Clay County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Clay County

Middle Tennessee county established in 1870. The western part of Clay County's land belonged to the pioneer Cumberland Settlements.





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

County Courthouse
Clay County Courthouse 139 East Lake Ave. Celina, TN 38551 Phone: 1-931-243-3145

Clay County Clerk Marriage records P.O. Box 218 139 East Lake Ave., Suite E Celina, TN 38551 Phone: 1-931-243-2249

Clay County Clerk and Master Probate records P.O. Box 332 Celina, TN 38551 Phone: 1-931-243-3145

Clay County Assessor Land records P.O. Box 430 Celina, TN 38551 Phone: 1-931-243-3298

Clay County Clerk of Circuit Court Court records P.O. Box 156 Celina, TN 38551 Phone: 1-931-243-2557

Hours: Mon.-Tues. and Thurs.- Fri.8 a.m.-4 p.m. (Closed Wed.) Sat.8 a.m.-noon

History


The county is named after U.S. Speaker of the House Henry Clay (1777-1852).

Parent County
1870--Clay County was created 24 June 1870 from Jackson and Overton counties. County seat: Celina

County Pronunciation


Did we get the accent right? If not, contact Nathan W. Murphy, [mailto:murphynw@familysearch.org murphynw@familysearch.org].

Record Loss

 * Lost census: 1890

Populated Places
Cities and Towns:

Neighboring Counties

 * Cumberland County, Kentucky
 * Jackson
 * Macon
 * Monroe County, Kentucky
 * Overton
 * Pickett

Research Guides

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

Cemeteries
Tennessee cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.

Charles A. Reeves Jr. has created a detailed map showing the locations of Clay County cemeteries. It may be purchased for a small fee through his website.

The following websites may contain Clay County cemetery records:


 * Find A Grave can be searched by the name of a person or family to find where a person is buried. Usually gives birth and death dates often with a picture of the tombstone. May give obituaries, names of family members and links to their information in Find A Grave.


 * Find A Grave also gives a list of cemeteries in Clay County linking to the information about the people buried there,


 * Clay County, TN Cemetery Records, part of the TNGenWeb Cemetery Database, lists many cemeteries in the county, often with indexes and transcripts of the burials.


 * Clay County, Tennessee, USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project lists many cemeteries in the county and has transcripts of the tombstones arranged by cemetery.


 * Clay County cemetery information with transcriptions on TNGenweb Project


 * The Family History Library Catalog lists some records of cemeteries in Clay county. Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


 * ePodunk list of Clay County cemeteries

Census
1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Clay 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.

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. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2r v. 6 1891. [Clay 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. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2s 1890.
 * 1890 Clay County veterans found on the 1890 Federal Census. Hosted by Rootsweb.

1920


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

DNA
DNA has been collected from men claiming descent from the following Clay County residents. Attempts have not been made to verify the lineages of those tested.


 * [Brown] Descendant of Daniel Brown, b. abt 1852 Kentucky or Alabama, m. Lusana Eudy 1877 Clay County, Tennessee, d. abt 1910 Kentucky. Y-DNA 37 Marker Test, FTDNA (Kit 77320). Genetic signature available online (labeled Group No. 46), genealogical description available online, courtesy: Brown/Browne/Braun DNA Study. Matches have been found.

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


 * Clay County, Tennessee History and Families. Paducah, Ky.: Turner Publishing Co. Publisher's description.
 * 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


 * [Donaldson] Waters, Elise Donaldson. Genealogy of Donaldsons of Wilson and Clay County, Tennessee; Colsons, Browns, and Hords of Virginia and Tennessee, and Related Families. Nashville, Tenn.: E.D. Waters, 1981. FHL FAM HIST Large Q Book 929.273 D714w.
 * [Fowler] Waters, Elise Donaldson. Genealogy of Sylvanus Fowler of Newburgh, New York, Jackson and Clay County, Tennessee: and Related Families. Nashville, Tenn.: E.D. Waters, 1979. FHL FAM HIST Large Q Book 929.273 F829d 1979.
 * [Lincoln] Warren, Louis Austin. Hananiah Lincoln in Revolution and Pioneer History. Bloomington, IN: University Press, 1929. Digital version available at Heritage Quest Online.

Land

 * Clay County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1871 and is located at Courthouse, POB 430 Celina, Tennessee 38551; 931-243-3298, Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries
 * The Family History Library has microfilm copies of deeds1871-1904. 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.

Military
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. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 7 (1960); digital version at journal website. [Includes Clay County pensioners (pp. 40-41)]

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 Clay County click on the following city:


 * Celina

Occupations

 * Miller, Alan N. Middle Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1784 to 1902. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2004. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2ma. Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes Clay County.]

Periodicals
Tap into the minds of local experts. Editors of genealogical periodicals publish unique sources that researchers who are new to their area would not likely discover. This type of material may be found in local, regional, or statewide genealogical society journals. The following periodicals cover this county:


 * Ansearchin' News
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Clay County, Tennessee 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
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Clay 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.

Probate
Probate records are court records created after an individual’s death that relate to a court’s decisions regarding the distribution of the estate to the heirs or creditors and the care of any dependents. You may find the names of married daughters or other relatives and their residences; or information about the adoption or guardianship of minor children and dependents. Probate records do not always give an exact date of death, but the death usually occurred within four months of probate. These documents are important to family history researchers, because they usually exist for time periods before civil birth and death records were kept.

The Clay County Court has responsibility for the probate records.

Taxation

 * [1789] Cumberland Settlements, Tax List, 1789, The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Fall 1990). For access, see Periodicals. [Includes area that later became Clay County.]

Marriages
The original Clay County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. The following Clay County marriage records are microfilmed:


 * [1871-1993] Available at the TSLA.
 * [1871-1957] Available at the Family History Library. Indexes are at the front of each volume.

The following Cannon County Courthouse marriage records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * [1871-1873] Marriage Records, 1871-1873, Clay County, Tennessee. Nashville: TSLA, Historical Records Project, 1939. Typescript. Item 2
 * Shrum, Shelta R. Early Clay County, Tennessee, Marriages. Lafayette, Tennessee: Ridge Runner, 2001.
 * RecordSearch at FamilySearch now includes indexed Tennessee marriages. This is a free pilot site and still under construction.  At this time, it is best to search from the home page; indicate a surname, marriage "event", no date, and a county name (i.e. Clay, Tennessee).  Browse through the results for that surname. You may need to supply any variant spellings of the surname in separate searches.
 * 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.
 * Clay County is not included in Marriage Records. or in Marriage Records: Early–1850.

Divorce
In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Clay 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
For deaths of Methodists in Clay County (or what later became Clay 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. FHL US/CAN Books 976.855/N1 V48s 1847-1851 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.]

Libraries

 * Clay County Public Library  116 Guffey St., Celina, TN 38551-4088 Phone: 1-931-243-3442 E-Mail: [mailto:claycountylibrary@hotmail.com claycountylibrary@hotmail.com] Hours: Mon.–Tues. 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Wed. 3 p.m.–8 p.m., Thurs.–Fri. 8:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.–1 p.m., Sun. Closed The Clay county Library has a genealogical collection including local and family history.

Societies

 * Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society PO Box 330948 Nashville, TN, USA 37203-7507 The society serves the 40 counties of middle Tennessee of which Clay County is one. It publishes The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy &amp; History, a quarterly containing articles of genealogical and historical interest. Little-known Tennessee records are published and indexed, along with family genealogies, Bible records and material submitted by members. There is an alphabetical Index to articles in the Journal 1988-summer 2005


 * Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association, Inc. PO Box 575 Cookeville, TN 38503-0575 The Association includes 14 counties in upper middle Tennessee. It sponsors the Tennessee Room at the Putnam County Library in Cookeville, Tennessee which contains many records of genealogical value.

Web Sites

 * Clay County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Clay County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Clay County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Cumberland Pioneer Settlers Cumberland Compact Signers, Pioneer Land Grant Recipients, Publication Descriptions, Free Book Indexes
 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Rootwalker: Genealogy Pages for Northern Middle TN Free Genealogy Resources for the Region
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-ROOTWALKER-L (North Central Tennessee Genealogy List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-UPPER-CUMBERLAND-L (Upper Cumberland Tennessee Region Genealogy List)