Chester County, Tennessee Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for Colonel Robert I. Chester, a quartermaster in the War of 1812, an early postmaster in Jackson, and a federal marshal. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

Chester County Tennessee Courthouse
Chester County Courthouse 126 Crook Avenue Henderson, TN 38340 Phone: 731.989.7171 County Clerk has marriage, probate records from 1890. Clerk Circuit Court has divorce and court records. Register of Deeds has land records.

Chester County Courthouse P.O. Box 205 133 East Main St. Henderson, TN 38340 1-731-989-2233


 * County Clerk has marriage and probate records
 * Register of Deeds has land records
 * Clerk of Circuit Court has court records

Hours: Mon.-Tues.and Thurs.-Fri.8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wed.and Sat.8 a.m.-noon

Chester County Tennessee History
The county is named after "Tennessee state legislator Robert I. Chester."

Parent County
1879--Chester County was created in 1879 from Madison, Henderson, McNairy, and Hardeman Counties'''. County seat''': Henderson

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
1910  Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.

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:

Neighboring Counties

 * Hardeman
 * Hardin
 * Henderson
 * Madison
 * McNairy

Getting Started
Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Chester County biography records. To determine which books are being searched, or to search each publication's index individually, click here. You are now equipped with a checklist of books to pull off the shelves at a genealogy library, or a wish list for your personal book collection.

Research Guides

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

African American
United States African Americans Tennessee African Americans

Census
1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 Chester County federal population schedules 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.

1880  - See parent counties


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

1890 Lost


 * 1890 - 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. . Johnson County is included in Vol. 7.
 * 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 $

Family Histories
It is anticipated that 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 Chester, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 4,500 entries.


 * Chester County, Tennessee, 1882-1995, History and Families. Paducah, Ky.: Turner Pub. Co., 1995. . Publisher's description.

Bibliography


 * Baird - See McConnell.
 * Barber - See McConnell.
 * Martin - See McConnell.
 * McCall - See McConnell.
 * McConnell - McConnell, Newton Whitfield. Genealogical History of the Families of McConnells, Martins, Barbers, Wilsons, Bairds, McCalls and Morris. Unknown: Unknown, 1913. Available at ; digital version available at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * Morris - See McConnell.
 * Wilson - See McConnell.

Land
Chester County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1891 and is located at Courthouse, P.O. Box 205, Henderson, TN 38340-0205; Telephone: (901) 989-2233. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries.

The Family history Library has Chester County deeds 1891-1899.

Maps

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)

War of 1812
There were no War of 1812 pensioners or widows of pensioners living in Chester County on 2 January 1883.

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 Chester 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 Chester County.

Confederate Soldiers


 * 13th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company I.
 * 21st Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Wilson's) - CSA - Companies C, D, F, and 2nd H.
 * 51st Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies F and H.
 * 55th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Brown's) - CSA - Company E.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Chester County:


 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Chester County. Index 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. Chester County, page 325.
 * Genealogy Trails, The Blue &amp; Gray of Chester County Tennessee. Chester County was not formed until after the Civil War was over. The men who fought in the war were from surrounding counties. These are the men and/or their wives who filed for pensions.

Newspapers
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 Chester County click on the following city:


 * Henderson

Periodicals

 * Family Findings
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Chester 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.
 * West Tennessee Historical Society Papers
 * Family History Library has Volumes 1 - 16 and 30 . The West Tennessee Historical Society Papers are indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI). To view Table of Contents and complete articles from 1947 - 2005 see Shelby County Register of Deeds

Probate Records
The County Court has responsibility for Chester County probate records.

Online Records


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


 * Wills, 1891-1931 ("Vol. 2")
 * Insolvent estate records, 1891-1938 ("Vol. 2")

Taxation
The original Chester County Tax Books 1890-1894 are kept at the County Courthouse. In the 1970s, the TSLA microfilmed these records. FHL copy:.

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
Marriages were not officially recorded in Chester County until 1838, when a law was passed mandating the practice. 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..


 * 1780 - 2002 - Tennessee State Marriages 1780-2002 at Ancestry.com — index $


 * 1780 - 2002 - at FamilySearch.org— index


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


 * 1796 - 1950 - at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1838 - 1888 - at FamilySearch — index and images


 * 1851 - 1900 - Tennessee Marriages 1851-1900 at Ancestry.com— index and images $

The following Chester County Courthouse marriage records have been indexed:


 * 1891 - 1895 - Chester County Marriage Index 1891-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1891 - 1959 - Chester County (Tennessee) County Court Clerk Marriages (Chester County, Tennessee) 1891-1959 Nashville, Tennessee : Filmed by the Tennessee State Library and Archives, 197-?-1988.
 * 1780 - 2002 - Many county marriage records are indexed with images at Ancestry's Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 ($). Be aware that this index is not complete for all counties.

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


 * 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
For deaths of Methodists in Chester County (or what later became Chester County) between the 1830s and the 1920s, try:


 * 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.


 * 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

Chester County Tennessee Genealogy Societies and Libraries

 * List of Tennessee Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Chester County Tennessee Genealogy Websites

 * Chester County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Chester County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Chester County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * (FamilySearch) — The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.
 * Mailing List: SW-TN-L (Southwest Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: TNCHESTE-L (Chester County, Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: WEST-TNCHAT-L (West Tennessee Chat List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: WESTTN-L (West Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
 * Tennessee's Yesterday
 * Chester County Tennessee, Genealogy, History and Information (RootsWeb)