Hickman 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
Hickman County's civil records start the following years:

County Courthouse


Hickman County Courthouse Public Square; Centerville, TN 37033 Phone: 931.729.2621 County Clerk has marriage and probate records from 1867. Clerk Circuit Court has divorce and court records. Register of Deeds has land records from 1807.

Hickman County Archivist 8 Public Square Centerville, TN 37033 Phone: 1-931-729-6478 The Hickman County Archives is now open for public use on a limited Thursday and Friday schedule. All bound volumes that have been microfilmed, with the exception of deeds and deeds of trust, are available for review with the original volumes on site for verification of unclear images.

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

History
Middle Tennessee county. Established 1807.

The county is named after "Edwin Hickman, a longhunter killed by Native Americans near the present-day Centerville."

Parent County
1807--Hickman County was created 3 December 1807 from Dickson County. County seat: Centerville

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
1864 Fire damaged courthouse records.


 * Lost censuses: 1810
 * Lost marriage records: 1807 to 1868
 * Lost probate records: 1807 to 1866

Research Guides

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

African Americans
United States African Americans Tennessee African Americans

Census takers found no free African Americans living in Hickman County, Tennessee in 1820.

Biographies

 * Douthat, James L. Hickman County, Tennessee 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
 * Hickman County Tennessee GenWeb Cemeteries - cemetery information with transcriptions

Census
1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Hickman 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 Hickman County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. The USGenWeb Census Project®

1810 Lost A substitute is available:


 * Sherrill, Charles A. The Reconstructed 1810 Census of Tennessee: 33,000 Long-lost Records from Tax Lists, Court Minutes, Church Records, Wills, Deeds and Other Sources. Mt. Juliet, Tenn.: C.A. Sherrill, 2001..

1810 - 1891


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

1820


 * Ballard, Linda and Shelley Bishop. 1820 Census of Hickman County, Tennessee.Lyles, Tennessee : Linn-Shell Pub., 1987.
 * Bentley, Elizabeth P. Index to the 1820 Census of Tennessee. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981.

1830


 * Coleman, Brenda W.United States Census Hickman County, Tennessee, 1830.Atoka, Tennessee : B.W. Coleman, 1996.

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, Middle District, Hickman County on page 156.

1850


 * Garrett, Jill K. and Catherine K. Gilliam. 1850 Census of Hickman County, Tennessee.S.p.: 1967.

1860


 * United Daughters of the Confederacy. Thomas Stewart Easley Chapter, no. 1814. Hickman County, Tennessee, United States Census, 1860.Centerville, Tennessee : Printing Unlimited, n.d.

1870


 * Bridges, Alec F.1870 Federal Census, Hickman County, Tennessee.Gallatin, Tennessee : A.F. Bridges, 2000.

1880


 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census Hickman County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: B. Sistler and Associates, 1999.

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. . Hickman County is included in Vol. 8.
 * 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 $

1900


 * Bridges, Alec F.1900 Federal Census, Hickman County, Tennessee.Gallatin, Tennessee : A.F. Bridges, 2001. v. 1-2.

1910


 * Tatum, Rubye and Bruce Tatum. 1910 Census, Hickman County, Tennessee.Lyles, Tennessee : Tatum, 1984.

Court

 * Leeper, Kate and Paul Court records of Hickman County, Tennessee 1833-1856 s.n., 1968   Free lookups available!]
 * Dotson, Olgia Hickman County, Tennessee court records, 1814-1829 Centerville, Tennessee : Hickman County Historical Society (TN), 2000.  Court

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 Hickman, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 45,000 entries.


 * Garrett, Jill Knight. Historical Sketches of Hickman County, Tennessee. Unknown: Unknown, 19??. Available at FHL US/CAN Book 976.8434 H2; FHL US/CAN Film 1036548; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).

Bibliography


 * Bates - Bates, James E. James Bates &amp; Elizabeth Tubb, Parents of the 7 Bates Brothers of Hickman County, Tennessee?. Greenbelt, Md.: J.E. Bates, 1988..
 * Beasley - Lockhart, William Thomas. The Beasley Family of Benton, Henry, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys and Stewart Counties of Tennessee. Florissant, Missouri: W. Lockhart, 1985..
 * Fowlkes - Olney, Adelle Whitby. Fowlkes of Virginia &amp; Hickman County, Tennessee. San Bernardino, Calif.: A.W. Olney, 1974..
 * Moffitt - Young, Laurie M. Family Notes on Keith, Lott, Sketoe, Donahoo and Arnold of Muhlenberg: Lear and Sheffield of Christian, Todd and Muhlenberg County, Kentucky; Smith and Beck, Spencer County, Indiana; Moffitt, Randolph County, North Carolina, Perry, Hickman and Humphries Co., Tn. Boise, Idaho: L.M. Young, 1990..
 * Peery - Peery, Charles Lee. Genealogy of James Peery: Virginia Pioneer, Revolutionary War Veteran, Tennessee Frontiersman, Hickman County Resident, Ancestors and Descendants. Cullman, Ala.: Gregath, 1997..
 * Wilson - Bevell, John Calvin. Adam Reed Wilson of Hickman County Tennessee and Panola County Mississippi: A Record of His Ancestry, His Children and His Descendants. Monrovia, Calif.: J.C. Bevell, 1991..

Land

 * Hickman County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1808 and is located at the Courthouse, 8 Public Square, Centerville, Tennessee 37033; Telephone: (931) 729-2621. 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 deed books 1808-1892 with indexes 1983-1900; surveyor's books 1827-1901.

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.

Local Histories

 * Garrett, Jill Knight. Historical Sketches of Hickman County, Tennessee. Unknown: Unknown, 19??. Available at FHL US/CAN Book 976.8434 H2; FHL US/CAN Film 1036548; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * Spence, Jerome D. and David L. Spence's history of Hickman County, Tennessee P-Vine Press, 1981.

Maps

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)

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


 * 1835 Pension Roll
 * 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions

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, Middle District, Hickman County on page 156.
 * 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. 3 (Jul. 1960):65-68. ; digital version at journal website. Includes Hickman County pensioners (p. 68)

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 Hickman 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 Hickman County:

Confederate Soldiers


 * 2nd Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (Biffle's) - CSA - Company C.
 * 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Clack's) - CSA - Company K.
 * 6th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Wheeler's)- CSA - Company I.
 * 9th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (Gantt's) - CSA - Companies C, D, and G.
 * 10th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (DeMoss') - CSA - Companies C and G.
 * 11th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company H.
 * 20th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA
 * 24th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies H and I.
 * 42nd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies A and B.
 * 48th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Nixon's)- CSA - Company A.
 * 48th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Voorhies') - CSA - Companies D, G, and I.
 * Cox's Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry- CSA - Company C.

Union Soldiers


 * 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry - Company E.
 * 12th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Company G.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Hickman County:


 * McMurray, William Joseph. History of the 20th Tennessee Regiment Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A. Nashville, Tennessee: s.p., 1904. Free digital copy.
 * TNGenWeb, Hickman County Tennessee. A variety of Civil War Links available.
 * Genealogy Trails, Co. H, 11th Tennessee. Interesting Sketch of One of Old Hickman's Companies in the War.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Hickman 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. Hickman County, page 347-348.
 * America's Civil War in War Tennessee's Hickman County. This article was written by Alan D. Gaff and originally appeared in the December 2004 issue of Civil War Times magazine.
 * Hickman County Tennessee 1890 Civil War Veterans Census. All spelling is recorded as it was written. Contributed by: Reita Jones Burress, 2004.

Newspapers
An RAOGK volunteer is willing to do free obituary lookups in Hickman County newspapers covering the years 1878 to the present. Many Tennessee newspapers are filmed and available at 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 Hickman County click on the following town:


 * Centerville

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. . Purchase at Genealogical.com. Includes Hickman 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 Hickman 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
 * Family Findings
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Hickman 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.
 * Hickman County Historical Society Quarterly Herald
 * Hickman County Historical Society P.O. Box 64 Centerville, TN 37033 Indexed at PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) 2003 - 2007

Probate Records
The Hickman County Court has responsibility for the probate records. Many records are held by the Hickman County Archives.

Online Records


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


 * Wills, 1866-1916
 * Minutes, 1866-1900
 * Bonds, Letters, 1866-1915 (Vols. 1-3)
 * Claims against estates, 1877-1938
 * Guardian records, 1873-1882
 * Inventories, 1897-1913
 * Letters, 1870-1873
 * Settlements, 1846-1902 (4 vols.)

The following Hickman County probate records have been indexed or abstracted:


 * 1866 - 1982 - Dotson, Olgia. Hickman County Wills, 1866-1982. Nunnelly, Tennessee: O. Dotson, (1982). Indexed. (FHL book 976.8434 P2do.)

Taxation
The following Hickman County tax records have been abstracted:


 * 1815 - Petition by Inhabitants Concerning Tax Complaint, 1815, Hickman County Historical Society Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. 12, No. 2 (2005).
 * 1817 - "U.S. Holds 1817 Public Sale of Federal Tax-Delinquent Properties in Tennessee," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Summer 1996):63-68. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 v. 43 (1996). For further access, see Periodicals. [Includes Hickman County.]
 * 1836 - Hughes, T.P. "Hickman County, Tennessee, 1836 Tax Record," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Summer 1980):63-69. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 27 (1980); free digital version at society's website. For further access, see Periodicals.
 * 1836 - 1836 Tax List of Hickman, Tennessee. Lyles, Tenn.: Linn-Shell Pub. Co., 1987.

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
The original Hickman County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. Due to fire, marriages prior to 1868 are lost. The following publication, based on early newspapers, helps to alleviate this genealogical obstacle:


 * 1625-1966 - Tennessee, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1794 - 1851 - Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978..

The following Hickman County marriage records are microfilmed:


 * 1868 - 1992 - Available at the TSLA. Marriages are indexed to 1940.


 * 1868 - 1961 - Available at the Family History Library. Some volumes are indexed. Marriages indexed to 1874.

The following Hickman County marriage records have been indexed:


 * 1868 - 1895 - Hickman County Marriage Index 1868-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.


 * Daughters of the American Revolution, Duck River Chapter. Old Marriage Records of Hickman County, Tennessee. Columbia, Tennessee: P-Vine Press, 1979. 2 vols.


 * 1790 - 1950 - - covers all counties in Tennessee.


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


 * 1780 - 2002 - Many county marriage records are indexed with images at Ancestry.com's Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002. ($) Be aware that this index is not complete for many counties.


 * 1780 - 2002 - at FamilySearch.org— index


 * 1838 - 1888 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Hickman County isnot included in Sistler's Early Middle Tennessee Marriages.

Divorce
In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Hickman County divorce papers in diverse manuscript collections, see the following resources:


 * 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

 * 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 Hickman County between the 1830s and the 1920s, try searching the following records:


 * 1847 - 1914 - 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

Hickman County Historical Society 7 Court House Centerville, TN 37033-1639 Phone: 1-931-729-3279

Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society PO Box 330948 Nashville, TN, USA 37203-7507 The society serves the 40 counties of middle Tennessee of which Hickman County is one. It publishes The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and 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

J.B. Walker Memorial Library 120 West Swan St. Centerville, TN 37033 Phone 1-931-729-5130 Fax: 1-931-729-4151 Hours: Mon. 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Tues.-Thurs. 9 a.m.-5:30 pm Fri. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Genealogy resources: newspapers, historical documents and more. Website includes a list of surnames which also contains material about the family.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Websites

 * (FamilySearch) — The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.
 * Hickman County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Hickman County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * 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-SOUTHCENTRAL-L (South Central Tennessee List)
 * Hickman County Tennessee Genealogy and History (Genealogy Trails History Group–Volunteers Dedicated to Free Genealogy)
 * Hickman County TN Genealogy (LDS Genealogy)