Tennessee Vital Records

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Introduction to Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. United States Vital Records has additional research guidance on researching and using vital records. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Tennessee Vital Records State Department of Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also Tennessee Statewide Indexes and Collections at the Family History Library.

Tennessee Birth, Marriage and Death Records Online
The following is a list of online resources useful for locating Tennessee Vital Records which consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths. Most online resources for Tennessee Vital Records are indexes. After locating a person in an index, always consult the original record to confirm the information in the index.  


 * Tennessee deaths and burials 1874-1955 -Free
 * Tennessee death index 1949-2005 -Free
 * Tennessee Links from fhlfavorites.info - Free
 * Tennessee Databases listed on Rootsweb.org - Free
 * USGenWeb.org Tennessee Site - Free
 * Search for Tennessee Collections on FamilySearch Record Search under Canada, USA, and Mexico - Free
 * The Vital Records Search and Information Directory for Tennessee - Free/$
 * Wee Monster Links for Tennessee Birth &amp; Marriage and Death Records - Free/$
 * Linkpendium Links for Tennessee Genealogy and History, including individual Counties - Free/$
 * Progenealogists Links for the United States. Press Ctrl + F on the keyboard to search for Tennessee or TN - Free/$
 * Search the Tennessee Birth, Marriage &amp; DeathRecords at Ancestry.com - $
 * Order Tennessee Certificates online - $

If you are aware of other online databases, please feel free to add them.

Introduction to Vital Records
Prior - 1912

Few births and deaths were recorded by civil authorities before 1908. You may find some information on pre-1908 births and deaths in genealogies, histories, church and Bible records, and collections of personal papers.

Most counties kept birth and death records beginning in 1908. During the month of July, the clerk of the Board of School Directors was required to collect and report the births and deaths that had occurred in his district during the previous year. Their reports were sent to the Secretary of the County Board of Health (County Clerk) and from there to the State Board of Health. Death records for 1908–1912 do not list the names of parents. This incomplete register is at the Tennessee State Library and Archives.


 * Tennessee State Board of Health. Births (Enumerator Record Series), 1908–1912. The soundex index lists the child’s name, birth date and county, certificate number, and name of mother.


 * Tennessee State Board of Health. Deaths (Enumerator Record Series), 1908–1912. The records are arranged by enumerator record number. An index to these early death records is found at the Tennessee State Library and Archives listing 98,000 deaths.

1914 – present

Beginning 1 January 1914, statewide registration of vital statistics began but was not generally complied with until 1927. An online statewide death index for 1914-1924 is found on the website. In addition, this site also has a partial index to death records 1914-1925. The archive website gives good suggestions on how to successfully use their index.

The Family History Library has death indexes for 1914–1948:


 * Tennessee. State Board of Health. Deaths, 1914–1948; Death Index, 1914–1948. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives, 1981, 1993. The index lists the name, date of death, county, and page number.
 * Tennessee Archives and Library has a statewide on-line Index for Deaths, 1914-1930.

Tennessee birth records are closed for 75 years and death records for 50 years. To obtain copies of birth records from 1914 to the present, and death records that are 50 years old or less, write to:

Tennessee Vital Records Central Services Building 1st Floor 421 5th Avenue North Nashville, TN 37247-0460 Telephone: 615-741-1763 Credit Card Request: 615-741-0778 Fax: 615-741-9860 Internet: Tennessee Office of Vital Records

Application forms (and instructions) for birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates can be acquired from the Tennessee Vital Records web page.

The Tennessee State Library and Archives is the primary source for obtaining death records 50 years old or older. They have birth records for 1908–1912 and death indexes for 1908–1912 and 1914–1948. Indexes to selected death records are on their Internet site listed in the “Archives and Libraries” section of this outline.

Birth and Death Records Kept by Cities Before 1908

Before 1914, several major cities kept separate records of births and deaths. The most complete collection of pre-1914 city births is in the Tennessee State Library and Archives. They have records for Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Nashville, which are also available at the Family History Library:

The Shelby County Register of Deeds has records for Memphis deaths from 1848–1945. Their Internet site has an index and image view: Shelby County and the Register of Deeds and Tennessee State Library and Archives

Adoption Records
open / closed / state statutes

Death Records
Family Search Record Search includes extracted information from death certificates. As a state, Tennessee began registration of deaths from 1908-1912 and after 1914. During 1913, the state legislature failed to pass a statute requiring the gathering of death information.

Deaths were reported by the local undertaker. If a family buried their dead without the use of an undertaker, usually the death was not recorded at the state level. Some deaths were unreported as late as 1936.

If your ancestor lived in Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis or Nashville, earlier death records are available. For these cities, check both the city and county for records.

Marriage Records
County marriage records are the earliest and most complete vital records for Tennessee. The records that have survived usually begin within a few years of each county’s organization. Marriage records from the earliest dates to the present are kept by the county clerk for each county. Since 1 January 1949, duplicates have been sent to the Office of Vital Statistics. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of most of the existing county marriage records from the beginning dates to the early 1900's. Many early Tennessee marriages are extracted and found in the International Genealogical Index.  This index is accessed at FamilySearch. Beginning in 1945, Tennessee required statewide registration of marriages. These records have been indexed and are at the Office of Vital Statistics. The Family History Library does not have copies of these records.

Reels of microfilm containing marriage records can be borrowed on inter-library loan from the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

You can find early Tennessee published marriage records through:


 * Early East Tennessee Marriages. This source indexes pre-1861 marriages from 20 counties, listing the bride and groom and the date and county of the marriage. There is a separate index for brides and grooms.


 * Early Middle Tennessee Marriages. This source indexes pre-1861 marriages from 27 counties, listing the bride and groom and the date and county of the marriage. There is a separate index for brides and grooms.


 * Early West Tennessee Marriages. This source indexes pre-1861 marriages from 15 counties, listing the bride and groom and the date and county of the marriage. There is a separate index for brides and grooms.


 * Marriage Records. Contains marriage records for several Tennessee counties from the late 1700's to 1926, as well as marriage records from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. Dates vary with the county.

Marriage Records: Early–1850. Contains marriage records for Tennessee, as well as marriage records from Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia.

Divorce Records
Divorces are found in legislative papers prior to 1834. The state constitution of 1834 then gave authorized courts the power to grant divorces. They are normally found in individual county circuit courts. Divorce records for the past fifty years are available at the Tennessee Office of Vital Records. Some 750 statewide early divorce records extracted from legislative papers can be found in Gale W. Bamman and Debbie W. Spero, Tennessee Divorces, 1797-1858 (Nashville: G. Bamman, 1985). The Family History Library has a copy of this book (976.8 P2b).

Guide to Vital Records
The Tennessee Library and Archives Internet site listed in the “Archives and Libraries” page identifies many of the state’s vital records. See the “Vital Records” section of the United States Research Outline for more detailed information on the value and content of vital records. For divorce records, see the “Divorce Records” page.

Lost and Missing Records
Bedford County by fire and tornado; Bledsoe County in 1908; Bradley County in 1864; Dickson County in 1835; Giles County W.; Henderson County in 1865 and 1895; Hickman County in 1865; Humphreys County in 1876 and 1898; Marion County in 1822; Putnam County in 1899, Stewart County W.

Substitute Records
Tennessee Church Records

Tennessee Cemetery Records

Tennessee Census

Tennessee Newspapers

Tennessee Periodicals

Tennessee Military Records

Tips

 * Information listed on vital records is given by an informant. Learn the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) of the record.  The closer the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) and whether or not the informant was present at the time of the event can help determine the accuracy of the information found on the record.
 * If you are unable to locate vital records recorded by governments, search for church records of christening, marriage, death or burial. A family Bible may have been used to record births, marriages and deaths.
 * Privacy laws may restrict your access to some vital records. Copies of some vital records recorded in the last 100 years may be unavailable to anyone except a direct relative.
 * Search for Vital Records in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search and then choosing Vital Records. Search for Tennessee to locate records filed by the State and then search the name of the county to locate records kept by the county.

Archives, Libraries and Societies
Tennessee Archives and Libraries

Tennessee Societies

Family History Library Vital Records Collections
To find vital records, consult the Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:


 * TENNESSEE - VITAL RECORDS
 * TENNESSEE, [COUNTY] - VITAL RECORDS
 * TENNESSEE, [COUNTY], [TOWN] - VITAL RECORDS