Marshall County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Marshall County Middle Tennessee county in the Chestnut Ridge region. Established 1836.





Quick Dates
Marshall County's civil records start the following years:

County Courthouse
Marshall County Courthouse 207 Marshall Courthouse Lewisburg, TN 37091 Phone: 1-931-359-1072

Marshall County Clerk Marriage and probate records 1107 Courthouse Annex Lewisburg, TN 37091 Phone: 1-931-359-1072

Marshall County Registrar of Deeds Land records 1103 Courthouse Annex Lewisburg, TN 37901 Phone: 1-931-359-4933

Marshall County Clerk and Master Court records 201 Marshall County Courthouse Lewisburg, TN 37091 Phone: 1-931-359-2181

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

History


The county is named after U.S. Chief Justice John Marshall (1755-1835).

Parent County
1836--Marshall County was created 20 February 1836 from Lincoln, Bedford and Maury Counties. County seat: Lewisburg

County Pronunciation


Did we get the accent right? If not, contact Nathan W. Murphy, [mailto:murphynw@familysearch.org murphynw@familysearch.org].

Boundary Changes
"Rotating Formation Tennessee County Boundary Maps" (1777-1985) may be viewed for free at the My Tennessee Genealogy website. They rely on AniMap 3.0 software.

Record Loss
Lost census: 1890

County records are complete.

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Marshall 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

Biographies

 * Douthat, James L. Marshall County, Tennessee Biographies. 1887; reprint, Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Free Surname Index and purchase details at Mountain Press website.

Cemeteries
Tennessee cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.


 * Find A Grave can be searched by the name of a person or family to find where a person is buried. Usually gives birth and death dates often with a picture of the tombstone.  May give obituaries, names of family members and links to their information in Find A Grave.


 * Find A Grave also gives a list of cemeteries in Marshall County linking to the information about the people buried there,


 * The TNGenWeb Project has has two sections about county cemetery records:  1) TNGenWeb Cemetery Database, Marshall County and 2) Marshall County Cemetery Records.  Both may list cemeteries in the county, often with indexes and transcripts of the burials,


 * Marshall County, Tennessee, USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project lists many cemeteries in the county and has transcripts of the tombstones arranged by cemetery.


 * The Family History Library Catalog lists some records of cemeteries in Marshall county. Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


 * ePodunk list of Marshall County cemeteries


 * Timothy Richard Marsh, Helen Crawford Marsh, Ralph D. Whitesell Cemetery records of Marshall county, Tennessee Shelbyville, Tennessee : Marsh Historical Publications, c1981 FHL US/CAN book 976.8585 V3 Free lookups available!

Census
1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Marshall 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 Marshall County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. [The USGenWeb Census Projectundefined®]

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 Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. FHL US/CAN Book 973 X2pc 1840; FHL US/CAN Film 2321. 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. [See Tennessee, Middle District, Marshall County on page 156.]

1850


 * Lightfoot, Marise P. and Evelyn B. Shackelford. Maury County Neighbors : Records of Giles, Lewis and Marshall Counties, Tennessee.Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee : s.n., 1967.
 * Porch, Deane. Marshall County, Tennessee, 1850 Census. S.p., 1967.

1857

Marshall County, Tennessee Agricultural Census, 1857.Nashville, Tennessee: Filmed by TSLA, 197-?. Item 1 Lists of people by districts with pertinent data such as number of slaves, livestock, value of each, corn, tobacco, etc.. Each district is alphabetically arranged by first letter of surname.

1880


 * Sistler, Byron H. 1880 Census Marshall County, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee : Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, 1999.

Church
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.


 * Marshall County Church Records


 * - Family History Library Catalog - Marshall County Church Records


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


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

Baptist


 * [1810-1910] Bethbirei Baptist Church. Nashville, Tennessee: Historical Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, 196-?
 * [1814-1851]  Rock Creek Primitive Baptist Church Records. Marshall County, 1814-1851. TSLA Reel #386
 * [1814-1851] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Vital Statistics from 19th Century Tennessee Church Records. Nashville: Sitler and Associates, 1979. vol.2   Index to original Rock Creek Primitive Baptist Church Records. Marshall County, 1814-1851.

Presbyterian


 * [1810-1910] Bethbirei Presbyterian Church Records(Marshall County, Tennessee). Nashhville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives, 1989. TSLA Reel #24 Items 1-3
 * [1810-1900] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Vital Statistics from 19th Century Tennessee Church Records. Nashville: Sitler and Associates, 1979. vol. 1 Index to original Bethbirei Presbyterian Church Records.
 * [1840-1899] Pleasant Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church Records. Chapel Hill, 1840-1899. TSLA Reel #345
 * [1840-1899] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Vital Statistics from 19th Century Tennessee Church Records. Nashville: Sitler and Associates, 1979. vol. 1 Index to original Pleasant Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church Records.
 * [1902-1938] Bear Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church (Marshall County, Tennessee). Nashhville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives, 19--. Items 1 and 2

Court
• [1836-1840] ''County Court Minutes, Volume. A''. These records were transcribed and indexed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s and published by TSLA on Roll 57 of Record Group 107. Free online index, created by Steve Carson, courtesy: GSC Associates Historical Records Products(the pages may load slowly). For a small fee, the company sells one Marshall County CD, which includes a digitized version of these records, and a variety of other local records.

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


 * [Brown] Descendant of William Bird Brown, resident of Marshall County, Tennessee. Y-DNA 37 Marker Test, FTDNA (Kit 64963). Genetic signature available online (labeled Group No. 52), genealogical description available online, courtesy: Brown/Browne/Braun DNA Study. Matches have been found.

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 Marshall, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 25,000 entries.

Bibliography


 * [Bedwell] William Talbert Bedwell, Ruth Lucas Bedwell, Judith Bedwell FitzPatrick Hugh M. Bedwell and related families Center Line, Michigan : J.B. FitzPatrick, c1993 (Baltimore, Maryland : Gateway Press) FHL book 929.273 B391 Digital version available at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Drake] McCutcheon, Larry. Our Drake and Crutcher Families of Marshall County, Tennessee. Hohenwald, Tenn.: L. McCutcheon, 2007. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 D789mL.
 * [Duncan] Harris, Olive and Joe Cleatus Harris. William Duncan of Scotland, Chatham Co., N.C., Maury and Marshall Counties, Tennessee and His Eleven Known Children and Their Descendants. MSS. FHL US/CAN Book 976.4 D2c.
 * [Ferguson] Ferguson, Herman W. Descendants of James and Elizabeth Fleming Ferguson: Bedford County (now Marshall), Tennessee. Rocky Mount, N.C.: H. Ferguson, 1988. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 F381fhw.
 * [Glenn] Glenn, Wayne. The Glenn Family of Lancaster County, Pa., Orange County, N.C., Caswell County, N.C., Lincoln County, N.C., White County, Tenn., Marshall County, Tenn., and Christian County, Mo.: Related Families Include Ramsay, Simpson, Reynolds, Wilson, Simmons, Clark, Grigg, Phillips, Beard, Collins. Nixa, Missouri: W. Glenn, 1985. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 G487gw.
 * [Hardison] Hawkins, Fred Lee and Dorothy Westmoreland Gilliam. Hardison and Allied Families: Especially Those of Maury and Marshall Counties of Tennessee. Columbia, Tenn.: F.L. Hawkins, 1992. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 H219haw.
 * [Hunt] Allen, William A. and Allen Family Reunion. History of George Hunt &amp; Mary Ogilvie Allen and Their Descendants: and Related Families Ogilvie, Ewing, and Fonville: Prepared for the Allen Family Reunion, August 8-11, 1985, Caney Spring, Marshall County, Tennessee. Brentwood, Tenn.: W.A. Allen, 1985. Original edition: FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 AL53aw; 1995 revised edition: FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 AL53aw 1995.
 * [Larwood] Larwood, James. Morphology of Larwood Genealogy: Being a Prefatory Tabulation of the Relationships and Descents of Members of the Larwood Family in America since Circa 1720: Preparatory to a Full Account of the History and Nomenclature of the Name in England since Circa 1300, with its Transitions through De La Wode, Larwode, (Delawood), Larawode, Larrawood to Larwood. Unknown: unknown, 1933. Available at Ancestry ($); and Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Neathery] Neathery, Milton W. and Marie Bradley Neathery. Neatherys of Marshall County, Tennessee. Athens, Ga.: Athens Printing Co., 1998. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 N272n.
 * [Poarch] Koetter, Wilba Delores Poarch. Poarch - Creed Family Genealogy, 1836-1974. Typescript, 1974. Item 37
 * [Williams] Schack, Elizabeth Thompson. The Williams Family of Granville County, North Carolina and Marshall County, Tennessee: Ancestors -- Descendants -- Connections to the Allison, Boyd, Camden, Haislip, Harris, Ogilvie and Peace Families. New York, New York: E.T. Schack, 2002. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 W676se.
 * [Wilson] Smith, Othella Boyd. Descendants of Hiram and Mariah Wilson of Marshall County, Tennessee. Typescript, National Library of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Washington, D.C. Microfilmed in 1971. FHL US/CAN Film 879650 Item 2.

Land

 * Marshall County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1836 and is located at 207 Marshall Courthouse, Lewisburg, Tennessee 37091-2020; Telephone: (931) 359-1072. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries
 * The Family History Library has miscrofilm copies of deed records 1836-1891 with indexes 1836-1940; land ownership maps at the Library of Congress 1899.
 * Marsh, Timothy Richard and Helen Crawford Land deed genealogy of Marshall County, Tennessee Greenville, South Caorlina : Southern Historical Press, c1998 FHL US/CAN book 976.8585 R2m v.1-2 Free lookups available!

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.] 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 TSLA; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Military
Revolutionary War


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. FHL US/CAN Book 973 X2pc 1840; FHL US/CAN Film 2321. 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. [See Tennessee, Middle District, Marshall County on page 156.]

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 Marshall County pensioners (p. 22).]

Civil War


 * Tennesseans in the Civil War : a military history of Confederate and Union units with available rosters of personnel Nashville, Tennessee : Civil War Centennial Commission, 1964. FHL US/CAN book 976.8 M2t v. 1-2 Free lookups available! Volunteer will also lookup other Civil War resources, particularly Confederate and Marshall county soldiers and units.

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 Marshall County click on the following city:


 * Lewisburg

Occupations

 * Miller, Alan N. Middle Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1784 to 1902. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2004. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2ma. Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes Marshall County.]

Periodicals
Tap into the minds of local experts. Editors of genealogical periodicals publish unique sources that researchers who are new to their area would not likely discover. This type of material may be found in local, regional, or statewide genealogical society journals. The following periodicals cover this county:


 * Ansearchin' News
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Marshall County, Tennessee records have been published in Ansearchin' News, the quarterly magazine of the Tennessee Genealogical Society. To view a list of these articles, visit their county index. To read digitized versions of the first 36 years of articles (Vols. 1-36), browse their archive or conduct a surname search. The Family History Library has a complete collection of the Ansearchin' News quarterly FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a.
 * Marshall County Historical Quarterly
 * The Family History Library has volumes 1-13 (1970-spring 1982) FHL US/CAN book 976.8585B2m Indexed in PERiodical Source index (PERSI) For further information including a link to the Master Table of contents see Marshall County Historical Society website. Free lookups available!
 * The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Marshall County, Tennessee have been published in The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, the quarterly of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society (23+ Vols.). To view a list of these articles, visit their online Index to Articles (1988-2005). Surname indexes are also available online for Vols. 2-22. The website also offers back issues for sale in paper and on CD. The Family History Library has a complete collection of this quarterly FHL US/CAN Book 976.85 D25m.

Prisons
Learn if your Marshall County ancestors went to prison!


 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1831-1850, free index available online, courtesy: TSLA.
 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870, free index available online, courtesy: TSLA.

Probate
Probate records are court records created after an individual’s death that relate to a court’s decisions regarding the distribution of the estate to the heirs or creditors and the care of any dependents. You may find the names of married daughters or other relatives and their residences; or information about the adoption or guardianship of minor children and dependents. Probate records do not always give an exact date of death, but the death usually occurred within a few months of probate. These documents are important to family history researchers because they usually exist for time periods before civil birth and death records were kept.

The Marshall County Court has responsibility for the probate records.

The following Marshall County probate records have been abstracted, indexed, or both:


 * [1835-1861] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Tennessee Wills &amp; Administrations 1779-1861. Nashville, Tenn. Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, Inc., 1990. FHL US/CAN 976.8 P22s. [Includes an index to this county's wills.] Free lookups available!
 * [1835-1861] Porch, Deane Marshall County, Tennessee, wills, 1835-1865 Franklin, Tennessee : Louise G. Lynch, 1978 FHL US/CAN book 976.8585 P2p Free lookups available!

The Marshall County pages of USGenWeb have online indexes, with links to some transcriptions, for the following Will Books:


 * Will Book A, transcribed by Rachel Combs
 * Will Book B, Nov 1855-April 1877, transcribed by Dana Hill
 * Will Book C, Dec 1875-Feb 1912, transcribed by Dana Hill
 * Will Book D, July 1912-Nov 1927, transcribed by Dana Hill
 * Will Book E, Nov 1927-July 1955, transcribed by Dana Hill

Taxation
The following Marshall County tax records have been abstracted:


 * [1836] "Marshall County, Tennessee Tax List 1836," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 31, No. (1984):. For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
 * [1839-1841] Porch, Deane. Marshall County, Tennessee, Tax Record, 1839-1841. Manuscript, 1966.
 * [1839-1843] List, People Paying Taxes on Lots, 1839-43, Marshall County Historical Quarterly, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Winter 1979).

Marriage
The original Marshall County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. Marriages have been recorded since August 1836.

The following Marshall County marriage records are microfilmed:


 * [1836-1987] Available at the TSLA. Marriages 1836-1882 are available for interlibrary loan.
 * [1836-1960] Available at the Family History Library. Indexes are at the front of each volume.

The following Marshall County marriage records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * [1836-1870] Porch, Deane. Marriage record, Marshall County, Tennessee, 1836-1870. Franklin, Tennessee : Louise G. Lynch, 1976
 * [1836-1870] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early Middle Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: B. Sistler &amp; Associates, 1988. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 V2sb v. 2 ff. [Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years.] Free lookups available!
 * [1838-1865] Marriage Records, 1838-1865, Mashall County, Tennessee. Nashville: TSLA, Historical Records Project, 1940.  Typescript.  Items 5-7
 * Lightfoot, Marise P. and Evelyn B. Shackelford. Maury County Neighbors: Records of Giles, Lewis and Marshall Counties, Tennessee. Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee: [s.n.], 1967.
 * RecordSearch at FamilySearch now includes indexed Tennessee marriages. This is a free pilot site and still under construction.  At this time, it is best to search from the home page, Discover Your Ancestors: indicate a surname, marriage "event", no date, and a county name (i.e. Marshall, Tennessee).  Browse through the results for that surname. You may need to supply any variant spellings of the surname in separate searches.
 * 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 many counties.
 * [1836-1866] Marriage Records.
 * [1835-1850] Marriage Records: Early–1850.


 * [1838-1849] Marriage Bonds, Volume 1. These records were transcribed and indexed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s and published by TSLA on Roll 57 of Record Group 107. Free online index, created by Steve Carson, courtesy: GSC Associates Historical Records Products (the pages may load slowly). For a small fee, the company sells one Marshall County CD, which includes a digitized version of these records, and a variety of other local records.
 * [1849-1865] Marriage Bonds, Volume 2. These records were transcribed and indexed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s and published by TSLA on Roll 57 of Record Group 107. Free online index, created by Steve Carson, courtesy: GSC Associates Historical Records Products (the pages may load slowly). For a small fee, the company sells one Marshall County CD, which includes a digitized version of these records, and a variety of other local records.

Divorce
In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Marshall County divorce papers in diverse County Courthouse records, including some separate divorce cases, 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

 * Tennessee Deaths and Burials 1874-1955 at Record Search Pilot at FamilySearch. Name index with extracted death certificate information. Search by surname then browse through the results. You may need to supply variant spellings of the names.

For deaths of Methodists in Marshall County between the 1830s and the 1920s, try:


 * 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. FHL US/CAN Books 976.855/N1 V48s 1847-1851 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.]


 * [1835-1855] Will Book A. These records were transcribed and indexed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s and published by TSLAon Roll 57 of Record Group 107. Free online index, created by Steve Carson, courtesy: GSC Associates Historical Records Products(the pages may load slowly). For a small fee, the company sells one Marshall County CD, which includes a digitized version of these records, and a variety of other local records.

Societies and Libraries
Marshall County Memorial Library 310 Farmington Pike Lewisburg, TN 37091 Phone: 931-359-3335 Hours: Mon., Tues, and Thurs. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed. and Fri. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. The Gabard-Haynes Genealogical Room houses all local newspapers on microfilm, an excellent historical records section, memorabilia from three governors, and Dr. William Gabard's personal library. Ancestry.com and HeritageQuest databases are available on the public access computers at the library. HeritageQuest may also be accessed from a home computer.

Marshall County Historical Society PO Box 1352 Lewisburg, TN 37901-0352

Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society PO Box 330948 Nashville, TN, USA 37203-7507 The society serves the 40 counties of middle Tennessee of which Marshall County is one. It publishes The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, a quarterly containing articles of genealogical and historical interest. Little-known Tennessee records are published and indexed, along with family genealogies, Bible records and material submitted by members. There is an alphabetical Index to articles in the Journal 1988-summer 2005

Web Sites

 * Chestnut Ridge Cousins Genealogy Records, Surname Exchange, Maps, Obituaries, Photos, History
 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Marshall County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Marshall County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Marshall County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-CHESTNUTRIDGECOUSINS-L (Chestnut Ridge Region Genealogy List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-SOUTHCENTRAL-L (South Central Tennessee List)