Perry County, Tennessee Genealogy

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

Description
Perry County was named for the War of 1812 naval hero Oliver Hazard Perry and is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Perry County Courthouse 121 East Main Street P.O. Box 16 Linden, TN 37096 County Courthouse Phone: 931-589-2216 County Clerk Phone: 931-589-2219

Perry County Register of Deeds P.O. Box 625865 Highway 412 West Linden, TN 37096 County Register of Deeds Phone: 931-589-2217 County Clerk has birth records 1908-1912 and 1925-1939 and marriage records from 1899. 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

Middle Tennessee county. Established 1818.

The county is named after U.S. Naval hero Oliver Hazard Perry (1785-1819).

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

 * Middle Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1784 to 1902. 2004. By Alan N. Miller. Baltimore, Md.: Clearfield Company. . Includes Perry County.

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources
 * Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator

Census Records
1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Perry 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 Perry County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. The USGenWeb Census Project®.

1810-1891


 * Tennessee, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1891 at Ancestry — index $

1820


 * Bentley, Elizabeth P. Index to the 1820 Census of Tennessee. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981. . Online at Ancestry ($).
 * Houston, Martha Lou. 1820 Census of Perry County, Tennessee. Washington, D.C.: s.p., 1900. Online at Internet Archive.
 * Presley, Mrs. Leister E. Census, Lawrence, Perry, Shelby Counties, Tennessee, 1820. Searcy, Arkansas: Presley, 198-?.
 * Census takers found no free African Americans living in Perry County, Tennessee in 1820.

1840 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, Western District, Perry County on page 159.

1850


 * Glaser, Linda K.J. 1850 Census for Perry County, Tennessee, Taken by R. M. Thomas, 2 Sept. 1850 to 4 Oct. 1850. Lansdowne, Pennsylvania L.J.K. Glaser, 1966.

1860


 * Malone, Royleta C. and Patricia A. Sherzinger. 1860 Perry County, Tennessee Census : Including Slave Schedule and Mortality Schedule, with Full Name Index. Salt Lake City, Utah : R. C. Malone, 1988.

1870


 * Bridges, Alec F. 1870 Federal Census, Perry County, Tennessee. Gallatin, Tennessee: A.F. Bridges, 1997.

1880


 * Sistler, Barbara and Byron Sistler. 1880 Census Perry County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: B. Sistler &amp; Associates, 1999.

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. . Perry 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..

1891 Male Voters


 * 1891 Tennessee Enumeration of Male Voters 1891 at Ancestry — index $

1900


 * Bridges, Alec F. 1900 Federal Census, Perry County, Tennessee. S.p., 1996.

1910


 * Bridges, Alec F. 1910 Federal Census, Perry County, Tennessee. Gallatin, Tennessee: A.F. Bridges, 1997.

1920


 * Bridges, Alec F. 1920 Federal Census, Perry County, Tennessee. Gallatin, Tennessee: A.F. Bridges, 1996.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records
Law and Legislation 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.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Acts of Tennessee 1796-1850: Index to Names.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African Americans Census takers found no free African Americans living in Perry County, Tennessee in 1820.

Genealogies
General
 * As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Perry, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 39,000 entries.

Bibliography


 * Denton - Whitley, Edythe Johns Rucker. Some of the Descendants of Rev. Richard Denton. McMinnville, TN: Womack Print. Co., 1959. Available at FS Library FAM HIST Book 929.273 D435; digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library, ; and Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * Moffitt - Young, Laurie M. Family Notes on Keith, Lott, Sketoe, Donahoo and Arnold of Muhlenberg: Lear and Sheffield of Christian, Todd and Muhlenberg County, Kentucky; Smith and Beck, Spencer County, Indiana; Moffitt, Randolph County, North Carolina, Perry, Hickman and Humphries Co., Tn. Boise, Idaho: L.M. Young, 1990.
 * Norman - Hemphill, Patricia M. Normans of Tennessee and Missouri their Descendants and Ancestors 1776-1995 (including Blair, Coffey, Grammer and Leeper.) Decorah, IowaAnundsen, 1995.
 * Talley - Acker, W.L. The Talley Families of Tennessee and Texas: Descendants of the American Revolutionary Soldier, John Talley, Jr., of Perry County Tennessee. Mesquite, Texas: W.L. Acker, 1998..
 * White - Sibley, Marilyn McAdams. Hester White McAdams (1818-1849) of Walker County, Texas: and Her Ancestors. Houston, Texas: M.M. Sibley, 1988.
 * Whitfield - Whitfield, Vallie Jo Fox. Whitfield History and Genealogy of Tennessee. [Walnut Creek, CA: Unknown,, 1964. Available at ; digital version available at Heritage Quest Online ($).

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 Perry County Revolutionary War records are available online through TNGenWeb:


 * 1835 Pension Roll
 * 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions
 * Perry County, Tennessee American Revolution Includes Perry County area Revolutionary War soldier project and select pension applications.

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, Western District, Perry County on page 159.
 * 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, courtesy: TNGenWeb. 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. 2 (Apr. 1961):49-52. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 8 (1961); digital version at journal website. Includes Perry County pensioners (p. 50).
 * Perry County, Tennessee War of 1812 Includes War of 1812 Perry County soldier project and select pension applications. Courtesy: TNGenWeb

Mexican War
 * Perry County, Tennessee Mexican War (1846-1848) Includes Perry County Mexican War Soldier project. Courtesy TNGenWeb

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 — index (free)
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * 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 Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (Biffle's) - CSA - Company C.
 * 10th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (DeMoss') - CSA - Companies A, B, C, H, and K.
 * 19th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Biffle's) - CSA - Companies F and H.
 * 20th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company G.
 * 23rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Martin's) - CSA-2nd Company G.
 * 42nd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company G.
 * 53rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company F.
 * Cox's Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry- CSA- Companies A and E.

Union Soldiers


 * 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry - Company E.
 * 6th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Companies G and H.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Perry County:


 * McMurray, William Joseph. History of the 20th Tennessee Regiment Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A. Nashville, Tennessee: s.p., 1904. Free digital copy.
 * USGenWeb Archives, Perry County Tennessee Archives, (accessed 1 Feb 2012). Civil War Records.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Perry County, (accessed 1 Feb 2012). 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. Perry County, page 368.

Newspapers
Many Tennessee newspapers are filmed and available at 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 Perry County click on the following town:


 * Linden


 * 1794-1851 - Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978..
 * 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. For a keyword search, go to the county index. Read previous issues on their website;
 * Family Findings: Quarterly of the Mid-West Tennessee Genealogical Society. For tables of contents and online access to issues, see TNGenWeb Project. Also try this specialized Google search..


 * Volumes 1-10 (1969-1978)
 * Volumes 11-20 (1979-1988)
 * Volumes 21-24 (1989-1992)
 * Volumes 32-35 (2000-2003)


 * Perry County Quarterly: Perry County Historical Society


 * The River Counties Quarterly: (14 vols.) edited by Jill K. Garrett.


 * The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History: Quarterly magazine of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society. For surnames, use the volume-by-volume index, or do a keyword search of the Article Index..

Probate Records
The Perry County Court has responsibility for the probate records.

Online Records and Indexes


 * 1779-2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry $
 * 1863-1959 Images of Wills 1863-1900; 1892-1959 at Southeastern Genealogy ($)
 * 1863-1959 Perry County portion of at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; handwritten indexes may be found at the front or back of some volumes.
 * 1877-1893 Images of Settlements, Guardians, Administrations 1877-1893 at Southeastern Genealogy ($)

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.

Tax Records
Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1837 - Tatum, Ausborn C. "Perry County, Tennessee 1837 Tax List," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 29, No. 2 (Summer 1982):77-81; Vol. 29, No. 3 (Fall 1982):131-132. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 29-30 (1982-1983); free digital version at society's website. For further access, see Perry.
 * 1884-1885 - Tax Receipts, 1884-85, Perry County Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Sep. 1997).

Birth

 * 1828-1939 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1869-1909 Tennessee Delayed Birth Records 1869-1909 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1881-1882; 1908-1912 Images of Births and Deaths 1881-1882; 1908-1912 at Southeastern Genealogy ($)
 * 1908-1912 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Marriage
Online indexes and Records


 * 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 $
 * 1865-1919 - Perry County Marriage Index 1865-1919 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * 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

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 Books Online

FamilySearch Centers

 * Columbia Tennessee FamilySearch Center
 * Dickson Tennessee FamilySearch Center
 * Franklin Tennessee FamilySearch Center
 * Paris Tennessee FamilySearch Center
 * Brentwood Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Chester County Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Lawrence County Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Spring Hill Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives - an affiliate library.
 * Williamson County Public Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Perry County Library 104 College Rd. Linden, TN 37096 Phone: 931-589-5011 Fax: 931-589-6210 Website West Tennessee Heritage Study Center Paul Meek Library 10 Wayne Fisher Dr. Martin, TN 38238 Phone: 731-881-7065 Website Holds a variety of genealogical resources including materials relating to the following counties in Tennessee: Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Houston, Humphreys, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Obion, Perry, Shelby, Stewart, Tipton, Wayne, Weakley and Carlisle (KY), Fulton (KY), and Hickman (KY) counties in Kentucky.

Societies
Perry County, Tennessee Historical Society c/o Perry County Library 104 College St. Linden, TN 37096 Phone: 931-589-5011 Email: [mailto:PerryHS3@gmail.com PerryHS3@gmail.com ] Website

Websites

 * Perry County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Yesterday's Tennessee
 * Perry 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: Perry County, courtesy: TSLA. (Identifies published county histories, published local records, census records, newspapers and local records on microfilm, and select manuscripts.)