Tennessee Archives and Libraries

United States   Tennessee    Archives and Libraries

Many archives and libraries have information about Tennessee, including maps, gazetteers, and other place-finding aids. They frequently have collections of previous research, such as family or local histories or biographies. Many have record-finding aids, such as guides to their own collections or inventories of records housed elsewhere. Archives and libraries located near state boundaries usually collect records relating to the adjacent states.

The following archives, libraries, and societies have collections and services helpful to genealogical researchers.

Archives
Tennessee States Library and Archives—for further details see our Tennessee State Library and Archives Wiki page 403 Seventh Avenue North Nashville, TN 37243-0312 Telephone: 615-741-2764 Fax: 615-532-2472

Two areas of interest to researchers: the library has printed materials, and the archives have original Tennessee government records and other historical documents. Many of their records are microfilmed. Their web site includes an inventory of Tennessee county records.

Reels of microfilm can be borrowed on interlibrary loan from the Tennessee State Library and Archives [Internet site]. The records include: • Marriages • Probate • Land and Property

National Archives Southeast Region (Atlanta) 5780 Jonesboro Road Morrow, GA 30260 Telephone: 770-968-2100 Fax: 770-968-2547 Internet: http://www.archives.gov/southeast/

Metropolitan Government Archives 3801 Green Hills Village Dr. Nashville, TN 37215 Telephone: 615-862-5880

Houses the original Davidson County and Nashville city records to about 1996. Website includes links to web resources maintained by the Friends of the Metro Archives.

Libraries
University of Tennessee, Knoxville Hoskins Library, Special Collections 1401 Cumberland Avenue Knoxville, TN 37996-1000 Telephone: 423-974-4480 Internet: www.lib.utk.edu

The library’s catalog is online and the Tennessee Newspaper Project is available through the catalog.

University of Memphis Library Special Collections Department 126 Ned R. WcWherter Library Memphis, TN 38152-3250 Telephone: 901-678-8242 Fax: 901-678-8218 Internet: http://www.memphis.edu/specialcollections/resources.php

A number of public libraries in Tennessee have significant regional collections. The largest is at:

East Tennessee Historical Center 601 S. Gay St. Knoxville, TN 37901-1629 Telephone: 865-215-8801 Internet: http://www.easttnhistory.org

The East Tennessee History Center houses the Knox County Archives, the Museum of East Tennessee History, and the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection.

The McClung Historical Collection’s primary focus is east Tennessee; it holds one of the country’s leading research collections about the region. The collection contains books, newspapers, directories, manuscripts, maps, microfilm records, and photographs. In addition to the east Tennessee material, the collection also contains research guides and census indexes for many states in the United States, especially 11 states in the South. The Knox County Public Library offers the free online Calvin M. McClung Digital Collection.

Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library 1001 Broad Street Chattanooga, TN 37402 Telephone: 423-757-5310 Internet: http://www.lib.chattanooga.gov/

Nashville Public Library 615 Church Street Nashville, TN 37219 Telephone: 615-862-5800 Internet: http://www.library.nashville.org/index.asp

The Nashville Roomof the Nashville Public Library maintains the genealogical collection. In addtion, the library website includes indexes to Nashville marriages 1864-1905, Tennessean obituary index 1964-present, Nashville City Cemetery index and Nashville photographs 1940-1976. Look for links to web resources maintained by the Friends of the Metro Archives. Vertical files of newspaper clippings and family histories, manuscripts concerning Nashville and Davidson County families, historic photographs and Nashville City Directories are available to to library patrons.

Memphis Public Library and Information Center Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library 3030 Poplar Avenue Memphis, TN 38111-3527 Telephone: 901-415-2700 E-mail: [mailto:hisref@memphis.lib.tn.us hisref@memphis.lib.tn.us] Internet: www.memphislibrary.lib.tn.us

The genealogical holdings of the History Department's Memphis and Shelby County Room include manuscripts, maps, biographies, histories and directories relating to Memphis, Shelby County, and the mid-south region.

Germantown Regional History and Genealogy Center 7779 Poplar Pike Germantown, TN 38138 Telephone: 901-757-8480 Internet: http://www.germantown-tn.gov

The Germantown Regional History and Genealogy Center (GRHGC) is the special collections division of Germantown Community Library. It is a repository for non-circulating books, microfilm, periodicals, photographs, and maps for genealogical and historical research for the Mid-South, Eastern and Southern states.

Research Guides and Directories
The following research guide, prepared by a Certified Genealogist, includes a useful guide for Tennessee archives and libraries:


 * Bamman, Gale Williams. "Research in Tennessee," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 81, No. 2 (Jun. 1993): 101. FHL US/CAN Book 973 B2ng v. 81 (1993). A resource for locating archives in Appalachia is:

The following directory assists in determining the archives of interest:


 * Archives in Appalachia: A Directory. Boone, North Carolina: Appalachian Consortium Press, 1985. (Family History Library book 975 A3a.) The record covers the states of Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The record is arranged alphabetically by state, then by the name of the repository. Each entry lists the archive, its address, phone number, inclusive dates of the collection, the records of the collection, what subjects are covered by the collection, and the size of the collection. There are two indexes: Record type, and Subject, with reference numbers corresponding to the repository. Also included is a list, under “Coming Attractions,” of agencies that do not currently collect manuscript materials but plan to do so in the future.