Cheatham County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States  Tennessee    Cheatham County

Middle Tennessee county established in 1856. The northern part of what is now Cheatham County belonged to the pioneer Cumberland Settlements.





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

County Courthouse
Cheatham County Courthouse 100 Public Square Ashland City, Tennessee 37015 Phone: 1-615-792-4620

Cheatham County Clerk Marriage records 264 S. Main St., Suite 108 Ashland City, TN 37015 Phone: 1-615-792-5179

Cheatham County Register of Deeds 264 S. Main St., Suite 109 Ashland City, TN 37015 Phone: 1-615-792-4317 The County Register of Deeds registers and keeps all public records for Cheatham County.

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

History
The county is named after "Tennessee state legislator Edward Cheatham."

Cumberland (old) County, the ancestor of Cheatham County, started to get organized in 1837 from parts of Davidson, Robertson, Montgomery, and Dickson counties, but failed. Again in 1844 the another attempt at a county was made, but failed. A third try in 1856 finally succeeded in erecting Cumberland (old) County.

But this act of creation was repealed, the boudaries were changed, and in 1857 the reconstituted entity was renamed Cheatham County because the Cumberland County name had been claimed later in 1856 by a new county on the Cumberland Plateau with its seat at Crossville.

Parent County
1856--Cheatham County was created 28 February 1856 from Davidson, Robertson, Dickson, and Montgomery Counties. County seat: Ashland City

From 1788 to 1796 people living in what is now part of Cheatham County were in extinct Tennessee County. Their records for that period are now found in Robertson County, Tennessee.

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.

Record Loss

 * Lost census: 1890

Populated Places
Cities and Towns:

Neighboring Counties

 * Davidson
 * Dickson
 * Montgomery
 * Robertson
 * Williamson

Getting Started
Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Cheatham County biography, marriage, and probate 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: Cheatham 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

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


 * 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 Cheatham County linking to the information about the people buried there,


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


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


 * Cheatham County cemetery information with transcriptions on TNGenweb Project


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


 * ePodunk list of Cheatham County cemeteries


 * Haile, Denis Dozier and Garrett Jr., James E. Tombstone records of Cheatham County, Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee : Cata/List Services, 1987 FHL US/CAN 976.8462 V3t Free lookups available! Volunteer will also lookup other tombstones not in book.


 * Lynette Hamilton Dalton, Cleo G. Hogan and Robert E. Dalton Cemetery records of Cheatham County, Tennessee Memphis, Tennessee : Dalton and Dalton, c1986 FHL US/CAN book 976.8462 V38d Free lookups available!

Census
1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Cheatham 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 Cheatham County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. [The USGenWeb Census Project®]

Free lookups available for the 1860,1870, 1880 Cheatham County census. Also, available for lookups are the 1820, 1850 and 1880 Montgomery County census; the 1880 Davidson county census; and the 1850 and 1880 Robertson county census.

1860


 * Dalton, Robert E. and Lynnette Hamilton Dalton 1860 Census, Cheatham County, Tennessee.Memphis, Tennessee: Dalton and Dalton, 1896.

1870


 * Bishop, Brenda C.1870 Census Tennessee, Transcription for Cheatham County. Tallahassee, Florida: B.C. Bishop, 1883.

Transcription of 1870 Federal Census Cheatham County hosted by Rootsweb

1880


 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census-Tennessee: Transcription for Cheatham County. Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 198?.

Partial transcription of 1880 Federal Census Cheatham County hosted by Rootsweb

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. [Cheatham 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.

1920


 * Bush, Marisa, ed.. Cheatham County, Tennessee Census, 1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999. Available at Ancestry ($).

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 Cheatham County are:


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


 * In 1936, a helpful guide to early Cheatham 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 Cheatham county are listed.

DNA
DNA has been collected from men claiming descent from the following Cheatham 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 Cheatham, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 10,000 entries.


 * Masters, Jack and Bill Puryear. Founding of the Cumberland Settlements: The First Atlas 1779-1804: Showing Who Came, How They Came, and Where They Put Down Roots. Gallatin, Tenn.: Warioto Press, 2009. FHL US/CAN Large Q Book 976.8 E7d. Supplements: FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 E7d supp. 1 ff. Purchase at Cumberland Pioneer Settlers.
 * von Verdo, Mary Ann Harris. The Pioneers of 'Possum Trot, Tennessee: Family Genealogies and Land Histories from 1787. n.p.: M.A.H. von Verdo, 1996. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8462 D2v.

Bibliography


 * [Anderson] Caldwell, Janice. The Lost Branch of the Anderson Family: Ancestors and Descendants of Thomas Allen Howard Anderson and His Wife Martha Ann Stanley Including Allied Families. Helotes, Texas: J. Caldwell, 1995. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 An23ca.
 * [Curfman, Kurfman, Corfman, Korffmann] Curfman, Robert Joseph. The Curfman-Kurfman-Corfman-Korffmann Genealogy. Denver: Priv. print., 1971. Digital versions available at Ancestry ($); and Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Demonbreun] DeMunbrun, Weldon The Descendants of John Baptiste Demonbreun: 1788-1872 Weldon DeMunbrun, 1995. Free Lookups Available!
 * [Head] Dennison, Jean Nunley. Our Head/Holmes Family: Including Allied Families: Bradley, Harris, Williams, Winters and Loose Connections: Frey, Hyde, Justice, Morris, York. Nashville, Tenn.: J.N. Dennison, 1986. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 H34d.
 * [Hooper] Anne Goodwin's Family Source Compass(online)
 * [Hunt] The Hunt Archives(online) Includes surnames: Hunt, Tucker, Barbera, Tompkins, Sheridan, Baker, Adams, Bradley, Brown, Freeman, Jenkins, Mack, Pace, Page, Wilson, Teasley, Thornton and more.
 * [Hunter] Descendants of Jacob, Dempsey, Allen, David and Thomas Hunter (online)
 * [Moore] Monroe, Ruby Moore. The Moore Family. Typescript, microfilmed 1996. FHL US/CAN Film 2055141 Item 3.
 * [Morton] Burt, Aline Morton. A Pioneer Portrait. Rancho Bernardo, Calif.: A.M. Burt, 1971. FHL US/CAN Film 962205 Item 6.
 * [Pack] Soyars, Crystine Yates. The Thomas M. Pack Clan, 1836-1977. Nashville, Tenn.: C.Y. Soyars, 1978. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 P12a.
 * [Shearin] Cantrell, Charles Thomas. The 20th Century Shearin Genealogy. C.T. Cantrell, 1996. The book contains references to hundreds of those from Cheatham county. Free Lookups Available!
 * [Stroud] Dennison, Jean Nunley. Our Dennison, Stroud Family: Including Allied Families Vanderville, McLaughlin, White, Allen, Williams, Hiland, McFerrin. Nashville, Tenn.: J.N. Dennison, 1991. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 D424dj.
 * [Whitfield] Whitfield, Vallie Jo Fox. Whitfield History and Genealogy of Tennessee. [Walnut Creek, CA: Unknown,, 1964. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 879642 Item 1; digital version available at Heritage Quest Online ($).

Land
Land Grants


 * Free index to 1500+ Pioneer Cumberland Settlements Land Grants, available online, courtesy: Cumberland Pioneer Settlers. The Cumberland Settlements region covered what is now this county. To view the land grants platted on maps, purchase the books described on this site, or access those available at the Family History Library FHL US/CAN Large Q Book 976.8 E7d.
 * The Family History Library has mictofilm copies of deeds and mortgages 1856-1960 with indexes 1856-1876 and 1891-1969; land entries 1856-1915; Ranger books 1857-1877; and release books or undetermined years.

Local Histories
Deserted Sycamore Village by Lois Barnes focuses on the early families and history of Sycamore, Cheatham, Tennessee. Many historical photographs are included. Some readers caution that family genealogies are not all correct and need more research. Free lookups available.

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 Cheatham County pensioners (p. 40)]

World War I


 * Soldiers and Seamen from Cheatham County, Tennessee, during World Wars I and II. Typescript, TSLA. Microfilmed 1961. FHL US/CAN Film 227224.

World War II


 * Soldiers and Seamen from Cheatham County, Tennessee, during World Wars I and II. Typescript, TSLA. Microfilmed 1961. FHL US/CAN Film 227224.

Newspapers
A local volunteer through Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness is willing to do free obituary lookups in the Ashland City Times 1878-present.

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 Cheatham County click on the following cities:


 * Ashland City
 * Pleasant View

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 Cheatham 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:


 * CCHGA Bytes
 * The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Cheatham 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
Learn if your Cheatham County ancestors went to prison!


 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870, free index available online, courtesy: TSLA.

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 four 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 Cheatham County Court has responsibility for the probate records.

The following Cheatham County probate records have been abstracted or indexed:


 * [1856-1861] 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.]
 * [1856-1871] Works Progress Administration. Cheatham County, Tennessee Wills &amp; Inventories. 1936. Reprint, Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, [2001?]. Indexed. Contains volume A. (FHL book 976.8462 P2c.)

Taxation
The following Cheatham County tax records have been abstracted:


 * [1789] Cumberland Settlements, Tax List, 1789, The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Fall 1990). For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
 * [1856] Cheatham County Tax List with Land Descendants and Map, 1856, The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Winter 1991); Vol. 4, No. 4 (Spring 1991); Vol. 5, No. 1 (Summer 1991). For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
 * [1856] County Tax List, 1856, CCHGA Bytes. Ashland City TN: Apr 2006; May 2006; Jun 2006; Jul 2006...
 * [1858] [Annotated] Cheatham County Tax List, 1858, CCHGA Bytes. Ashland City TN: Mar 2004; Apr 2004; Jan 2005; Feb 2005; Mar 2005; Apr 2005.
 * [1868] Tax List Claims, 1868, CCHGA Bytes. Ashland City TN: Oct 2002.
 * [1873] Tax Releases, 1873, CCHGA Bytes. Ashland City TN: Sep 2002.
 * [1873] Delinquent Tax List, 1873, CCHGA Bytes. Ashland City TN: Oct 2002.
 * [1881] Locations for Payment of Taxes, List, 1881, CCHGA Bytes. Ashland City TN: Oct 2006.
 * [1892] Property Tax List, District 1, 1892, CCHGA Bytes. Ashland City TN: Jun 2005.

Marriage
The original Cheatham County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. The following Cheatham County marriage records are microfilmed:


 * [1856-1996] Available at the TSLA. Marriages 1856-1938 are available for interlibrary loan.
 * [1856-1910] Available at the Family History Library. 1887 is missing. Includes bonds, certificates and returns. Partially indexed at Record Search Pilot [see indexes below].
 * [1856-1956] Available at the Family History Library. Indexes are at the front of most volumes. Partially indexed at Record Search Pilot [see indexes below].

The following Cheatham County marriage records are abstracted and/or indexed:


 * [1856-1881] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early Middle Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: B. Sistler &amp; Associates, 1988. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 V2sb v. 2 ff. [Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years.] Free Lookups Available!
 * [1856-1881] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Cheatham County, Tennessee, Marriages 1856-1881. Nashville, Tenn.: Sistler, 1988. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8462 V22s.
 * Marriage Records, Cheatham County, Tennessee. Nashville: TSLA, Historical Records Project,, 1937. Typescript.
 * 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; indicate a surname, marriage "event", no date, and a county name (i.e. Cheatham, 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.
 * Cheatham County is not included in Marriage Records. or in Marriage Records: Early–1850.

Divorce

 * Tennessee. Tennessee Divorce and Other Records, 1800-1965. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives. Available at Ancestry ($).

In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Cheatham 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 Cheatham County (or what later became Cheatham 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
Cheatham County Public Library 188 County Services Drive Suite 200 Ashland City, TN 37015 Phone: 1-615-792-4828 The Ira T. Sanders Genealogy Room has Microfilm and Reference Records

Societies
Cheatham County Historical and Genealogical Association 233 N. Vine St. P. O. Box 703 Ashland City, TN 37015 Phone: 1-615-792-3623 Web site: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tncchga/ E-mail: cchga007@bellsouth.net The Cheatham County Historical and Genealogical Society was created in the early 1990s and includes a a number of chapters.

Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society PO Box 330948 Nashville, TN, USA 37203-7507 The society serves the 40 counties of middle Tennessee of which Cheatham County is one. It publishes The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy &amp; History, a quarterly containing articles of genealogical and historical interest. Little-known Tennessee records are published and indexed, along with family genealogies, Bible records and material submitted by members. There is an alphabetical Index to articles in the Journal 1988-summer 2005

Web Sites

 * Cheatham County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Cheatham County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Cheatham County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Cheatham County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Cheatham County, TN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (MyTennesseeGenealogy)
 * Cumberland Pioneer Settlers Cumberland Compact Signers, Pioneer Land Grant Recipients, Publication Descriptions, Free Book Indexes
 * Family History Library Catalog
 * Rootwalker: Genealogy Pages for Northern Middle TN Free genealogy resources for the region
 * Mailing List: TN-ROOTWALKER-L (North Central Tennessee Genealogy List) (RootsWeb)