Cocke County, Tennessee Genealogy

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

Description
Cocke County was named for William Cocke, one of the state's first United States Senators. The county is located in the northeastern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Cocke County Courthouse 111 Court Avenue, Ste 112 Newport, TN 37821 Cocke County Website Phone: 423-623-7531 County Clerk Phone: 423-623-6176 Clerk and Master Phone: 423-623-3321 Circuit Court Clerk Phone: 423-623-6124 Register of Deeds Phone: 423-623-7540

County Clerk has birth and death records 1909-1911 and 1928-1930 and marriage records Clerk and Master have divorce and probate records from 1877 Register of Deeds has land records. Stokely Memorial Library has a genealogical section.

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

 * 1776 - First organized as part of the land that would eventually become Cocke County as part of Washington District
 * 1777 - Became part of Washington County
 * 1783 - Became part of Greene County
 * 1784 - In August 1784 delegates of three western North Carolina counties, Washington, Sullivan, and Greene (all now in Tennessee), declared their Independence from North Carolina because of perceived neglect, and misuse by North Carolina’s legislature.
 * 1785 - By May 1785 they had petitioned to be admitted to the United States as the new State of Franklin. The Franklin statehood request was denied.
 * 1789 - North Carolina ceded its westernmost counties to the United States which used them to form the Southwest Territory. North Carolina and the Southwest Territory did not recognize Franklin's claims.
 * 1792 - The Southwest Territory using land from its Greene and Hawkins counties erected a new county named Jefferson County.
 * 1796 - All these lands became part of the new State of Tennessee.
 * 1797 - Tennessee divided off most of the old Greene County portion of the newer Jefferson County to form the new Cocke County.

Additional Information

Cocke County is named after Senator William Cocke (1747-1828) of Tennessee.

Census Records
1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Cocke 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 Cocke 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 ($)

1800-1820 Lost


 * 1800 Lost, statistics reported with Jefferson
 * 1810 Lost, but 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..
 * 1820 Lost
 * 1820 Manufactures The original manufactures schedules for the Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee are kept at the National Archives, Washington, D.C. FS Library copies:.
 * National Archives. Indexes to Manufacturers Census of 1820. 1920; reprint, Knightstown, Ind.: Bookmark, 1977..
 * These records have also been abstracted: 1820 Census of Manufactures: Cocke County, East Tennessee Roots, Vol. 5, No. 4:180.

1830


 * Fox, George and Juanita Fox. Cocke County, Tennessee Early Lists: 1839 Tax List, 1830-1840 Federal Census. n.p.: G. and J. Fox, 2009. . *Sistler, Byron H. 1830 Census, East Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: n.p., 1969..

1840


 * Fox, George and Juanita Fox. Cocke County, Tennessee Early Lists: 1839 Tax List, 1830-1840 Federal Census. n.p.: G. and J. Fox, 2009..
 * 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 Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. . Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Tennessee, Eastern District, Cocke County on page 152.

1850


 * Templin, David H. and Cherel Bolin Henderson. Population Schedule of the United States Census of 1850 for Cocke County, Tennessee. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1983..

1860


 * Bishop, Brenda C. 1860 Census of Cocke County, Tennessee. n.p.: B.C. Bishop, 1986..
 * Templin, David H. and Cherel Bolin Henderson. Population Schedule of the United States Census of 1860 for Cocke County, Tennessee. Maryville, Tenn.: n.p., 1983..

1880


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

Male Voters 1891


 * 1891 Tennessee Enumeration of Male Voters 1891 at Ancestry ($)

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Church records can include birth/baptism, marriage, and death/burial information. Traditionally, Tennessee churches did not keep as much vital record information as found in other regions. For the existing records, some original church records are still at the local church. Others are gathered into a church archives or state archives or deposited with a local historical or genealogical society. For more information about church records see Tennessee Church Records andthe United States Church Records.

The following church records for Cocke County are filmed:


 * 1812-1876 - Minutes, Slate Creek Baptist Church available at TSLA Reel #205 Item 1

The following church records are abstracted or indexed:


 * 1812-1876 - Minutes, Slate Creek Baptist Church Nashville: TSLA, Historical Records Project, 1939. Typescript. Available at TSLA
 * 1812-1876 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Vital Statistics from 19th Century Tennessee Church Records. Nashville: Sitler and Associates, 1979. vol.1 Index to original records.
 * 1838-1860 - Minutes, Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Nashville: TSLA, Historical Records Project, 1939. Typescript. Available at TSLA,
 * 1841-1872 - Minutes, East Tennessee Association of Baptists Nashville: TSLA, Historical Records Project, 1939. Typescript. Available at TSLA,

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.

Emigration and Immigration
During the War of 1812, American officials reported finding 2 British aliens living in Cocke County. Ancestry ($)

Because so many early Ray County, Missouri settlers came from Cocke, Tennessee, Cocke was often considered the the "mother county" of Ray County, Missouri.

Genealogies
More than 10 genealogies have been published about Bedford County, Tennessee families. For more information visit Cocke County, Tennessee Compiled Genealogies.


 * Gordon Aronhime (1911-1983) collected information on hundreds of Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee pioneers. His note cards, which reference more than 4,000 early settlers of the Holston-Clinch River area and East Tennessee (1770s-1790s), are held at the Library of Virginia. The cards have been digitized and made available online.

Land and Property Records
Cocke County's early deed books were destroyed in the Civil War. TSLA microfilmed surviving Deed Books 1 to 20 (1865-1867, 1872-1902), General Index to Deeds (1872-1902), Trust Deed Books 1 to 3 and 10 (1877-1889, 1899-1902) and Trust Deed Index (1877-1902). FS Library copies:.

Online Land Indexes and Records
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 1777-1985 Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)
 * 1832 Creekmore, Pollyanna. Early East Tennessee Taxpayers. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1980. and Silas Emmett Lucas's Revised Index . Includes 1832 map of the county.
 * FamilySearch Places: Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
Revolutionary War The following Cocke County Revolutionary War records are available online through TNGenWeb:


 * 1835 Pension Roll
 * 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions
 * Abstracts of select 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 Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. . Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Tennessee, Eastern District, Cocke County on page 152.
 * Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." Digital version at Ancestry ($). Tennessee entries abstracted online at Tennesseans in the Revolutionary War at TNGenWeb. Includes veterans from this county; Tennessee section begins on page 381.
 * Revolutionary War Veterans, Smoky Mountain Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 13, No. 2 (Summer 1987). For access, see Periodicals.

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 Ansearchin' News. Includes Cocke County pensioners (p. 41).

The following Cocke County War of 1812 records are available online through TNGenWeb:


 * Captain James Cumings' Company of Volunteer Mounted Gun Men, East Tennessee Militia, War of 1812
 * Captain William Gillenwaters Company of Volunteers, East Tennessee Mmilitia, War of 1812
 * Captain George Argenbright's Company of Volunteer Riflemen in the East Tennessee Militia, War of 1812

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
 * 1891-1965 at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * Civil War Research Database
 * Soldiers and Sailors System

Confederate Soldiers


 * 5th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (McKenzie's) - CSA
 * 26th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (3rd East Tennessee Volunteers) - CSA - Company C.
 * 60th Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Crawford's) (79th Infantry) - CSA - Company I.
 * 62nd Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Rowan's) (80th Infantry) - CSA

Union Soldiers


 * 1st Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Companies D, E, F, and G.
 * 4th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - Company A.
 * 8th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Company D.
 * 9th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Company L.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Cocke County:


 * TNGenWeb, Cocke County Military Records. Includes links to Civil War Units formed in Cocke County, 9th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment, USA Company "F", 60th Tennessee Mounted Infantry, CSA - Company "I", 62nd Tennessee Infantry Regiment, CSA - Company "I" and Civil War Claims Index 1871-1873.
 * USGenWeb Archives, Cocke County, Tennessee Archives, Civil War Records.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Cocke 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. Cocke County, page 326-327.

Newspapers
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 Cocke County click on the following city:


 * Newport


 * 1847-1814 - 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.

Other Records
Old Forts 
 * Old Cocke County Fort, Smoky Mountain Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 2 (May 1977). For access, see Periodicals.

 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. Perform keyword searches and read online articles of many previous issues at Ansearchin' News.
 * East Tennessee Roots: Published by East Tennessee Roots The table of contents for some issues are available on their website;.
 * Smoky Mountain Historical Society Newsletter: Journal of the Smoky Mountain Historical Society. and Journal Contents and Index of Names: 1977 thru 1996.

Probate Records
Cocke County's early will books were destroyed. TSLA microfilmed surviving wills covering the date range 1876 to 1913. FS Library copy:.

Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1779-2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1875-1930 Cocke County portion of at FamilySearch - images only; handwritten indexes may be found at the front or back of some volumes.- How to Use this Collection
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

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.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records
Book Abstracts and Indexes
 * 1803 Unpaid Taxes - 1803 (Blount, Cocke, Sevier Cos.), Smoky Mountain Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 10, No. 3 (1984). For FS Library access, or to locate back issues, see Periodicals; digital version by Duay O'Neil, at Sevier County, Tennessee, Genealogy &amp; History. Abstract of The Knoxville Gazette, Aug. 8, 1803.
 * 1814 "Direct Federal Tax-Delinquent Property Owners Listed for 1814,"  Ansearchin' News, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Fall 1996):115-120. For possible FS Library and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals. Includes Cocke County.
 * 1817 "U.S. Holds 1817 Public Sale of Federal Tax-Delinquent Properties in Tennessee," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Summer 1996):63-68. For possible FS Library and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals. Includes Cocke County.
 * 1821, 1827 Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Early Tennessee Tax Lists. Evanston, Ill.: B. &amp; B. Sistler, 1977. Includes 1821 and 1827 tax lists.
 * 1836 Douthat, James L. Cocke County, Tennessee, 1836 Tennessee, Civil Districts and Tax Lists. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1993..
 * 1839 Taxpayers, 1839, East Tennessee Historical Society Publications. Knoxville TN: 1965. Vol. - Iss. 37.
 * 1839 Creekmore, Pollyanna. Early East Tennessee Taxpayers. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1980. and Silas Emmett Lucas's Revised Index . Includes 1839 tax list.
 * 1839 Fox, George and Juanita Fox. Cocke County, Tennessee Early Lists: 1839 Tax List, 1830-1840 Federal Census. n.p.: G. and J. Fox, 2009..
 * 1839 Price, Bruce. "Cocke County, Tennessee 1839 Tax List, All Districts," available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb.
 * 1876-1894 Cocke County Tax Books 1876-1894 (gaps). Info at TSLA FS Library copies:.
 * 1883 Release from Delinquent Taxes, 1883, Tennessee Ancestors. Knoxville TN: Apr 2001. Vol. 17 Iss. 1.
 * 1889 Price, Bruce. "Cocke County, Tennessee 1889 Tax List, Dist 12," available at TNGenWeb. Source: Cocke Co., TN Tax Books 1889-1890 (1894), TSLA Microfilm #38.
 * 1890 Price, Bruce. "Cocke County, Tennessee 1890 Tax List, Dist 12," available at TNGenWeb. Source: Cocke Co., TN Tax Books 1889-1890 (1894), TSLA Microfilm #38.
 * 1891 Price, Bruce. "Cocke County, Tennessee 1891 Tax List, Dist 12," available at TNGenWeb. Source: Cocke Co., TN Tax Books 1889-1890 (1894), TSLA Microfilm #38.
 * 1892 Price, Bruce. "Cocke County, Tennessee 1892 Tax List, Dist 12," available at TNGenWeb. Source: Cocke Co., TN Tax Books 1889-1890 (1894), TSLA Microfilm #38.
 * 1893 Price, Bruce. "Cocke County, Tennessee 1893 Tax List, Dist 12," available at TNGenWeb. Source: Cocke Co., TN Tax Books 1889-1890 (1894), TSLA Microfilm #38.
 * 1894 Price, Bruce. "Cocke County, Tennessee 1894 Tax List, Dist 12," available at TNGenWeb. Source: Cocke Co., TN Tax Books 1889-1890 (1894), TSLA Microfilm #38.

Online Images
 * 1796-1801 Federal distillery tax book for Tennessee, 1796-1801 online,  Tennessee Living Archive, includes Cocke County.

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

 * 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 - at FamilySearch. index and images. Covers all counties in Tennessee.- How to Use this Collection
 * 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 ($)
 * 1877-1895 - Cocke County Marriage Index 1877-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * 1980-2014 Marriage Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Death

 * 1874-1955 at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * 1908-1933 Tennessee Deaths, 1908 - 1933 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1908-1958 Tennessee Death Records 1908 - 1958 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1908-1912 Tennessee Death Records 1908-1912 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1914-1933 Tennessee Death Records 1914-1933 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1914-1966 at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * 1949-2014 Death Records Index 1949-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Divorce
Online Records
 * 1796-1850 Acts of Tennessee 1796-1850 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1800-1965 Tennessee. Tennessee Divorce and Other Records, 1800-1965. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives. Available at Ancestry ($)
 * 1980-2014 Divorce Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

FamilySearch Centers

 * Morristown Tennessee FamilySearch Center
 * Sevierville Tennessee FamilySearch Center
 * Buncombe County Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * King Family Library - an affiliate library.
 * Knox County Public Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Stokely Memorial Library 383 East Broadway Newport, TN 37821 Phone: 423-623-3832 Website Newspapers, census, vital records, deeds, court records, funeral home records, land, church, tax lists, historical books, cemetery records and more.

Societies
The Smoky Mountain Historical Society P.O. Box 5078 Sevierville, TN 37864-5078 Email: [mailto:corsec@smhstn.org corsec@smhstn.org] Website

Websites

 * Cocke County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Cocke County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Smoky Mountain Ancestral Quest Compiled Genealogies of Local Families
 * – 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.

Research Guides

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