Macon County, Tennessee Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named the late Revolutionary War veteran and United States Senator, Nathaniel Macon. The County is located in the north-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Macon County Courthouse 106 County Courthouse Lafayette, TN 37083 County Courthouse Phone: 615-666-2000 County Clerk Phone: 615-666-2333 Circuit Court Clerk Phone: 615-666-2354 Register of Deeds Phone: 615- 666-2353

County Clerk has birth record 1908-1912, marriage record from 1901; probate record from 1900 Clerk Circuit Court has divorce and court records Register of Deeds has land records

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
Additional Information

Middle Tennessee county established in 1842. Macon County's land belonged to the pioneer Cumberland Settlements.

The county is named after U.S. Senator Nathaniel Macon (1758-1837).

Biographies

 * Douthat, James L. Macon County, Tennessee Biographies. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Free Surname Index and purchase details at Mountain Press website.

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources
 * Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator

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

1850


 * Cothron, Judy M., ed. Macon County Tennessee, 1850 &amp; 1860 Census. Lafayette, Tennessee: Macon County Historical Society, 1997.
 * Porch, Deane. Macon County, Tennessee, 1850 Census. Franklin, Tennessee: L.G. Lynch, 19-?.

1860


 * Cothron, Judy M., ed. Macon County Tennessee, 1850 &amp; 1860 Census. Lafayette, Tennessee: Macon County Historical Society, 1997.

1870


 * Cothron, Judy M., ed.Macon County, Tennessee, 1870 &amp; 1880 Census.Lafayette, Tennessee Macon County Historical Society, 1995.

1880


 * Cothron, Judy M., ed.Macon County, Tennessee, 1870 &amp; 1880 Census.Lafayette, Tennessee Macon County Historical Society, 1995.
 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1880 census, Macon County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee B. Sistler &amp; Associates, 1993.

1890 Lost, but substitutes are available:

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

1900


 * Crumpton, Barbara. 1900 Census, Macon County, Tennessee.Duncan, Oklahoma: Creative Copies, 1988.
 * Pryor, Mary C. Macon County, Tennessee 1900 &amp; 1910 Census. Lafayette, Tennessee: Macon County Historical Society, 2004.

1910


 * Pryor, Mary C. Macon County, Tennessee 1900 &amp; 1910 Census. Lafayette, Tennessee: Macon County Historical Society, 2004.

1920


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

Church Records
Church records include baptisms, marriages and burials, as well as information about family members and clues about family migration. For additional information about church records, religions, and religious archives in Tennessee, see Tennessee Church Records.


 * Macon County Church Records


 * FamilySearch Catalog -


 * Church histories tell when a church started in the area, who the early members were, give data about church leaders, etc.


 * FamilySearch Catalog -


 * If the records you need are not through the Family History Library, contact the church(es) in the area where your ancestor lived. Two sites that give information about churches in Macon County are:


 * List of Macon County churches with addresses and phone numbers (Yellowbook)
 * List of Macon County churches (TN HomeTownLocator)

Baptist


 * 1831-1928 - Hillsdale Baptist Church Records. Macon County, 1831-1928. Manuscript. TSLA Reel #215. Item 3. Formerly the East Fork of Goose Creek Church.
 * 1831-1900 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Vital Statistics from 19th Century Tennessee Church Records. Nashville: Sitler and Associates, 1979. vol. 1 Index to original Hillsdale Baptist Church Records. Macon County, 1831-1928.
 * 1841-1883 Hastings, Patricia G. Into His Marvelous Light: the Minutes of the Siloam Missionary Baptist Church, 1841-1883. Nashville, Tennessee: P.G. Hastings, 1988.

Court Records

 * 1844-1860 SourtheasternGenealogy.com Chancery Court Minutes ($)
 * 1845-1855 SourtheasternGenealogy.com Superior Court Records - Execution Docket ($)

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.

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


 * Doss - Descendant of John Doss (1816-1857) of Sumner and Macon counties, Tennessee. Y-DNA 37 Marker Test, FTDNA (Kit 49304). courtesy: The Doss DNA Project, World Families. Matches have been found.

General


 * As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Macon, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 38,000 entries.


 * Macon County Tennessee Historical Society. Macon County, Tennessee: History and Families. Paducah, Ky.: Turner Pub. Co., 2001..
 * Macon County Historical and Genealogical Society. Macon Roots: A Record of the Families of Macon County, Tennessee in 1850. n.p.: Ridge Runner, 2008..
 * 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. . Supplements: ff. Purchase at Cumberland Pioneer Settlers.


 * Ballew - Ballew, David L. Ancestors of Leonard Ballew. West Palm Beach, Fla.: D.L. Ballew, 1987?.
 * Cragon - Cragon, Henry D., Harvey Allen Cragon, Miller Murray Cragon, and James Alexander Cragon. Tennessee Cragons and Their Kinfolk. [Birmingham, Alabama?: H.D. Cragon], 1974..
 * Doss - Murphy, Nathan W. Descendants of Azariah Doss and His Wife Lydia (Ayres) Doss. Hanson, Ky.: David W. Murphy and Associates, 1998.

Land and Property Records

 * 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.

Local Histories

 * Blankenship, Harold G. History of Macon County, Tennessee. n.p.: H.G. Blankenship, 1986..
 * Roddy, Vernon On the early story of Red Boiling Springs, Tennesse with selected supporting materials Hartsville, Tennessee V.Roddy, 1991 (Murfreesboro, Tennessee Ambassador Print)

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)

Military Records
War of 1812
 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Jan. 1961):20-23. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 8 (1961); digital version at journal website. Includes Macon County pensioners (p. 21).

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
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1891-1965 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Confederate Soldiers


 * 20th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA
 * 24th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company C.
 * 30th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company G.
 * 44th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company H.
 * 55th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (McKoin's) - CSA- Henry B. Day, unlettered company

Union Soldiers


 * 1st Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry - Company E.
 * 8th Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry - Companies A and D.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Macon County:


 * McMurray, William Joseph. History of the 20th Tennessee Regiment Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A. Nashville, Tennessee: s.p., 1904. Free digital copy.
 * USGenWeb Archives, Macon County Tennessee Archives. Military Pensions.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Macon 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. Macon County, page 361-362.

Newspapers

 * Gregory, Charles Cal's Column-Macon County Times. Transcription Cal's Column.
 * 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 Macon County click on the following cities:


 * Lafayette
 * Red Boiling Springs


 * 1794-1851 - Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978..
 * 1847 - 1851 - 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. (Largely Methodist?)

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. For a keyword search, go to the county index. Read previous issues on their website;
 * Makin' History: Newsletter of the Macon County, Tennessee, Historical Society: The Family History Library hasVolume 1- present. Indexed in PERiodical Source Index


 * The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History: Quarterly magazine of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society. For surnames, use the volume-by-volume index, or do a keyword search of the Article Index..

Probate Records
The Macon County Court and County Clerk have responsibility for probate records.

Online Records and Indexes
 * 1779-2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry  ($)
 * 1946-1977 Macon County portion of  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; handwritten indexes may be found at the front or back of some volumes.

Book Abstracts and Indexes
 * Macon County (Tennessee) County Clerk and Tennessee State Library and Archives (Nashville, Tennessee) Macon County, Tennessee wills, ca. 1946-1977 Nashville, Tennessee Filmed by the Tennessee State Library and Archives, 1988.

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.

Tax Records
Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1789 Cumberland Settlements, Tax List, 1789, The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Fall 1990). For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, seePeriodicals. Includes area that later became Macon County.
 * 1868 Taxpayers, 3rd District, 1868, Macon County Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Summer 1992).

Birth

 * 1908-1912 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Marriage
Online indexes and Records


 * 1625-1966 - Tennessee, United States Marriages at FindMyPast ($)
 * 1780-2002 - Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 ($).
 * 1780-2002 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1790-1962 - - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection. Covers all counties in Tennessee.
 * 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 ($)
 * 1980-2014 - Marriage Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1901-1994 Macon County, Tennessee Bonds and Marriages. FHL Book 976.8484 V2m 2 volumes

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 Online Titles
 * 1796-1850 - Acts of Tennessee 1796-1850 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1980-2014 - Divorce Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index
 * W.P.A. Guide to Public Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Historical Records Survey, 1941. FamilySearch Digital Library

Family History Centers

 * Cookeville Tennessee Family History Center
 * Crossville Tennessee Family History Center
 * Jamestown Tennessee Family History Center
 * Art Circle Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives - an affiliate library.

Libraries

 * Macon County Public Library 311 Church St. Lafayette, TN 37083 Phone: 615-666-4340 Fax: 615-666-8932 Website
 * Red Boiling Springs Branch Library 335 East Main Street Red Boiling Springs, TN 37150 Phone: 615-699-3701

Societies

 * Macon County Historical Society 111 East Locust Street P.O. Box 231 Lafayette, TN 37083 Phone: 615-688-6247 Email: [mailto:mcths2019@gmail.com mcths2019@gmail.com] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Cumberland Pioneer Settlers Cumberland Compact Signers, Pioneer Land Grant Recipients, Publication Descriptions, Free Book Indexes
 * Macon County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Rootwalker: Genealogy Pages for Northern Middle TN Free Genealogy Resources for the Region
 * Macon County TN Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
 * – 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

 * "Research in Macon County," The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Winter 1993). For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.


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