Wayne County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Wayne County





Middle Tennessee county. Established 1817.

County Courthouse


Wayne County Courthouse 200 Court Square Waynesboro, TN 38485 Phone: 931-722-5517

Wayne County Clerk Marriage and probate records 100 Court Circle P.O. Box 367 Waynesboro, TN 38485 Phone: 931-722-5544

Wayne County Register of Deeds Land records 100 Court Circle Waynesboro, TN 38485 Phone: 931-722-5518

Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 8 am - 4:30 pm

History


The county is named after Revolutionary War General "Mad" Anthony Wayne (1745-1796).

Parent County
1817--Wayne County was established 24 November 1817 from Hickman and Humphreys Counties. Early records may be found under Hickman and Humphreys Counties. County seat: Waynesboro

Record Loss
1973--Fire damaged records


 * Lost census: 1890

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Wayne 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
1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Wayne 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, these indexes are often transcribed more accurately than those available online.

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

1820
 * Bentley, Elizabeth P. Index to the 1820 Census of Tennessee. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981.

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. 8 1891. [Wayne County is included in Vol. 8.]
 * 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.

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


 * [Cook] See Grimes
 * [Grimes] Grimes, Jay Cook. Grimes, Cook and Related Families of Wayne County, Tennessee: A Genealogy. Related Families, Johnson, Morris, Montague, 1800-1960. Auburn, Alabama: J.C. Grimes, 1960. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 G883gc and FHL US/CAN Film 1321218 Item 4; digital versions available at Ancestry.com ($); Heritage Quest Online ($); and World Vital Records ($).
 * [Johnson] See Grimes
 * [Morris] See Grimes
 * [Montague] See Grimes

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

 * Moore, Gerald K. Early Life in Wayne County, Tennessee. 2008. Digital version at BYU Family History Archives.

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 Wayne 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 Wayne 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.

Family Findings

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Wayne 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.

The River Counties

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Wayne County, Tennessee records were published in The River Counties Quarterly, (14 vols.) edited by Jill K. Garrett. The Family History Library has a complete collection FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2rc.

The Wayne County Historian

The Family History Library has all volumes to the present. FHL US/CAN 976.839 B2w Indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) For further information see website: http://www.tngenweb.org/wayne/wchs.htm

Prisons
Learn if your Wayne County ancestors went to prison!


 * 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.

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


 * [1848-1861] 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.]

Vital Records
Death

For deaths of Methodists in Wayne 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.]

Libraries

 * Wayne County Public Library Highway 64 East, PO Box 630 Waynesboro, Tennessee 38485 931-722-5537 Telephone: 931-722-5537 Wayne County Public Libraries The Wayne County Public Library is affiliated with the library system that serves Wayne County, TN.

Societies

 * Wayne County Historical Society P.O. Box 866 Waynesboro, Tennessee 38485-0866 Website: http://www.tngenweb.org/wayne/wchs.htm Quarterly periodical: The Wayne County Historian The society was founded in 1970. It has programs designed around topics that relate to the history, genealogy, folklore and archaeology of the county

LDS Family History Centers
There are no LDS family history centers in Wayne County, Tennesse. To find the nearest family history center, click here.

Web Sites

 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-SOUTHCENTRAL-L (South Central Tennessee List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: SW-TN-L (Southwest Tennessee List)
 * Wayne County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Wayne County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Wayne County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)