Tennessee Archives and Libraries

United States Tennessee  Archives and Libraries

Archives, libraries, societies, private enterprise, and other groups are posting records online at lightning speed. Still, vast collections of invaluable records remain offline.

Many 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.

Most have online catalogs or published 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: 1-615-741-2764 Fax: 1-615-532-2472

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researchers: the library has printed materials, and the archives have original Tennessee government records and other historical documents.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 19th Century Newspapers, Civil War Era Database, Nashville City Directories, and 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: 1-770-968-2100 Fax: 1-770-968-2547 Internet: http://www.archives.gov/southeast/

Metropolitan Government Archives 3801 Green Hills Village Dr. Nashville, TN 37215 Telephone: 1-615-862-5880

Houses the original Davidson County and Nashville City records to about 1966. 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 South Gay Street Knoxville, TN 37901-1629 Telephone: 1-865-215-8801 Internet: http://www.easttnhistory.org


 * East Tennessee Historical Society has for over 175 years recorded stories, collected artifacts, and educated visitors with lectures, and publications such as First Families of Tennessee, and the new Civil War Families of Tennessee. The original 15,000 applications for First Families of Tennessee project, and surname files are accessible to the public.
 * In the same building:
 * Knox County Public Library Calvin M. McClung Historical Collections, Internet: www.knoxlib.org/. The McClung Historical Collection features an index to early Tennessee and North Carolina families. This is the best family history and genealogy index for these two states. The McClung Historical Collection’s primary focus is east Tennessee; it holds one of the country’s leading research collections about the region, including Internet genealogy databases, more than 75,000 books, 3,000 genealogies, manuscripts, censuses, state and local government records, newspapers, Knoxville city directories, maps, and photos. 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 also offers the free online Calvin M. McClung Digital Collection.
 * Knox County Archives since 1792 collects history and county government records such as marriages, divorces, deeds, probates, County-Chancery-Circuit-Criminal-Juvenile-Superior court, tax, and school records, and online databases.
 * Museum of East Tennessee History showcases the history of the region and its 35 counties.

Chattanooga Public Library Downtown 1001 Broad Street Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402 Telephone: 423-757-5317 E-mail: [mailto:library@lib.chattanooga.gov library@lib.chattanooga.gov] Internet: Local History and Genealogy Department


 * Includes the Upper South's largest family folder collection which is heavy on Tennessee and North Carolina. Internet genealogy databases, census, newspapers, obituary index, county records, 30,000 books, manuscripts, and genealogical periodicals.

Nashville Public Library 615 Church Street Nashville, TN 37219 Telephone: 1-615-862-5800 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: 1-901-415-2700 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: 1-901-757-8480 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.

Bristol Public Library 701 Goode Street Bristol, Virginia 24201-4199 Telephone: 540-645-8780 Fax: 276-669-5593 E-mail: [mailto:bplref@yahoo.com bplref@yahoo.com] Internet: http://www.bristol-library.org/


 * They have a relatively small family folder collection. Nevertheless, it is an important resource for settlers coming from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and northern Virginia along the Great Valley Road into Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina.

Santa Cruz Public Library Downtown 224 Church Street Santa Cruz, California 95060 Telephone: 831-427-7707 ext. 5794 E-mail: E-mail reference service form Internet: http://www.santacruzpl.org/branches/14/


 * Holds the Genealogial Society of Santa Cruz County's library, including the Tina Brayton Collection which is equivalent to the Draper Collection but larger and with a better index, and many compiled genealogies of Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia  families.

Research Guides and Directories
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.