Sumner County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Sumner County





Middle Tennessee county established in 1786. Sumner County belonged to the pioneer Cumberland Settlements.

County Courthouse
Sumner County Courthouse 355 North Belvedere Drive Room 111 Gallatin, Tennessee 37066 Phone: (615) 452-4282

Hours: Monday - Thursday 8 am - 4:30 pm Friday 8 am - 5:15 pm

History
The county is named after "Jethro Sumner (1733–1785), an American colonist who defended North Carolina against the British in 1780."

Parent County
1786--Sumner County was established 18 November 1786 from Davidson County. Early records may be found under Davidson County. County seat: Gallatin

Neighboring Counties

 * Allen County, Kentucky
 * Davidson
 * Macon
 * Robertson
 * Simpson County, Kentucky
 * Trousdale
 * Wilson

Research Guides

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

Census
1770-1790


 * Fulcher, Richard Carlton, comp. 1770-1790 Census of the Cumberland Settlements: Davidson, Sumner and Tennessee Counties (In what is now Tennessee). Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1987. Available at FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2f; digital version at World Vital Records ($).

1810 - Lost, but a substitute is available:
 * Sherrill, Charles A. The Reconstructed 1810 Census of Tennessee: 33,000 Long-lost Records from Tax Lists, Court Minutes, Church Records, Wills, Deeds and Other Sources. Mt. Juliet, Tenn.: C.A. Sherrill, 2001. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2s 1810.

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


 * Masters, Jack and Bill Puryear. Founding of the Cumberland Settlements: The First Atlas 1779-1804: Showing Who Came, How They Came, and Where They Put Down Roots. Gallatin, Tenn.: Warioto Press, 2009. FHL US/CAN Large Q Book 976.8 E7d. Supplements: FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 E7d supp. 1 ff. Purchase at Cumberland Pioneer Settlers.
 * Whitley, Edythe Johns Rucker. Red River Settlers: Records of the Settlers of Northern Montgomery, Robertson, and Sumner Counties, Tennessee. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1980. Available at FHL US/CAN Book 976.84 D2w. Digital versions available at Ancestry ($) and World Vital Records ($).

Bibliography


 * [Garrison] Garrison, Lloyd Russell. The Descendants of John Garrison of Sumner County, Tennessee. Denton, TX: Terrill Wheeler Print. Co., 1961. Digital version available at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Lauderdale] Lauderdale, Charles J. The Lauderdales of Scotland and America, 1056-1936. Joplin, MO: Gahagan Print. Co., 1937. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 1307515 Item 5, digital version available at Heritage Quest Online ($).

Land
Land Grants


 * Free index to 1500+ Pioneer Cumberland Settlements Land Grants, available online, courtesy: Cumberland Pioneer Settlers. The Cumberland Settlements region covered what is now this county. To view the land grants platted on maps, purchase the books described on this site, or access those available at the Family History Library FHL US/CAN Large Q Book 976.8 E7d.

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 Tennessee State Library and Archives 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 Tennessee State Library and Archives; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Local Histories

 * Albright, Edward. Early History of Middle Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: Brandon Printing Co., 1909. Free digitzed copy.

Military

 * McMurray, William Joseph. History of the 20th Tennessee Regiment Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A. Nashville, Tennessee: s.p., 1904. Free digital copy.

Occupations

 * Miller, Alan N. Middle Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1784 to 1902. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2004. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2ma. Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes Sumner County.]

Periodicals
Ansearchin' News

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Sumner County, Tennessee records 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.

The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History

Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Sumner County, Tennessee have been published in The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, the quarterly of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society (23+ Vols.). To view a list of these articles, visit their online Index to Articles (1988-2005). Surname indexes are also available online for Vols. 2-22. The website also offers back issues for sale in paper and on CD. The Family History Library has a complete collection of this quarterly FHL US/CAN Book 976.85 D25m.

Prisons

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

Taxation

 * [1787, 1792, 1811, 1816, 1823] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Early Tennessee Tax Lists. Evanston, Ill.: B. & B. Sistler, 1977. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 R4s. [Includes 1787, 1792, 1811, 1816, and 1823 tax lists.]
 * [1817] "U.S. Holds 1817 Public Sale of Federal Tax-Delinquent Properties in Tennessee," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Summer 1996):63-68. For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals. [Includes Sumner County.]

Vital Records
Birth

Marriage

Whitley, Edythe Rucker Whitley and Gary Parks. Marriages of Sumner County, Tennessee, 1787 - 1838. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1981. Available at FHL US/CAN Book 976.847 V2w. Digital version available at Ancestry.com ($); and World Vital Records ($).

Death

Family History Centers
Gallatin Tennessee 1360 E Main St Gallatin, Sumner, Tennessee, United States Telephone: 615-452-2741

This is not a mailing address. Due to limited staff, Family History Centers are unable to respond to mail inquiries.

Web Sites

 * Cumberland Pioneer Settlers Cumberland Compact Signers, Pioneer Land Grant Recipients, Publication Descriptions, Free Book Indexes
 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Sumner County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Sumner County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)