Marion County, Tennessee Genealogy

Guide to Marion County, Tennessee ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Description
Marion County was named Francis Marion, also known as the Swamp Fox, a military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. The county is located in the southeast-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Courthouse 1 Courthouse Square Jasper, TN 37347 County Courthouse Phone: 423-942-2515 Clerk & Master Phone: 423-942-2601 Register Of Deeds Phone: 423 942 2573

Marion County Clerk 24 Courthouse Square, Room 101 Jasper, TN 37347 County Clerk Phone: 423-942-2515

County Clerk has marriage records from 1919 and probate records from 1874. Register of Deeds has land records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

History Timeline
Additional Information

Marion County is located in south-eastern Tennessee, and encompasses about five hundred square miles. It was established in 1817. The county borders both Georgia and Alabama.

The county is named after "The Swamp Fox" Revolutionary War Brigadier General Francis Marion(c1732-1795).

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

 * East Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1778 to 1911. 2000. By Alan N. Miller. Baltimore, Md.: Clearfield Company. . Online at MyHeritage ($). Includes Marion County.
 * Tennessee Bureau of Agriculture, Statistics and Mines. Coal Mines and Mining--Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: A.B. Travel, 1883. Free digital copy.

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources
 * Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator

Census Records
1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Marion 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 Marion County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. The USGenWeb Census Project®

For a map of Marion County census districts see Marion County Census Districts.

1810-1891


 * Tennessee, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1891 at Ancestry ($)

1820 Lost

1820 Manufactures

The original manufactures schedules for the Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee are kept at the NARA, Washington, D.C. FS Library copies:.

The following book is a useful aid for finding the original records.


 * National Archives. Indexes to Manufactures Census of 1820. 1920; reprint, Knightstown, Ind.: Bookmark, 1977. ;

1830


 * Douthat, James L. 1830 Sequatchie Valley Census: Marion - Bledsoe Counties. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1986..
 * Sistler, Byron H. 1830 Census, East Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: n.p., 1969..

1840


 * Douthat, James L. 1840 Sequatchie Valley Census: Bledsoe - Marion Counties. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: J.L. Douthat, 1982..

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 Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. . Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Tennessee, Eastern District, Marion County on page 154.

1850


 * Douthat, James L. 1850, Marion County, Tennessee, Census. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: J.L. Douthat, 1982..
 * Goins, Sara Agee and Norma Jean Dennis Hobbs. 1850 Census, Marion County, Tennessee. Dunlap, Tenn.: Goins and Hobbs Genealogy Service, 1986..

1860


 * Goins, Sara Agee and Norma Jean Dennis Hobbs. 1860 Census, Marion County, Tennessee. Dunlap, Tenn.: Goins and Hobbs Genealogy Service, 1986..

1870


 * Goins, Sara Agee and Norma Jean Dennis Hobbs. 1870 Census, Marion County, Tennessee. Dunlap, Tenn.: Goins and Hobbs Genealogy Service, 1986..

1880


 * Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census, Marion County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, 1995..

1891 Male Voters


 * 1891 Tennessee Enumeration of Male Voters 1891 at Ancestry ($)

1900


 * United States Census, Marion County, Tennessee, 1900. Dunlap, Tenn.: Goins and Hobbs Genealogy Service, 19--?..

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places


 * Union/Sweetens Cove Primitive Baptist Church, 1821-1868 - 976.879 K2, FS Library microfilm 1320888 Item 2

Court Records
The first court of Marion County was held in the house of John Shropshire in what is now Whitwell in 1817. After the Shropshire house, the court was held for one year in the old Cheek house, a two-story double log house located south of Whitwell in a place called Cheekville, later named Liberty, where court had been held while this county was still in North Carolina. In 1819 the county seat was moved to the town of Jasper.

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. Online searchable index at TSLA.

Genealogies

 * Douthat, James L. Sequatchie Families: Biographical Sketches of the Earlier Settlers of the Sequeatchie Valley of Tennessee. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: J.L. Douthat, 1983..
 * Harris, Euline. Ancestor Charts: Marion County, Tennessee. 2 vols. Whitwell, Tenn.: E. Harris, 1993. ff.
 * Stewart - Blakemore, Mary Stewart. A Narrative Genealogy of the Stewarts of Sequatchie Valley, Tennessee, and Allied Families. Richmond, Va.: Dietz Press, 1960. . Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * Who's Who in TN at TNGenWeb

Land and Property Records
Marion County's original Deed Books are kept at the County Courthouse. In 1969, TSLA microfilmed Deed Books A to WW (1819-1915). FS Library copies:.

Online Land Indexes and Records

Local Histories

 * Raulston, J. Leonard and James Weston Livingood. Sequatchie: A Story of the Southern Cumberlands. Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1974..

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)
 * FamilySearch Places: Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
Revolutionary War The following Marion 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 Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. . Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Tennessee, Eastern District, Marion County on page 154.
 * Rejected Pension Applicants, 1832, List, Searcher, Vol. 1, No. 4 (Mar. 1990).
 * 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. 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. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 8 (1961); digital version at journal website. Includes Marion County pensioners (pp. 21-22).
 * War of 1812 Veterans, Natchez Trace Traveler, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Nov. 1988).

Civil War

Online Records
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1891-1965 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Confederate Soldiers


 * 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Smith's) - CSA - Captain Allen Lea's company (the Lookout Rangers), Captain John F. Thomason's company, and Captain Peter T. Rankin's company.
 * 4th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (McLemore's) - CSA
 * 36th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company I.

Union Soldiers


 * 9th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Company M.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Marion County:


 * Blevins, Jerry. Sequatchie Valley Soldiers in the Civil War: Bledsoe, Grundy, Marion and Sequatchie Counties in Tennessee and Jackson County in Alabama. Huntsville, Ala.: J. Blevins, 1990..
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Marion County. Includes soldier's name, county, pension #, unit or widow.
 * United States Pension Bureau, List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883: Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for ... (Washington Printing Office; 1883). Online at Internet Archive. Marion County, page 362-363.

Civil War Battle The following Civil War battle was fought in Marion County.
 * October 28-29, 1863 - Wauhatchie, also known as Brown's Ferry.
 * Battles of the American Civil War maps - filter by state or by battle name.

Newspapers

 * 1847 - 1851 - 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. 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. (Largely Methodist?)

Prisons

 * 1831-1850 Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1831-1850 at Tennessee State Library and Archives
 * 1851-1870 Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870 at Tennessee State Library and Archives

Periodicals

 * Ansearchin' News: Quarterly magazine of the Tennessee Genealogical Society. Perform keyword searches and read online articles of previous issues at Ansearchin' News at Tennessee Genealogical Society.


 * East Tennessee Roots: Several genealogical articles with abstracts of 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 FamilySearch Library has collected most issues of East Tennessee Roots.


 * The Searcher: The FamilySearch Library has Volume 2, no 3 (Dec 1990) - volume 15, no. 4 (winter 2003). This serial ceased publication on 15 February 2004. For further information see website: Marion County Genealogical Group. Indexed in PERiodical Source Index

Probate Records
Marion County's original will books are kept at the County Courthouse. Wills proved before 1875 do not survive. In 1969, TSLA microfilmed extant wills covering the years 1875 to 1968. FS Library copy:.

Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1779-2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1842-1969 Marion County portion of at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; handwritten indexes may be found at the front or back of some volumes.

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records
The original Marion County Tax Books, Assessment Roll, 1875, and Tax Duplicate 1903-1904 are kept at the County Courthouse. In 1969, TSLA microfilmed these records. FS Library copy:.

Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1836 Harris, Euline. 1836 Tax List for Marion County, Tennessee. Whitwell, Tenn.: E. Harris, n.d..
 * 1836 Douthat, James L. Marion County, Tennessee, 1836 Tennessee Civil District and Tax Lists. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1993. ; online: index and purchase details.
 * 1836 "Taxpayers, by District, 1836," Southern Roots &amp; Shoots, Vol. 12, No. 3 (1996).
 * 1836 Harris, Euline. "1836 Marion County Tax List," available online, courtesy: RootsWeb. Source: TSLA microfilm; links to online 1836 Civil District Map.
 * 1853 "Revenue Docket, Claims, Licenses, 1853," Searcher, Vol. 7, No. 3 (Winter 1995).
 * 1854 "District One Tax List, 1854," Searcher, Vol. 13, No. 1 (Spring 2001).
 * 1856-1859 - "Revenue and Execution Docket, 1856-59," Searcher, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Winter 1999).
 * 1891 "Poll Tax, 1891," Searcher, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Summer 1995); Vol. 7, No. 2 (Fall 1995).

Birth
Note that no birth records were recorded in Marion County in 1913.
 * 1828-1939 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1869-1909 Tennessee Delayed Birth Records 1869-1909 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1908-1912 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Marriage

 * 1625-1966 Tennessee, United States Marriages at Findmypast ($)
 * 1780-2002 Tennessee State Marriages 1780-2002 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1780-2002 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1790-1962 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection. Covers all counties in Tennessee.
 * 1796-1950 (Indexes only) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1838-1888 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1851-1900 Tennessee Marriages 1851-1900 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1881-1888 - Marion County Marriage Index 1881-1888 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch.org.
 * 1980-2014 Marriage Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Death

 * 1874-1955 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1908-1933 Tennessee Deaths, 1908 - 1933 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1908-1958 Tennessee Death Records 1908 - 1958 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1908-1912 Tennessee Death Records 1908-1912 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1914-1933 Tennessee Death Records 1914-1933 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1914-1966 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1949-2014 Death Records Index 1949-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Note that no death records were recorded in Marion County in 1913.

Divorce
Online Records Online Titles
 * 1796-1850 Acts of Tennessee 1796-1850 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1980-2014 Divorce Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index
 * W.P.A. Guide to Public Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Historical Records Survey, 1941. FamilySearch Digital Library

FamilySearch Centers

 * Chattanooga Tennessee FamilySearch Center
 * Fayetteville Tennessee FamilySearch Center
 * McMinnville Tennessee FamilySearch Center
 * Tullahoma Tennessee FamilySearch Center
 * Chattanooga Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Cleveland Bradley County Public Library History Branch - an affiliate library.
 * Fayetteville-Lincoln County Public Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Jasper Public Library 14 West Second St. Jasper, TN 37347 Phone: 423-942-3369 Fax: 423-942-6383 Website Facebook Beene-Pearson Public Library 208 Elm Ave. South Pittsburg, TN 37380 Phone: 423-837-6513 Orena Humphreys Public Library 900 Main Street, Suite 1 Whitwell, TN 37397 Phone: 423-658-6134

Societies
Marion County Genealogical Group 6611 Old Dunlap Rd. Whitwell, TN 37397 Phone: 423-658-5770 Website South Pittsburg Historic Preservation Society P.O. Box 175 South Pittsburg, TN 37380 Phone: 423-837-8327 Email: [mailto:ckmillhiser@gmail.com ckmillhiser@gmail.com] Website

Websites

 * Marion County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Marion County, Tennessee History &amp; Genealogy (American Local History Network) Resources to help you place your ancestors within the context of their local history.
 * Marion County TN Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

Research Guides

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