Crockett County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Crockett County West Tennessee county established in 1871.





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

County Courthouse


Crockett County Courthouse 1 South Bell St. Alamo, TN 38001 Phone: 1-731-696-5452

Crockett County Clerk has marriage, probate, court and land records from 1872; birth and death records from 1925.

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 8 a.m.-noon

History


The county is named after Davy Crockett (1786-1836), frontiersman, Congressman, and Alamo defender.

Parent County
1871--Crockett County was created in 1871 from Haywood, Madison, Gibson, and Dyer Counties. County seat: Alamo

County Pronunciation


Did we get the accent right? If not, contact Nathan W. Murphy, [mailto:murphynw@familysearch.org murphynw@familysearch.org].

Boundary Changes
"Rotating Formation Tennessee County Boundary Maps" (1777-1985) may be viewed for free at the My Tennessee Genealogy website. They rely on AniMap 3.0 software.

Populated Places
Cities and Towns:

Neighboring Counties

 * Dyer
 * Gibson
 * Haywood
 * Lauderdale
 * Madison

Getting Started
Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Crockett County biography records. To determine which books are being searched, or to search each publication's index individually, click here. You are now equipped with a checklist of books to pull off the shelves at a genealogy library, or a wish list for your personal book collection.

Research Guides

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

African American
United States African Americans Tennessee African Americans

Tombstones from several African American local cemeteries have been transcribed and published online, see Crockett County, TN Cemeteries, courtesy: TNGenWeb.

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

The best place to start searches in Crockett County cemetery records is:


 * Crockett County, TN Cemeteries website, by Natalie Huntley, available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb Project. The site includes: inventories (transcripts) to more than 150 local cemeteries, 1000s of tombstone photographs, a name search engine, surname index, maps, and cemetery photographs!

Additional Crockett County cemetery resources include:


 * Find A Grave can be searched by the name of a person or family to find where a person is buried. Usually gives birth and death dates often with a picture of the tombstone. May give obituaries, names of family members and links to their information in Find A Grave.


 * Find A Grave also gives a list of cemeteries in Crockett County linking to the information about the people buried there,


 * Crockett County, TN Cemetery Records, part of the TNGenWeb Cemetery Database, lists many cemeteries in the county, often with indexes and transcripts of the burials.


 * Crockett County, Tennessee, USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Projectlists many cemeteries in the county and has transcripts of the tombstones arranged by cemetery.


 * The Family History Library Catalog lists some records of cemeteries in Crockett county. Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


 * ePodunk list of Crockett County cemeteries

Census
1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Crockett 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 Crockett County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. [The USGenWeb Census Project®]

1880


 * Sistler, Byron H. and Samuel D. 1880 Census, Crockett County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler and Associates, 1992. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8225 X2

Church
Church records include baptisms, marriages and burials, as well as information about family members and clues about family migration. For additional information about church records, religions, and religious archives in Tennessee, see Tennessee Church Records.


 * If the records you need are not through the Family History Library, contact the church(es) in the area where your ancestor lived. Two sites that give information about churches in Crockett County are:


 * - List of Crockett County churches with addresses and phone numbers (Yellowbook)
 * - List of Crockett County churches (TN HomeTownLocator)


 * In 1936, a helpful guide to early Crockett County church records was published by the Works Project Administration. Use this guide to locate which church records exist and where they were housed in 1936. The Tennessee State Library and Archives has filmed some of these records. To locate which records are available at the TSLA, go to the appropriate "county fact sheet" on the TSLA Web site and scroll down to "selected manuscript material". All filmed church records at the TSLA for Crockett county are listed.

DNA
DNA has been collected from men claiming descent from the following Crockett County residents. Attempts have not been made to verify the lineages of those tested.

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

As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Crockett, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 10,000 entries.


 * Crockett County, Tennessee Genealogies, 1700's-1900's. Typescript, 1976. FHL US/CAN Films 1008529-1008530. [Includes: Families of Koonce, Acor, Acred, Adams, Adcox, Agee, Alpha, Andrews, Antwine, Archer, Archibald, Arnold, Aslin, Austin, Avery, Bacigalupo, Badgett, Baker, Baldridge, Ball, Ballentine, Banks, Ballinger, Barker, Pollard, Farrow, Harpole, Moore -- Cox church records, 1877-1900 -- Business ledgers -- Families of Bell, Best and Cherry; Families of Green, Hamlett, James, Nunn, Mason, Winburn, Wood -- Histories of towns in Crockett Co., Tenn. -- Bells, Belleville, Johnson Grove, Lanefield, Mason Grove -- Board of Commissioners, minutes of meetings, 1871-1876 -- Cox Chapel, Church of Christ, Coxville, membership, 1905-1907 -- Families of Benson, Porter and Harris.]

Bibliography


 * [Moore] Fritz, Marcine Moore William Moore and his descendants Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1993. Available at the Family History Library] FHL film 1750756 item 12 with a digitized version through BYU Family History Archives
 * [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 ($).
 * [Sims] Sims, Almon James. The Pariss Sims Family and Related Families, 1765-1965. Knoxville, TN: [A. J. Sims], 1965. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 Si58sa and FHL US/CAN Film 1321309 Item 1.

Land
Crockett County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1872 and is located at the Courthouse, 1 S. Bells St., Suite 1, Alamo, TN 38001-1796; Telephone: (731) 696-5452 Land and property records usually include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries.

The Family History Library has Crockett county deed records 1770-1909.

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. To read more about this valuable resource Click here. The searchable index is available at the TSLA; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Military
War of 1812


 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Apr. 1960):40-45. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 7 (1960); digital version at journal website. [Includes Crockett County pensioners (p. 41)]

Civil War


 * Index to Crockett County, Tennessee Civil War Veterans Questionnaires The following explanation comes from TSLA:


 * "The effort to record Civil War veterans' experiences, during the conflict and before and after it, started in 1914. Dr. Gus Dyer, Tennessee State Archivist, developed a questionnaire and contacted all known living Tennessee Civil War veterans, asking them to return the questionnaires to Nashville.


 * In 1920 the project was continued by John Trotwood Moore of the Tennessee Historical Commission and also State Librarian and Archivist. The 1,650 completed forms were returned by 1922 and were made available for historical research. They are on file in the TSLA and have been microfilmed for security and ease of use (Microfilm #484).


 * The responses are rich in detail about pre- and post-war life, as well as military experiences. They include personal and family information; opinions about class and race distinctions; and details of agricultural, business and educational opportunities for the young in nineteenth century Tennessee."

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


 * Alamo
 * Bells
 * Bellville
 * Friendship

Hays,Tony; Janice S. Jackson, indexer. Gibson - Crockett: A Joint Heritage. [N.p.]: Kitchen Table Press, 1986. This indexed book includes articles from Crockett County newspapers, 1870-1916. (FHL book 976.8 P2h.)

Occupations

 * Miller, Alan N. West Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1821 to 1889. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2006. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2man. Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes Crockett 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
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Crockett 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.
 * Paper Trails
 * Family History Library has Volume 1 - 5 (1993 - 1997) FHL US/CAN Book 976.8225 B2p. Indexed in the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI).
 * Family Findings
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Crockett 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.
 * West Tennessee Historical Society Papers
 * Family History Library has Volumes 1 - 16 and 30 FHL US/CAN Book 976.81 B5w. The West Tennessee Historical Society Papers are indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI). To view Table of Contents and complete articles from 1947 - 2005 see Shelby County Register of Deeds

Probate
Probate records are court records created after an individual’s death that relate to a court’s decisions regarding the distribution of the estate to the heirs or creditors and the care of any dependents. You may find the names of married daughters or other relatives and their residences; or information about the adoption or guardianship of minor children and dependents. Probate records do not always give an exact date of death, but the death usually occurred within a few months of probate. These documents are important to family history researchers, because they usually exist for time periods before civil birth and death records were kept.

The County Court has responsibility for the probate records of Crockett County.

Taxation
The following Crockett County tax records have been abstracted:


 * [1872] Crockett County Tax Book One 1872, Family Findings, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct. 1981); Vol. 14, No. 2 (Apr. 1982); Vol. 14, No. 3 (July 1982); Vol. 15, No. 4 (Oct. 1983). For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
 * [1872] Crockett County Historical Society. Crockett County Courthouse Centennial, 1874-1974. Digital version, provided by Natalie Huntley, is available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb. [Includes 1872 tax list.]
 * USGenWeb's Crockett County page has links to several transcribed wills.

Marriage
Marriages were not officially recorded in Crockett 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 Crockett County Courthouse marriage records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * [1872-1888] Historical Records Project Marriage records, 1872-1888, Crockett County, Tennessee Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1939. FHL US/CAN Film 24625
 * [1872-1899] Huntley, Natalie. Crockett County TN Marriage Records July 1872 - Dec 1899. Available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb.
 * [1872-1962] Crockett County (Tennessee) County Court ClerkNashville, Tennessee : Tennessee State Library and Archives, 1976-1988. FHL US/CAN Films 1007383-388, 2311145-148 and 1928654-657
 * [1900-1940] Huntley, Natalie. Crockett County TN Marriage Records Jan 1900 - Dec 1940. Available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb.
 * RecordSearch at FamilySearch now includes indexed Tennessee marriages. This is a free pilot site and still under construction.  At this time, it is best to search from the home page titled Discover Your Ancestors; indicate a surname, marriage "event" and a county name (i.e. Crockett, Tennessee).  Browse through the results for that surname. You may need to supply any variant spellings of the surname in separate searches.
 * Many county marriage records are indexed with images at Ancestry's Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 ($). Be aware that this index is not complete for all counties.

Divorce
In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Crockett County divorce papers in diverse manuscript collections, see:


 * W.P.A. Guide to Public Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Historical Records Survey, 1941. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 A3gp.

Death
For deaths of Methodists in Crockett County (or what later became Crockett 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.]

Web Sites

 * Crockett County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Crockett County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Crockett County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Crockett County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Crockett County, TN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (MyTennesseeGenealogy)
 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Mailing List: TNCROCKE-L (Crockett County, Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: WEST-TNCHAT-L (West Tennessee Chat List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: WESTTN-L (West Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)