson County cemeteries.

The following websites may contain Gibson County cemetery records:


 * Find A Grave can be searched by the name of a person or family to find where a person is buried. Usually gives birth and death dates often with a picture of the tombstone. May give obituaries, names of family members and links to their information in Find A Grave.
 * Find A Grave also gives a list of cemeteries in Gibson County linking to the information about the people buried there.
 * Gibson County, TN Cemetery Records, part of the TNGenWeb Cemetery Database, lists many cemeteries in the county, often with indexes and transcripts of the burials.
 * Gibson County, Tennessee, USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project lists many cemeteries in the county and has transcripts of the tombstones arranged by cemetery.
 * Gibson County information on TNGenweb Project
 * The Family History Library Catalog lists some records of cemeteries in Gibson county. Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.
 * ePodunk list of Gibson County cemeteries
 * Cemeteries of Gibson County Tennessee
 * Daughters of the American Revolution - Clement-Scott Chapter (Humboldt, Tennessee) Rose Hill Cemetery in Humboldt, Tennessee: a listing of all marked graves, 1868-19741976googlebooks$
 * Smith, Jonathan Kennon Thompson Tombstone Inscriptions from black cemeteries in Gibson County, Tennessee Jackson City, Tennessee : J.K.T. Smith, 1999. FHL US/CAN book 976.823 V3s
 * Walker, Emily Basham Cemetery Records of Northern Gibson County, Tennessee[surname index] South Fulton, Tennessee : Emily B. Walker, c1985 FHL US/CAN Book 976.823 V3w

Census
1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Gibson County are available online. For tips on accessing census records online, see Tennessee Census. If you're having trouble finding your ancestors in online indexes, try checking printed indexes. Created by local experts familiar with the area's families, these indexes are often transcribed more accurately than nationwide online indexes.

See Tennessee Population Schedule Indexes: Fiche, Film, or Book for more information about statewide printed indexes.

See Gibson County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. [The USGenWeb Census Project®]

1830


 * Census, 1830, Gibson County, Tennessee. [S.I. : s.n., 1830?]. FHL US/CAN book 976.823 X2

1840 Revolutionary War Pensioners


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. FHL US/CAN Book 973 X2pc 1840; FHL US/CAN Film 2321. 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google books et. al. [See Tennessee, Western District, Gibson County on page 159.]

1850


 * Seventh census of the United States, 1850, Gibson County, Tennessee, free population schedules Huntsville, Arkansas : Century Enterprises Genealogical Services, 1970 FHL US/CAN book 976.823 X2

1860


 * Scanned census images [in the USGenWeb Archives]

1880


 * Sistler, Barbara 1880 census Gibson County, Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee : Byron Sistler and Associates, 2002 FHL US/CAN book 976.823 X2

1890 - Lost, but substitutes are available:


 * Reed, Sue S. Enumeration of Male Inhabitants of Twenty-one Years of Age and Upward, Citizens of Tennessee, January 1, 1891, as Provided for by an Act of General Assembly of Tennessee, Passed January 15, 1891, and Approved January 22, 1891. 8 vols. Houston, Texas: S.S. Reed, 1989. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2r v. 3 1891. [Gibson County is included in Vol. 3.]
 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1890 Civil War Veterans Census, Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: Byron Sister and Associates, 1978. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2s 1890.

Court

 * Hays, Tony Gibson County (Tennessee) records, 1824-1846 [S.I. : Kitchen Table Press, 1986. FHL US/CAN Book 976.823 P2h
 * Historical Records Survey Chancery Court minutes, 1834-1847, Gibson County, Tennessee Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1939. FHL US/CAN Film 24650
 * Historical Records Project (Tennessee) and Tennessee Circuit Court (Gibson County) Circuit Court Minutes, 1824-1832, Gibson County, Tennessee Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1939. FHL US/CAN Film 24652 item 2
 * Historical Records Survey, Gibson County, Tennessee County Court and Gibson County, Tennessee Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions County Court Minutes, 1824-1828, Gibson County, Tennessee Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1942. FHL US/CAN Film 24651 items 1-2
 * Walker, Emily B. Gibson County, Tennessee, court minutes Includes index. South Fulton, Tennessee : E.B. Walker, 1987. FHL US/CAN Book 976.823 P2w

Family Histories
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. Use this list to:


 * Locate publications about direct ancestors
 * Find the most updated accounts of an ancestor's family
 * Identify publications, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, about an ancestor's "FAN Club" [Friends, Associates, and Neighbors]

General


 * Families and History of Gibson County, Tennessee to 1989. Milan, Tenn.: Lee-Davis United Daughters of the Confederacy Historical Society, 1989. FHL US/CAN Book 976.823 H2L.

Bibliography


 * [Burress] Burress, Charles G. The Family of William Burress (ca. 1799-1850?) of Tennessee. Phoenix, Ariz.?: unknown, 1971. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 962162; digital version at BYU FAmily History archives Ancestry ($); and Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [King] Hill, Ailene King and Lowrance, Juantia King Alvin King His Ancestors and Descendants 1630 - 1996 [1996] Available at the Family History Library FHL book 929.273 K58ha with a digital version available at BYU Family History Archives
 * [Luckey] Luckey, Ann Colvin and Elizabeth Luckey Bennett. The Luckey Family of Tennessee: A Genealogical History of the John Henry Luckey, William Franklin Luckey and Samuel Joseph Luckey of Gibson/Madison Counties, Tennessee Their Ancestors and Descendants, 1732-1987. Cullman, Ala.: Gregath, 1987. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 L964L.
 * [Wade] Beadles, Zada Wade. The Wades the history of a family, dealing with the kith and kin of Zachary and Mary Hatton Wade, their descendants and related lines, male and female, in Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and other states. Cairo, IL: Published for the author, Mrs. Jesse Asa Beadles, 1963. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 W119c; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).

Land

 * Gibson County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1823 and is located at the Courthouse, Trenton, Tennessee, P.O. Box 228, Trenton, TN 38382-0228; Telephone: (731) 855-7642. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries
 * The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Gibson County land records. They offer a research service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee. Available indexes:   Deed Book A: 1819-1829
 * Gibson County Register of Deeds Deed records, 1819-1890; index to deeds, 1819-1901 Nashville, Tennessee:State Library and Archives, 1976  FHL US/CAN Film 1008149-178 and 1007807-10
 * Crumpton, Barbara Gibson County, Tennessee : [deed books] Duncan, Oklahoma : Creative Copies, c2000. FHL US/CAN Book 976.823 R2c v. 1-2
 * Smith, Jonathan Kennon Thompson Genealogical abstracts from early land, chancery and other records of Gibson County, Tennessee Jackson, Tennessee : J.K.T. Smith, c1998 FHL US/CAN 976.823 R28s
 * Walker, Emily B. Gibson County, Tennessee, landowners, 1877 South Fulton, Tennessee : E.B. Walker, c1986 FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 A1 no.99
 * Walker, Emily B. North Carolina land grants in the Western District (Tennessee), most particularly Gibson and surrounding counties: volumes A-B, 1788-1796 E.B. Walker, 1987. googlebooks $

Law and Legislation

 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Acts of Tennessee 1796-1850: Index to Names. January 25, 2005. [In addition to creating new laws, legislative acts were often required to obtain a divorce, grant legitimacy to a child, or for appointments to or grant payments for public service.] The TSLA has created an index to names that appear in these acts covering the years 1796 to 1850. To read more about this valuable resource Click here. The searchable index is available at the TSLA; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Local Histories

 * Families and History of Gibson County, Tennessee to 1989  (Lee-Davis U.D.C. Historical Society, 1989) [surname index]
 * Gibson County, Past and Present : The First General History of one of West Tennessee's Pivotal Counties (Culp &amp; Ross, 1996) [name index]
 * Gibson County Sesquicentennial, 1823-1973 : Celebrating its 150th Anniversary (1973)
 * Gibson County, Tennessee (illustrated) A Series of Pen and Picture Sketches (Greene, 1901) [partial index]
 * Gibson County, Tennessee : A Pictorial History (1994)
 * Hays, Tony and Jackson, Janice S. Gibson-Crockett : a joint heritage [S.I.] : Kitchen Table Press, 1986. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 P2h
 * History of Skullbone (Old North Gibson), Tennessee (Pounds, 1980)
 * History of Tennessee From the Earliest Times to the Present : Together with an Historical and a Biographical Sketch of Gibson, Obion, Dyer, Weakley and Lake Counties (Goodspeed, 1978) [name index]
 * Humboldt, Tennessee : A Pictorial History (Harris, Fisher and Pyron)
 * Neboville, Riverside, Hooten, Midway community and family history [2 vols.] (Putnam, 2000?) [name index]
 * Tennessee, Gibson County : Capt. King's Diary, 1865 (WPA, 1938) [name index]
 * Gibson County, Tennessee, Carole Wiggins, Thomas W. Graham, M. Elizabeth McCroskey, University of Tennessee (System), County Technical Assistance Service. Private acts of Gibson County, Tennessee County Technical Assistance Service, University of Tennessee, Institute for Public Service, 1994. googlebooks $
 * Tennessee's Last Kingdom, Skullbone, Tennessee, Celebrating 100 years, 1898-1998 (Pounds, 1998) Additional county and community histories can be found at the TSLA' Bibliography of Tennessee Local History Sources: Gibson County.

Maps
Tennessee Department of Transportation Gibson County Map pdf.

Revolutionary War
The following Gibson County Revolutionary War records are available online through TNGenWeb:


 * 1835 Pension Roll
 * 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions

Additional resources include:


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. FHL US/CAN Book 973 X2pc 1840; FHL US/CAN Film 2321. 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google books et. al. [See Tennessee, Western District, Gibson County on page 159.]
 * Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." Digital version at Ancestry ($). Tennessee entries abstracted online at Tennesseans in the Revolutionary War, courtesy: TNGenWeb. [Includes veterans from this county; Tennessee section begins on page 381.]
 * General Books The Honor Roll, Gibson County, Tennessee, U.S.A., 1917-1918-1919 General Books, LLC, 2010. googlebooks $

War of 1812

 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Apr. 1960):40-45. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 7 (1960); digital version at journal website. [Includes Gibson County pensioners (pp. 44-45)]

World War I

 * With the Colors written in 1920 by Mrs. Gordon Brame Hargrove. It is described by Mrs. Hargrove as an "Honor Roll containing a pictorial history of Gibson County Tennessee, USA, Specially honoring Those that Served in the Great World War, 1917 - 1918 - 1919." In most instances it gives the name, date of birth, parents names, enlistment date, where served and muster out date of the soldiers that fought in World War I from Gibson County Tennessee.

Newspapers

 * Walker, Emily Basham Gibson County, Tennessee, newspaper extracts South Fulton, Tennessee : E.B. Walker, 1986. FHL US/CAN Book 976.823 B3w Volumes 1-5


 * Many Tennessee newspapers are filmed and available at the TSLA. Most of these newspapers may be accessed by interlibrary loan to libraries within Tennessee, although there are some newspapers which are not available in or outside of Tennessee. For further information regarding interlibrary loan policies and newspapers not available for interlibrary loan click here. For a list of newspapers available at the archives for Gibson County click on the following cities or towns:


 * Bradford
 * Dyer
 * Humboldt
 * Milan
 * Rutherford
 * Trenton

Occupations

 * Miller, Alan N. West Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1821 to 1889. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2006. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2man. Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes Gibson County.]

Periodicals
Tap into the minds of local experts. Editors of genealogical periodicals publish unique sources that researchers who are new to their area would not likely discover. This type of material may be found in local, regional, or statewide genealogical society journals. The following periodicals cover this county:

Ansearchin' News

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Gibson County, Tennessee have been published in Ansearchin' News, the quarterly magazine of the Tennessee Genealogical Society. To view a list of these articles, visit their county index. To read digitized versions of the first 36 years of articles (Vols. 1-36), browse their archive or conduct a surname search. The Family History Library has a complete collection of the Ansearchin' News quarterly FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a.

Family Findings

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Gibson County, Tennessee records have been published in Family Findings, the quarterly of the Mid-West Tennessee Genealogical Society (42+ vols.). The Family History Library has most issues of this quarterly FHL US/CAN 976.8 B2f.

Tables of contents for some volumes are available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb Project:


 * Volumes 1-10 (1969-1978)
 * Volumes 11-20 (1979-1988)
 * Volumes 21-24 (1989-1992)
 * Volumes 32-35 (2000-2003)

Many articles from this publication have been reproduced on the TNGenWeb Project website, try this specialized Google search.

West Tennessee Historical Society Papers

Family History Library has Volumes 1 - 16 and 30 FHL US/CAN Book 976.81 B5w. The West Tennessee Historical Society Papers are indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI). To view Table of Contents and complete articles from 1947 - 2005 see Shelby County Register of Deeds

Prisons
Learn if your Gibson County ancestors went to prison!


 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1831-1850, free index available online, courtesy: TSLA.
 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870, free index available online, courtesy: TSLA.

Probate
The following Gibson County probate records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * [1824-1846] Walker, Emily B. Gibson County, Tennessee, bond and will books A,B and C, 1824-1846 South Fulton, Tennessee : E.B. Walker, c1986. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 A1 no. 98
 * [1825-1861] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Tennessee Wills &amp; Administrations 1779-1861. Nashville, Tenn. Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, Inc., 1990. FHL US/CAN 976.8 P22s. [Includes an index to this county's probate records.]

Taxation
The original Gibson County Tax Records 1867-1884 are kept at the County Courthouse. In 1976, the TSLA microfilmed these records. FHL copies: FHL US/CAN Films 1007812-1007815.

The following Gibson County tax records have been abstracted:


 * [1824-1832] Walker, Emily B. Gibson County, Tennessee, Tax Lists, with Map. 2 vols. [1824-1832] South Fulton, Tenn.: E.B. Walker, 1988. FHL US/CAN Book 976.823 R4w ff.
 * [1830] "Gibson County, Tennessee 1830 List of Inhabitants," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 41, No. 3 (Fall 1994):99-102; Vol. 41, No. 4 (Winter 1994):169-171. For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
 * [1830] Cox, Jere and Vicki Shaffer. "1830 Sheriff's List" [2 parts], available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.
 * [1830] Cox, Jere and Vicki Shaffer. "1830 2nd Sheriff's List," available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.
 * [1833] Tucker, Rick. "1833 Gibson Co. Tax List," available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.
 * [1834] Tucker, Rick. "1834 Gibson Co. Tax List," available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.
 * [1834] Tucker, Rick. "1834 Sheriff's Tax List," available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.
 * [1834] Tucker, Rick. "1834 Tax Rates," available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.
 * [1835] Tucker, Rick. "1835 Sheriff's Tax List," available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.
 * [1835] Tucker, Rick. "1835 Tax List &amp; Rates," available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.
 * [1836] Hollis, Jane. "Gibson County, Tennessee Tax List - 1836," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Summer 1978):65-70; Vol. 25, No. 3 (Fall 1978):124-129, 144. For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.

Vital Records
Birth


 * Walker, Emily Basham Gibson County, Tennessee, vital satistics 1881-1883 : marriages, 1881-1883; births, 1881 Includes index. South Fulton, Tennessee : E.B. Walker, 1987. FHL US/CAN Book 976.823 V2web

Marriage

The following Gibson County marriage records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * [1824-1870] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early West Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: B. Sistler &amp; Associates, 1989. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 V2sb v. 1 ff. [Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years.]
 * [1824-1950] Tennessee County Court (Gibson County)Marriage records, 1824-1950; index 1829-1950 Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1998'. FHL US/CAN Films
 * [1824-1957] Gibson County (Tennessee) County Court Clerk Marriage records (Gibson County, Tennessee), 1824-1957 Nashville, Tennessee : Tennessee State Library and Archives, 1976-1988. FHL US/CAN Films
 * [1824-1960] Historical Records Survey. Marriage records,1824-1860 Gibson County, Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee : Tennessee State Library and Archives, 1939. FHL US/CAN Film 24652 item 4
 * [1824-1860] Whitely, Edythe Rucker and McGhan, Judith Marriages of Gibson County, Tennessee, 1824-1860 Includes index. Baltimore, Maryland : Genealogical Pub. Co., 1982. FHL US/CAN Book 976.823 V2w
 * [1860-1870] Gossum, Mary Louise and Walker, Emily B. Gibson County, Tennessee, marriage records, volume A June 1860-November, 1870 Arranged alphabetically by groom. Includes bride's surname index. Fulton, Kentucky : M.L. Gossum, c1984 FHL US/CAN Book 976.823 V2g
 * [1865-1866] Craighead, Sandra G. Index and analysis of the register of colored marriages performed at the Freedmen's Bureau in Trenton (Gibson County) Tennessee, 1865-1866 S.G. Craighead, 1995 googlebooks $

Freedman's Bureau Marriage Certificates (1861-1869) is an index to the marriage records kept by the Memphis Field Office of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands. It includes grooms surname, grooms given name, groom's age, bride's surname, bride's given name and other information.

Death


 * Hays, Tony Gibson County Death Records Kitchen Table Press, 1987 googlebooks

For deaths of Methodists in Gibson County between the 1830s and the 1920s, try:


 * Smith, Jonathan K.T. Genealogical Abstracts from Reported Deaths, the Nashville Christian Advocate. [1847-1914] 10 vols. [Jackson, Tenn.]: J.K.T. Smith, 1997-2003. FHL US/CAN Books 976.855/N1 V48s 1847-1851 ff; digital versions at David Donahue Memorial: Tennessee Records Repository. [Website expands upon the publications and includes deaths from the 1830s, 1840s, 1910s and 1920s.]

Societies and Libraries
A local volunteer, through Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness, offers to do genealogy lookups and make photocopies at Gibson County's public libraries.

Web Sites

 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Gibson County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Gibson County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Gibson County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TNGIBSON-L (Gibson County, Tennessee List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: WEST-TNCHAT-L (West Tennessee Chat List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: WESTTN-L (West Tennessee List)