Hancock County, Tennessee Genealogy

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

Description
Hancock County was named for the Revolutionary War patriot John Hancock. The county is located in the northeastern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Hancock County Courthouse 1237 Main St. PO Box 347 Sneedville, TN 37869 County Courthouse Phone: 423-733-4341 Circuit Court Clerk Phone: 423-733-2954

Hancock County Clerk  418 Harrison Street P.O. Box 575 Sneedville, TN 37869 County Clerk Phone: 423-733-2519

County Clerk has marriage, divorce Probate and court records from 1930 Land records from 1875 and military records from 1917.

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

The county is named after Founding Father John Hancock (1737-1793).

Biographies

 * Douthat, James L. Hancock County, Tennessee History and Biographies. 1887; reprint, Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Free Surname Index and purchase details at Mountain Press website.

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources
 * Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator

Census Records
1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Hancock 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 Hancock 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 ($)

1880


 * Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census, Hancock County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, 1996..

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. . Hancock County is included in Vol. 6.
 * 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 ($)

1930


 * Collins, Betty VanOver. Hancock Co., Tennessee Federal Census, 1930. Knoxville, Tenn.: B.J.V. Collins, 2004?..

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Baptist


 * DeBoard, George Mitchell et al. Personal Records of a Minister: Rev. George Mitchell DeBoard, Grainger County, Tennessee; Includes Many People from Hancock, Hawkins and Hamblen Counties, Tennessee). Dallas, Texas: H.P. Garner, 2001?..

Court Records
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. Online searchable index at TSLA.

Genealogies

 * As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Hancock, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 25,000 entries.
 * Hancock County Historical and Genealogical Society (Tennessee). Hancock County, Tennessee and Its People. 3 vols. n.p.: Walsworth Pub. Co., 1990-2004. ff.

Bibliography


 * Church - Murray, James Lawrence. Church - Edens Families of Hawkins and Hancock Counties, Tennessee. El Paso, Texas: J.L. Murray, 1960..
 * Eppes - Johnson, Mary Lou Shoemaker. Family of Edward Eppes of Knox County, Tennessee. Fountain City, TN?: Unknown, 1951. Available at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * Flagg - Descendants of Josiah Flagg of Berkeley County, W. Va.; with Sketches of the Flagg, Keyes, Foss, Shively, Hughes, Slemons and Campbell Ancestries. Boston: Press of T.R. Marvin, 1920.Free digital copy, courtesy: Internet Archive.
 * Goins - Rhea, Johnnie Clyde. Alexander Goins Family of Newman's Ridge, Hancock, Tennessee. Sneedville, Tenn.: J.C. Rhea, 1999..
 * Greene - McNeil, Jack (John Edward, Jr.) The nine Greene sisters of Benton County, Arkansas Parkin, Arkansas J. McNeil, c1992 . Digital version available at FamilySearch Digital Library.

Land and Property Records
The original Hancock County Deed Books are held at the Hancock County Courthouse. The TSLA microfilmed Deed Books J through Q (1879-1902) and the Index (1879-1968) in the 1970s. Copies of their microfilms are also available at the FamilySearch Library:.

Local Histories
Hancock County Historical and Genealogical Society (Tennessee) Hancock County, Tennessee and its people United States: Walsworth Pub. Co., c1990-2004 Free lookups available

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)
 * FamilySearch Places: Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
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
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1891-1965 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Confederate Soldiers


 * 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Ashby's) - CSA - Company C.
 * 5th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (McClellan's) - CSA - Company D.
 * 29th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company D.
 * 25th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company I (Lee Rangers later Lee Greys).

Union Soldiers


 * 1st Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Companies A and B.
 * 9th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Companies L and M.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Hancock County:


 * Carter, William Randolph. History of the First regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry in the Great war of the Rebellion, with the Armies of the Ohio and Cumberland, under Generals Morgan, Rosecrans, Thomas, Stanley and Wilson. Knoxville, Tennessee: Gaut-Ogden Co. Printers, 1902. Free digital copy. Union.
 * 1890 Census of Union Veterans and their Widows, Hancock County. TN. Extracted by Hallie Price Garner for Our Mountain Heritage.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications:Hancock 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. Hancock County, page 342-343.

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 Hancock County click on the following town:


 * Sneedville

For deaths of Methodists in Hancock County between the 1830s and the 1920s, try the following resources:
 * 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;


 * East Tennessee Roots: Published by East Tennessee Roots The table of contents for some issues are available on their website;.


 * Our Mountain Heritage: Primary emphasis of the quarterly newsletter is on the "publication of local records that are not available elsewhere."(website: www.overhomesneedville.com) Indexed in the PERiodical Source Index


 * Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin: Published by Watauga Association of Genealogists. The table of contents for some issues are found on their website; ; Bulletin Subject Index: The First Thirty Years, 1972-2001 (Johnson City, Tenn.: Watauga Association of Genealogists, 2002).

Probate Records
Online Records and Indexes


 * 1779-2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry ($)

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


 * 1880-1880 Hancock County Tax List, East Tennessee Roots, Vol. 6, No. 1; Vol. 6, No. 2; Vol. 6, No. 3; Vol. 6, No. 4. For access, see Periodical Section.
 * 1880 Tax Records, 1880. Our Mountain Heritage, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Spring 2002); Vol. 14, No. 3 (Summer 2002); Vol. 14, No. 4 (Fall 2002); Vol. 15, No. 1 (Winter 2003); Vol. 15, No. 2 (Spring 2003); Vol. 15, No. 3 (Summer 2003); Vol. 15, No. 4 (Fall 2003); Vol. 16, No. 1 (Winter 2004); Vol. 16, No. 2 (Spring 2004); Vol. 16, No. 3 (Summer 2004); Vol. 16, No. 4 (Fall 2004); Vol. 17, No. 1 (Winter 2005); Vol. 17, No. 2 (Apr. 2005); Vol. 18, No. 2 (Apr. 2006). For access, see Periodical Section.

Birth

 * 1828-1939 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1869-1909 Tennessee Delayed Birth Records 1869-1909 at Ancestry ($)
 * 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 [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 ($)
 * 1980-2014 Marriage Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Death

 * 1874-1955 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1908-1958 Tennessee Death Records 1908 - 1958 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1908-1912 Tennessee Death Records 1908-1912 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1914-1966 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1914-1933 - Tennessee Death Records 1914-1933 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1914-1925 - Wiefering, Edna and Cleveland Public Library. Hancock County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics, 1914 through 1925. Cleveland, Tenn.: Cleveland Public Library, 199-?..
 * 1949-2014 - Death Records Index 1949-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Divorce

 * 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

FamilySearch Centers

 * Kingsport Tennessee Family History Center
 * Morristown Tennessee Family History Center
 * Johnson City Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Knox County Public Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Hancock County Public Library 138 Willow St. Sneedville, TN 37869 Phone: 423-733-2020 Facebook Has a genealogy and local history section.

Societies
Hancock County Tennessee Historical and Genealogical Society P.O. Box 307 Sneedville, TN 37869 Phone: 423-733-0140 Email: [mailto:hchs1@att.net hchs1@att.net] Website

Websites

 * – 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.
 * Hancock County TN Genealogy
 * Hancock County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)

Research Guides

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