Fayette County, Tennessee Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for Marquis de Lafayette. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

Fayette County Tennessee Courthouse
Fayette County Courthouse P.O. Box 218 1 Court Square Somerville, TN 38068-0218 Phone: 901-465-5219

Fayette County Clerk Birth and Death 1925-1929 Marriage from 1838 except 1918 - 1925 lost in fire P.O. Box 218 1 Court Square, Room 101 Somerville, TN 38068 Phone 1-901-465-5213

Fayette County Register of Deeds Land records P.O. Box 99 1 Court Square Somerville, TN 38068 Phone: 901-465-5251

Chancery Court - Clerk and Master Court records P.O. Box 220 Somerville, TN 38068 Phone: 901-465-5217

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Fayette County Tennessee History
West Tennessee county.

The county is named after Revolutionary War hero, the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834).

Parent County
1824--Fayette County was created 29 September 1824 from Hardeman and Shelby Counties. County seat: Somerville

County Pronunciation

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

Boundary Changes
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
1925  Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.


 * Lack of marriage records: 1824 to 1837
 * Lost probate records: 1824 to 1836

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:

Neighboring Counties

 * Benton County, Mississippi
 * Hardeman
 * Haywood
 * Marshall County, Mississippi
 * Shelby
 * Tipton

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Fayette County, courtesy: TSLA (Identifies published county histories, published local records, census records, newspapers and local records on microfilm, and select manuscripts.)
 * Fayette County, Tennessee: A Partial Bibliography  (updated 12/30/2002), available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb.

African American
United States African Americans Tennessee African Americans

The Runaway Slave Blog is a free online resource where runaway slaves listed in pre-1865 West Tennessee newspapers are identified. Some of the runaway ads appeared in Fayette County newspapers.

Biographies

 * Douthat, James L. Fayette County, Tennessee Biographies. 1887; reprint, Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Free Surname Index and purchase details at Mountain Press website.
 * All of the family biographies from the History of Fayette County, Tennessee (1887) by Goodspeed are available free online at My Genealogy Hound.

Census
1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Fayette 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 Fayette 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.com — index $

1840 Revolutionary War Pensioners


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. . 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google books et. al. See Tennessee, Western District, Fayette County on page 158.

1850


 * Carpenter, Mrs. V.K. Seventh census of the United States, 1850 : Fayette County, Tennessee, free population schedules Huntsville, Arkansas : Century Enterprises, 1969

1860


 * Felldin, Jeanne Robey and Tucker, Charlotte Magee 1860 United States census, Fayette County, Tennessee, surname index Tomball, Texas : Genealogical Publications, c1976

1880


 * Sistler, Samuel D. 1880 census, Fayette County, Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee : Byron Sistler and Associates, 2003

Male Voters


 * 1891 Tennessee Enumeration of Male Voters 1891 at Ancestry.com — index $

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.


 * Fayette County Church Records


 * - FamilySearch Catalog -


 * If the records you need are not found in the Family History Library collection, contact the church(es) in the area where your ancestor lived. Two sites that give information about churches in Fayette County are:


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


 * In 1936, a helpful guide to early Fayette 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 Fayette County are listed. Many of these filmed records are also available at the Family History Library.

Baptist


 * 1832 - 1901 - Mt. Pisgah Primitive Baptist Church Records. Fayette County, 1832-1901. Manuscript. TSLA Reel #361
 * 1832 - 1900 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Vital Statistics from 19th Century Tennessee Church Records.Nashville: Sitler and Associates, 1979.  vol.2   Index to original Mt. Pisgah Primitive Baptist Church Records. Fayette County, 1832-1901.

Episcopal


 * 1872 - 1916 - St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Somerville, Marriage Index 1872-1916. Batch in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Methodist


 * 1890 - 1970 - Moscow Methodist Church Records. Fayette County, 1890-1970. Typescript. TSLA Reel #360
 * 1890 - 1900 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Vital Statistics from 19th Century Tennessee Church Records.Nashville: Sitler and Associates, 1979. vol.2  Index to original Moscow Methodist Church Records. Fayette County, 1890-1970.
 * Historical Records Project. Immanuel Episcopal Church Minutes, La Grange, Tennessee.Typescript. Includes index.
 * Historical Records Project. St. Thomas Episcopal Church Minutes and history, Somerville, Tennessee. Typescript. Item 1

Presbyterian


 * 1847 - 1885 - Mount Pleasant Cumberland Presbyterian Church Baptism Index 1847-1885. Batch in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1847 - 1895 - Mount Pleasant Cumberland Presbyterian Church Marriage Index 1847-1895. Batch in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1858 - 1935 - Mount Pleasant Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Hickory Withe, Baptism Index 1858-1935. Batch in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1858 - 1935 - Mount Pleasant Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Hickory Withe, Marriage Index 1858-1935. Batch in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1858 - 1935 - Mount Pleasant Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Hickory Withe, Death Index 1858-1935. Batch in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

On microfilm:


 * 1847 - 1935 - Church Records 1847-1935. Mount Pleasant Cumberland Presbyterian Church (Fayette County, Tennessee). Manuscript. TSLA Reel #225 Item 2

Genealogy
More than a dozen genealogies have been published about Fayette County, Tennessee families. For more information visit Fayette County, Tennessee Compiled Genealogies.

Land
Fayette County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1825 and is located at Courthouse, P. O. Box 99, Somerville, Tennessee 8068-0218; Telephone: (901) 465-5251. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries.

The Family History has microfilm copies od deed books 1825- 1890 and land entries 1821-1881.

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. To read more about this valuable resource Click here. The searchable index is available at the TSLA; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Maps

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)

Revolutionary War
The following Fayette County Revolutionary War records are available online through TNGenWeb:


 * 1835 Pension Roll
 * 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions
 * Index to Fayette County, TN Revolutionary Soldiers as taken from History of Fayette County, Tennessee 1986.

Additional resources include:


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. . 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google books et. al. See Tennessee, Western District, Fayette County on page 158.
 * Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." Digital version at Ancestry ($). Tennessee entries abstracted online at Tennesseans in the Revolutionary War, courtesy: TNGenWeb. Includes veterans from this county; Tennessee section begins on page 381.

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. ; digital version at journal website. Includes Fayette County pensioners (pp. 43-44)

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 Fayette 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 Fayette County.

Confederate Soldiers


 * 6th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company D.
 * 7th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Duckworth's) - CSA - Companies B and K.
 * 9th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company A.
 * 12th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Green's) - CSA - Companies A, B, F, H, and K.
 * 13th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies A, B, E, G, and H.
 * 14th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Neely's) - CSA - Company D.
 * 14th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - CSA - Companies B, D, and H.
 * 15th Consolidated Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - CSA - Companies B, I, and K.
 * 15th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Stewart's) - CSA
 * 16th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Logwood's) - CSA - Companies D, F, G, H, and K.
 * 38th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Looney's) (8th Infantry)- CSA - 2nd Company K.
 * 51st Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company B.
 * 51st Consolidated Regiment, Tennessee Infantry- CSA - Company H.
 * 154th Senior Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (1st Tennessee Volunteers) - CSA

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Fayette County:


 * Lynn, H.M. H.M. Lynn Papers, 1858-1882. Southern Historical Collection, Manuscripts Dept., Wilson Library, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Free digital copy. 9th Tennessee Regiment, Company C.
 * Thurman, John P. John P. and Sallie Ecklin Thurman Papers1884-1896. Southern Historical Collection, Manuscripts Department, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Tennessee 3rd and 4th Calvary. Free digital copy.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Fayette 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 book at Internet Archive. Fayette County, page 333.

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 Fayette County click on the following towns:


 * LaGrange
 * Somerville

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 Fayette County.]

Periodicals

 * Family Findings
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Fayette 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.
 * 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.
 * 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 Fayette County.

Online Records


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


 * Wills, 1836-1854 (Vols. A-B)
 * Inventories, 1854-1856
 * Letter, 1891-1965
 * Settlements, 1858-1914 (6 vols.)

The following Fayette County probate records have been indexed:


 * 1836 - 1861 Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Tennessee Wills &amp; Administrations 1779-1861. Nashville, Tenn. Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, Inc., 1990. . Includes an index to this county's probate records.

Taxation
The following Fayette County tax records have been abstracted:


 * 1836 West, Betsy F. "Fayette County, Tennessee Tax List - 1836," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Spring 1975):30-35; Vol. 22, No. 2 (Summer 1975):90-95; Vol. 22, No. 3 (Fall 1975):140-144; Vol. 22, No. 4 (Winter 1975):188-192. For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
 * 1874 Taxpayers, 1874, Old Timer Press. Ripley MS: Mar 1982. Vol. 1 Iss. 9.

Traffic Information

 * Speed Limits for Fayette County.

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 Fayette County until 1838, when a law was passed mandating the practice. The following publication, based on early newspapers, helps to alleviate this genealogical obstacle:


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


 * 1625-1966 - Tennessee, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 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 Fayette County Courthouse marriage records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * 1838 - 1895 - Fayette County Marriage Index 1838-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1838 - 1857 - Historical Records Project Marriage records, 1838-1857, Fayette County, Tennessee Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1939.


 * 1838 - 1963 - Fayette County (Tennessee) County Court Clerk Marriage records (Fayette County, Tennessee), 1838-1963 Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1976-1997.


 * 1838 - 1873 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early West Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: B. Sistler &amp; Associates, 1989. ff. Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years.


 * 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.

Divorce
In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Fayette 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

 * 1823 - 1852 - Hays, Tony. West Tennessee Death Records (ca. 1823-1852). 2 vols. n.p.: Kitchen Table Press, 1987. . Fayette County is included in Vol. 2]


 * 1874 - 1955 - at FamilySearch.org — index


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


 * 1914 - 1966 - at FamilySearch — index and images

For deaths of Methodists in Fayette 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. 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.

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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Fayette County Tennessee Genealogy Websites

 * (FamilySearch) — The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.
 * Fayette County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Fayette County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Fayette County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Mailing List: SW-TN-L (Southwest Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: TNFAYETT-L (Fayette County, Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: WEST-TNCHAT-L (West Tennessee Chat List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: WESTTN-L (West Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)