Macon County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Macon County





Middle Tennessee county established in 1842. Macon County's land belonged to the pioneer Cumberland Settlements.

County Courthouse
Macon County Courthouse 104 Courthouse, Public Square Lafayette, Tennessee 37083 Phone: (615) 666-2000 Because of three courthouse fires, the records prior to 1901 are mostly destroyed. The Macon County Historical Society is working to restore these lost records through several different means. To learn what records are now available, it is worthwhile to contact the Macon County Historical Society at P.O. Box 231, Lafayette, Tennessee 37083-0231.

Courthouse hours: Monday - Wednesday 8 am - 4:30 pm Friday 8 am - 5 pm Saturday 8 am - 1:30 pm Closed Thursday

History


The county is named after U.S. Senator Nathaniel Macon (1758-1837).

Parent County
1842--Macon County was created 18 January 1842 from Smith and Sumner Counties. County seat: Lafayette

Neighboring Counties

 * Allen County, Kentucky
 * Clay
 * Jackson
 * Monroe County, Kentucky
 * Smith
 * Sumner
 * Trousdale

Research Guides

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

Census

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

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


 * 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.

Bibliography


 * [Doss] Murphy, Nathan W. Descendants of Azariah Doss and His Wife Lydia (Ayres) Doss. Hanson, Ky.: David W. Murphy and Associates, 1998. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 D741m

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.

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.

Periodicals
Ansearchin' News

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Macon County, Tennessee records 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.

The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Macon 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.

Web Sites

 * Cumberland Pioneer Settlers Cumberland Compact Signers, Pioneer Land Grant Recipients, Publication Descriptions, Free Book Indexes
 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Macon County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Macon County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)