McMinn County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    McMinn County





East Tennessee county. Established 1819.

Quick Dates
McMinn County's civil records start the following years:

County Courthouse
McMinn County Courthouse 6 West Madison Avenue Athens, TN 37303 Phone: 423-745-1281

McMinn County Clerk Marriage, probate and court records 5 South Hill Street, Suite A Athens, TN 37303 Phone: 423-745-4440

McMinn County Register of Deeds Land records P.O. Box 1074 Athens, TN 37303 Phone: 423-745-1232

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

History
The county is named after Tennessee Governor Joseph McMinn (1758-1824).

Parent County
1819--McMinn County was established 13 November 1819 from Cherokee Indian Lands. County seat: Athens

Record Loss
1964--Fire damaged records


 * Lost censuses: 1820, 1890
 * Lack of marriage records: 1819 to 1837

Although these are not burned records, applying strategies used for burned counties may aid in compensating for their loss. For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:


 * Arlene Eakle, When the Records are Gone in Tennessee Genealogy Blog
 * Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
 * Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle

Research Guides

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

Bible

 * W.P.A. McMinn Transcripts Book [Bible records and original Cedar Grove cemetery]. Free Lookups Available!

Cemeteries
Tennessee cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.

Various volunteers are willing to search the McMinn County Cemetery Index by Sharon McCormack, which is based on Marvin and Samme Templin's book and cemetery webpages. Free Lookups Available!

A local volunteer through Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness offers to take photographs of headstones found in McMinn County cemeteries.

Additional McMinn County cemetery resources include:


 * Carlock Cemetery


 * For a volunteer willing to look up funeral Home records for the names Bayless, Bordwine, Dender, Evans, Jerry Smith, Kyker, Murphy, Quisenberry, Ziegler see the McMinn USGenWeb site.

Census
1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of McMinn 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.

1820 - Lost

1830


 * Sistler, Byron H. 1830 Census, East Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: n.p., 1969. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2p 1830. Free Lookups Available!

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, Eastern District, McMinn County on page 153.]

1850


 * Boyer, Reba Bayless. Population Schedule of the United States Census of 1850 (Seventh Census) for McMinn County, Tennessee. Athens, Tenn.: McMinn County Chapter, East Tennessee Historical Society, 1961. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8865 X2p 1850. Free Lookups Available!

1870


 * Broyles, Bettye J. 1870 McMinn County, Tennessee, Census. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1983. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8865 X2b 1870. Free Lookups Available!

1880


 * Sistler, Barbara and Byron Sistler. 1880 Census, McMinn County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, 1995. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8865 X2s 1880. Free Lookups Available!

Court

 * Boyer, Reba Bayless Chancery court records of McMinn County, Tennessee [Tennessee] " Reba B. Boyer, 1980 FHL US/CAN book 976.8865 P2bo Free lookups available!
 * 1852-1930 McMinn County Chancery Court Records Index Free lookups available!

DNA
DNA has been collected from men claiming descent from the following McMinn County residents. Attempts have not been made to verify the lineages of those tested.
 * [Brown] Multiple descendants of James S. Brown, b. 1780 Rockingham County, Virginia, resident of Lincoln County, Tennessee mid 1820s, resident of McMinn County, Tennessee 1830, d. 1876 DeKalb County, Alabama. Y-DNA 25 and 67 Marker Tests, FTDNA (Kits 39542, 82328). Genetic signatures available online (labeled Group No. 94), genealogical description available online, courtesy: Brown/Browne/Braun DNA Study.

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

Bibliography


 * [Barnes] See Longley.
 * [Bates] Bates, Madison C. Bates, a Brief History and Genealogy of Joseph Harrison Bates. Galesburg, Ill.: Wagoner Printing Co., 1915. FHL/VAULT US/CAN Film 1145782 Item 3; digital version at Google Books.
 * [Bigham] Bigham, Esther W. Genealogical Collection of Esther Bigham. MSS., microfilmed in 1993. FHL US/CAN Film 1598133 Item 1. [Andres Bigham of McMinn County, Tennessee.]
 * [Boone] Hodges, J. E. Jesse Boone: His Ancestors and Descendants. Maiden, NC: Unknown, 1953. FHL US/CAN Film 1402779; digital version at Heritage Quest Online. ($).
 * [Brown] McCornack, John C. The Family of Ollie Brown and Robert Austin of Scotts Hill, Tennessee and Foss, Oklahoma. [Peoria, Illinois]: J.C. McCornack, 1992. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 B814; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Cantrell] See Longley.
 * [Curd] See Longley.
 * [Gentry] Edwards, Helen Watson. Echoes of the Past: A Book for the Descendants of John Alexander Gentry and Minnie Bell Woods. Montgomery, Ala.: H.W. Edwards, 1992. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 G289eh.
 * [Hunt] Hunt, Edward E. Descendants of Grandison Hunt, 1801-1982. Prepared abt 1982. FHL US/CAN Film 1320815 Item 42.
 * [Kelley] Smith, Paul and Alba Nannie Hickman Smith. Joel Kelley, ca 1775 - ca 1862. Alpharetta, Georgia: P. Smith, 1984. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 K287sm.
 * [Langley] See Longley.
 * [Longley] Matthews, Addah Longley. Genealogy, Curd-Longley, Cantrell-Barnes. North Newton, KS: Mennonite Press, 1966. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 C922g; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Morris] Morris, James L. Our Morris Family. [Boise, Idaho]: J. Morris, 1993. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 M831mjL.
 * [Rothwell] Fischer, Myra Smith. A Rothwell Book: Comprising the Descendants of Claiborne Rothwell of Albemarle County, Virginia, through Nine Generations and Interesting Sketches About Some of His Descendants. Memphis, Tennessee: M.S. Fischer, 1964. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 R746f; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Rutherford] Guthrie, Glenita. Family Cookin' II: With a Dash of Family History. Westville, Oklahoma: G. Guthrie, [1995]. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 R159g.
 * [Thomas] Roy, Claude N. The Roy Family of Virginia and Tennessee: Goddard, Thomas, Lee, McDaniel. n.p.: C.N. Roy, 1994. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 R812rc.
 * [Thompson] Thompson, Mary Ann Morris. Samuel Thompson of McMinn County, Tennessee and Some of His Descendants: Including the Related Families of Cobb, Cooke, Derrick, Lattimore and Rogers. Plano, Texas: M.A.M. Thompson, 1993. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 T371tm.

Land
In 1970, TSLA microfilmed the original McMinn County Deed Books A to II (1820-1900) as well as a Deed Index (1893-1927). FHL copies: FHL US/CAN Films 830197-830213.

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.] 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 TSLA; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Military
Revolutionary War

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


 * 1835 Pension Roll
 * 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions
 * McQueen, Ed and Bigham, W.L. (Transcribed by) McMinn County, Tennessee Revolutionary War Pensioner's List
 * TnGenWeb Revolutionary War Pensioner's Information of McMinn County, Tennesse

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, Eastern District, McMinn County on page 153.]
 * 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.]

War of 1812


 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Jan. 1961):20-23. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 8 (1961); digital version at journal website. [Includes McMinn County pensioners (p. 20).]

Civil War


 * Wiefering, Edna et al. Tennessee Union Soldiers: of Bradley, McMinn and Polk Counties Serving in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 10th TN Cavalry 5th TN Infantry and 5th TN Mounted Infantry. Cleveland, Tenn.: Cleveland Public Library (Tennessee), 1996. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 M28tus.
 * Worsham, William J. Old Nineteenth Tennessee regiment, C.S.A. June, 1861-April, l865. Knoxville, Tennessee: Press of Paragon Printing Co., 1902. Free digital copy.

Newspapers
A local volunteer through Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness is willing to do free obituary lookups in McMinn County newspapers.

Many Tennessee newspapers are filmed and available at 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 McMinn County click on the following cities or towns:


 * Athens
 * Calhoun
 * Englewood
 * Etowah

Occupations

 * Miller, Alan N. East Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1778 to 1911. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2000. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2m. Digital version at World Vital Records ($). Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes McMinn 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 McMinn 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.

East Tennessee Roots

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of McMinn County, Tennessee records have been published in East Tennessee Roots (10 vols.). A subject index to these articles is available online. Surname indexes to Volumes 9 and 10 are also available online. The Family History Library has collected most issues of East Tennessee Roots FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 D25e.

Prisons
Learn if your McMinn 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
In 1970, TSLA microfilmed McMinn County Will Books A to H (1819-1925). FHL copies: FHL US/CAN Films 830194-830196.

The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early McMinn County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee. Available indexes:


 * 1) Will Book A: 1819-1830

McMinn County's probate records have been indexed and/or abstracted multiple times:


 * [1819-1830] Strictly By Name (see above).
 * [1820-1870] Boyer, Reba Bayless. Wills and Estate Records of McMinn County, Tennessee 1820-1870. 1966. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8865 P2br. Free lookups available!
 * [1820-1861] 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.] Free Lookups Available!
 * [1823-1851] [Dates?] Bell, Annie W.B. Record of Marriages and Wills in McMinn County, Tennessee, 1823-1851. 1935. FHL US/CAN Film 823725 Item 5.
 * [1828-1848] Historical Records Project (W.P.A.). Will Books, 1828-1848, McMinn County, Tennessee. Typescript, TSLA. Microfilmed in 1940. FHL US/CAN Film 24749.

Taxation
TSLA microfilmed the original McMinn County Tax Books 1829-1832, 1872, 1875-1898 back in 1970. FHL copies: FHL US/CAN Films 830219-830225.


 * [1825] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Early Tennessee Tax Lists. Evanston, Ill.: B. &amp; B. Sistler, 1977. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 R4s. [Includes 1825 tax list.]
 * [1829-1832, 1836] Reksten, Harold and Reba Bayless Boyer. Index to McMinn County, Tennessee, Tax Lists 1829-1832, 1836 &amp; Detail from 1836 Tax. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1996. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8865 R42r.
 * [1836] "Plat of Districts, McMinn County, Tennessee" and "McMinn County, Tennessee Tax List 1836," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 36, No. 3 (Fall 1989):116-122, 129; Vol. 36, No. 4 (Winter 1989):183-188. For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.

Marriage
Marriages were not officially recorded in McMinn County until 1838, when a law was passed mandating the practice. The following publication, based on early newspapers, helps to alleviate this genealogical obstacle:


 * Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 V2L.

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


 * [1820-1870] Boyer, Reba Bayless. Marriage Records of McMinn County, Tennessee, 1820-1870. 1964. FHL US/CAN 976.8865 V25b. Free Lookups Available!
 * [1820-1870] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early East Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, Inc., 1987. FHL US/CAN 976.8 V2s v. 1. [Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years.] Free Lookups Available!
 * [1838-1934] Moses, Rex. McMinn Marriage Records 1838-1934. Free Lookups Available!

Death
For deaths of Methodists in McMinn 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.]


 * For a volunteer to lookup death certificate records go to the McMinn genweb site.

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

McMinn Historical Society 6 East Madison Avenue Athens, TN 37303 Phone: 423-744-3911 Email: mcminn [mailto:history06@comcast.net history06@comcast.net]

East Tennessee Historical Society 601 S. Gay Street P.O. Box 1629 Knoxville, Tennessee 37901-1629 Phone: 865-215-8824 Email: eths@east-tennessee-history.org

EG Fisher Library 1289 Ingleside Avenue Athens, TN 37303 Phone: 423-745-7782 Hours: Mon., Tues. and Thurs. 9:30 am - 8 pm Wed. and Fri. 9:30 am - 5:30 am Saturday 10 am - 5 pm E.G. Fisher Public "Library currently has over 1,000 books for the local history researcher, including county histories, transcribed county records, family histories, military histories, and church records. McMinn County, in particular, is the focus of the collection; however, the collection includes material on other East Tennessee counties, general Tennessee history, and genealogical material of other southern states, particularly Virginia and North Carolina." Heritage Quest available

Carnegie Library 723 Ohio Avenue Etowah, TN 37331 Phone: 423-263-9475 Hours: Monday - Friday 9:30 - 5:30 Saturday 10 am - 2 pm

Fort Loudoun Regional Library 718 George St. Athens, TN 37303 Phone: 423-745-5194

Family History Centers
Athens Tennessee 506 Cedar Springs Rd Athens, McMinn, Tennessee, United States Telephone: 423-745-0102

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

Web Sites

 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * McMinn County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * McMinn County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * McMinn County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * McMinn County, TN Heritage and Genealogy Page (American History and Genealogy Project)
 * McMinn County, TN "Our Tennessee Home" (American Local History Network) Resources to help you place your ancestors within the context of their local history.
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TNMCMINN-L (McMinn County, Tennessee List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: ETN-L (East Tennessee List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: ETN-OZ-L (East Tennessee Migrants to Ozarks Region List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: SE-TN-L (Southeast Tennessee List)