Bedford County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Bedford County





County Courthouse
Bedford County Courthouse 104 Northside Square (basement of US Bank) Shelbyville, Tennessee 37160 (931) 684-1921

Hours: Monday-Friday 8 am to 4 pm Saturday 8 am-12 pm

History
The county is named after "Revolutionary War officer Thomas Bedford, who was a large landowner in the area."

Parent County
1807--Bedford County was created 3 December 1807 from Rutherford County. County seat: Shelbyville

Record Loss
1863 and 1934 -- 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

Populated Places
Cities and Towns:

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Bedford 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 nine publications about Bedford County, Tennessee records. It also covers records from nearby Giles and Lincoln counties.

Cemeteries
Bedford County, TN Cemetery Records, part of the TNGenWeb Cemetery Database, lists many cemeteries in Bedford County, with locations.

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


 * [Dickson] Smith, Austin Wheeler. The Dickson-McEwen and Allied Families Genealogy. Cookeville, TN: Unknown, 1945. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 D561s. Digital version available at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Frost] Frost, Wright Wilson. The Frosts and Related Families of Bedford County, Tennessee. Knoxville, TN: W.W. Frost, c1962. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 F929f and FHL US/CAN Fiche 6104871; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($) and World Vital Records ($).
 * [McEwen] see Dickson.

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 Bedford County.]

Periodicals
Ansearchin' News

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Bedford 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.

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] 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 tax list.]

Web Sites

 * Bedford County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Family History Library Catalog