Lake County, Tennessee Genealogy

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

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

County Courthouse
Lake County Courthouse 229 Church Street Tiptonville,TN 38079-1162 Phone: 1-731-253-8926 County Clerk has probate records from 1870 and marriage records from 1883. Clerk Chancery and Circuit Court have divorce records. Registrar and Tax Assessor have land records.


 * County Clerk has marriage and probate records Phone: 1-731-253-7582
 * Register of Deeds has land records Phone: 1-731-253-7462
 * Circuit Court Clerk has court records Phone: 1-731-253-7137

Some county records are located at the University of Tennessee at Martin, where they are among the manuscript holdings. These include: Tiptonville city record book 1900-1926 (MS 61); Lake County licenses, registers, and misc records 1896-1920 (MS 62); Lake County tax record ledgers 1875-1915 (MS 63).

Genealogy mail requests are forwarded to the County Historian

Hours: Mon., Wed. and Fri. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Thurs. 8 a.m.-Noon

History


West Tennessee county. Established 1870.

The county is named after Reelfoot Lake.

Parent County
1870--Lake County was created 24 June 1870 from Obion County. County seat: Tiptonville

County Pronunciation

 * 1) Hear it spoken (female)
 * 2) Hear it spoken (male)

Boundary Changes
County boundaries have not changed since its creation.

For animated maps illustrating Tennessee county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Tennessee County Boundary Maps" (1777-1985) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss

 * Lost marriage records: 1870 to 1883

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Lake 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

Biographies

 * Douthat, James L. Lake County, Tennessee Biographies. 1887; reprint, Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Free Surname Index and purchase details at Mountain Press website.
 * Family Biographies from The History of Lake County, Tennessee (1887) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources


 * Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator
 * Lake County Genealogy and History Website

Census
1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Lake 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.

1810 - 1891


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

See Tennessee Population Schedule Indexes: Fiche, Film, or Book

1880


 * Sistler, Samuel D. 1880 census Lake County, Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee : Byron Sistler and Associates, 2002

1890 Lost

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. . Lake County is included in Vol. 3.


 * 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.com — index $

Family Histories
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 Lake, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 2,500 entries.


 * TNGenWeb has histories of several families. Scroll down to "Families."


 * Lake County Historical Society. History and Families Lake County, Tennessee: 1870-1992. Paducah, Ky.: Turner Pub. Co., 1993..

Bibliography


 * Shull - Algee, Isabelle Rogers. The Shull Family of Lake County, Tennessee and Allied Families. n.p.: I.R. Algee, 1998..

Land

 * Lake County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1870 and is located at Courthouse, 116 S. Court, Tiptonville, Tennessee 38079; Telephone: (731) 253-7582. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries
 * The Family History Library has microfilmed copies on deeds 1870-1914 with indexes 1870-1969; and land entry books 1893-1929.

Maps

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)
 * Map of 1888 Lake County, Tennessee with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)

War of 1812
There were no War of 1812 pensioners or widows of pensioners living in Lake County on 2 January 1883.

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 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)
 * 1891 - 1965 - at FamilySearch — images
 * Civil War Research Database $
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Regiments. Civil War service men from Lake County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment)that originated in their county. Listed below are the military units that were formed in or had many men from Lake County:

Confederate Soldiers


 * 1st Regiment, Tennessee Heavy Artillery (Jackson's) - CSA
 * 15th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company E.
 * 18th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Newsom's) - CSA - Company D.
 * 33rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company G.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Lake County:


 * CWSAC, Battle Summaries, New Madrid, Island #10. Located: City of New Madrid, Missouri; Lake County, Tennessee.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Lake County. 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. Lake County, page 356.
 * Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association, The Civil War in Lake County.

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War Battle was fought in Lake County:

February 28-April 8, 1862 = New Madrid/Island No. 10 [9] [9]


 * Map showing Civil War battles in Missouri.

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 Lake County click on the following towns:


 * Ridgley
 * Tiptonville

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. . Purchase at Genealogical.com. Includes Lake County.

Periodicals

 * Family Findings
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Lake 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 . Volume 2, No. 4 (Oct. 1970) was a special issue devoted to Lake County records in honor of its centennial anniversary.
 * 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 to retrieve them.
 * West Tennessee Historical Society Papers
 * Family History Library has Volumes 1 - 16 and 30 . 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 Records
The County Court has responsibility for the probate records of Lake County.

Online Records
 * 1779 – 2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry.com — index and images $


 * Wills, 1871-1943
 * Bonds, Letters, 1896-1940 (2 vols.)
 * Settlements, 1872-1916

Taxation
The original Lake County Tax Books 1878-1879 are kept at the County Courthouse. In 1976, TSLA microfilmed these records. FHL copy:.

The following Lake County tax records have been abstracted:


 * 1891 - Moore, Leslie. "Lake County, Tennessee 1891 Voter's List," Districts 1-4 available online, courtesy TNGenWeb. Scroll down to "Census and Voter's Lists"

Vital Records
See also How to order Tennessee Vital Records or order electronically online.

Birth

 * 1828 - 1939 - at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1869 - 1909 - Tennessee Delayed Birth Records 1869-1909 at Ancestry.com — index and images $


 * 1908 - 1912 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage
Marriages were not officially recorded in Lake County during the first few years of its existence. In 1838, a law was passed mandating the practice. The following publication, based on early newspapers, helps to alleviate this genealogical obstacle:


 * 1794 - 1851 - Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978..


 * 1780 - 2002 - Tennessee State Marriages 1780-2002 at Ancestry.com — index $


 * 1780 - 2002 - at FamilySearch.org— index


 * 1790 - 1950 - at FamilySearch.org — index and images


 * 1796 - 1950 - at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1838 - 1888 - at FamilySearch — index and images


 * 1851 - 1900 - Tennessee Marriages 1851-1900 at Ancestry.com— index and images $

The following Lake County Courthouse marriage records have been indexed:


 * 1883 - 1895 - Lake County Marriage Index 1883-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1883 - 1953 - Lake County, Tennessee County Court Clerk Marriage bonds (Lake County, Tennessee), 1883-1953 Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives, 1976-1988. FHL US/CAN Film 1007781-83 and 1928747

Death

 * 1874 - 1955 - at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1908 - 1958 - Tennessee Death Records 1908 - 1958 at Ancestry.com — index and images $


 * 1914 - 1955 - at FamilySearch.org — index and images

For deaths of Methodists in Lake County (or what became Lake County) between the 1830s and the 1920s, try searching the following records:


 * 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.

Societies and Libraries
See also a List of Tennessee Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

 * (FamilySearch) — The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.
 * Lake County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Lake County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TNLAKE-L (Lake County, Tennessee List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-NEWMADRID-QUAKE-L (1811 New Madrid Earthquake Genealogy List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: WEST-TNCHAT-L (West Tennessee Chat List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: WESTTN-L (West Tennessee List)
 * Lake County TN Genealogy   (LDS Genealogy)