Giles County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Giles County





County Courthouse
Giles County Courthouse P.O. Box 678 1 Public Square Pulaski, Tennessee 38478-0678 Phone: (931) 363-1509

Old Courthouse Records Clara M. Parker, Director 1 Public Square Phone: 931-363-8434 E-mail: gcarchives@bellsouth.net All county records from 1810 to 1900 are stored in this department. They cover deeds, wills, marriages, and records from the Chancery, County and Circuit Courts.

Hours: Monday - Friday 8 am - 4 pm

History


The county was named after Virginia Senator William B. Giles (1762-1830), who later served as the Virginia's Governor.

Parent County
1809--Giles County was created 14 November 1809 from Maury County. County seat: Pulaski

Record Loss
1813, 1857 and 1907 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:


 * Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
 * Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle

Neighboring Counties

 * Lauderdale County, Alabama
 * Lawrence
 * Limestone County, Alabama
 * Lincoln
 * Marshall
 * Maury

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Giles 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.)

General Advice
A good place to start is Byron and Samuel Sistler's Every Name Index to 18 Middle Tennessee County Record Books (Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, Inc., 1992) FHL US/CAN 976.8 P22sb. It is a comprehensive index to eight publications about Giles County, Tennessee records. It also covers records from nearby Bedford and Lincoln counties.

Cemeteries
For a list of known cemeteries in Giles County, click here

Census
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

Bibliography


 * [Abernathy] See Rose.
 * [Cockrell, Cockrill] See Rose.
 * [McLaurine, McLaurin] See Rose.''
 * [Rose] Rose, Virginia. Colonel William Rose of Tennessee. Jonesboro, AR: Sammons Print. Co., 1939. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 R72r; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Sims] Sims, Almon James. The Paris (Pariss-Parish) Henry Sims Branch of the Sims Family of Scotland, England, Ireland and America. [Knoxville, Tenn.?: Unknown, 1948. Digital version available at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Teasdale, Tisdale] See Rose.

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.

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 Giles County.]

Periodicals
Ansearchin' News

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Giles 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 Giles 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. Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jan. 1978) includes an abstract of the 1812 Giles County tax list.

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 Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Giles 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

 * [1812, 1819] 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 1812 and 1819 tax lists.]
 * [1813] "Giles County Land Sold for Unpaid 1813 Taxes," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 44, No. 1 (Spring 1997):34. For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
 * [1836] Douthat, James L. 1836 Giles County, Tennessee Civil Districts and Tax List. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2004. FHL US/CAN Book 976.861 R4d.
 * [1836] Tatum, Ausborne C. and Harry M. Cleveland Jr. "Giles County, Tennessee - 1836 Map of Civil Districts" and "Giles County, Tennessee - 1836 Tax List," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Fall 1992):102-108; Vol. 39, No. 4 (Winter 1992):175-180; Vol. 40 .... For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.

Web Sites

 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Giles County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Giles County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Giles County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)