Rutherford County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Rutherford County





County Courthouse
Rutherford County Courthouse 319 N. Maple Street Suite 121 Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37130 Phone: (615) 898-7800

Hours: Monday - Thursday 8 am - 4 pm Friday 8 am - 5 pm

History
The county is named after "Griffin Rutherford, chairman of the legislature of the Southwest Territory."

Parent County
1803--Rutherford County was established 25 October 1803 from Davidson County. Early records may be found under Davidson County. County seat: Murfreesboro

Record Loss
1832--Tornado damaged records

Neighboring Counties

 * Bedford
 * Cannon
 * Coffee
 * Davidson
 * Marshall
 * Williamson
 * Wilson

Research Guides

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

Census
1810 - Lost, but a substitute is available:
 * Sherrill, Charles A. The Reconstructed 1810 Census of Tennessee: 33,000 Long-lost Records from Tax Lists, Court Minutes, Church Records, Wills, Deeds and Other Sources. Mt. Juliet, Tenn.: C.A. Sherrill, 2001. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2s 1810.

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

Bibliography


 * [Bobbitt] Mount, Allen Wade. Our Bobbitt Family: genealogical and historical record of the southern branch, with the Beck, Elliott, Goodloe and Hurd families and allied lines. Prairie Village, KS: Unknown, 1972. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 B630Lm; FHL US/CAN Film 1036692 Item 5; digital version at Heritage Quest Online.
 * [Dickson] Smith, Austin Wheeler. The Dickson-McEwen and Allied Families Genealogy. Cookeville, TN: Unknown, 1945. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 D561s. Digital version available at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [McEwen] see Dickson.
 * [Rucker] Whitley, Edythe Johns Rucker. History of the Rucker Family and their Descendants: Sketches of Carter, Barton, Early, Johns, Lee, Martin, Pendleton, Reade, Seldon, Taliaferro, Witt and Wyatt Families. Nashville, TN: Unknown, 1927. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 1321319 Item 1; digital version at Ancestry ($); and Heritage Quest Online ($).

Land

 * Simmons, Don and Laura Willis. Rutherford County, Tennessee, Deeds, Volume 1, 1804 - 1808. Melber, KY: Simmons Hist., 1996. Available at FHL US/CAN Book 976.857 R2wi. Digital version available at World Vital Records. Available for purchase along with Rutherford County Deed Books Vol. 2-1808-1812 at Simmons Historical Publications.
 * Wray, Henry G. Rutherford County, Tennessee Deed Abstracts(1804-1813). Smyrna, Tennessee: s.p., n.d. Free digital copy.

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 Tennessee State Library and Archives 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 Tennessee State Library and Archives; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Military

 * McMurray, William Joseph. History of the 20th Tennessee Regiment Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A. Nashville, Tennessee: s.p., 1904. Free digital copy.

Newspapers

 * Willis, Laura. Rutherford County, Tennessee Newspaper Abstracts, Volume 1, 1820 - 1867. Kentucky: Simmons Historical Publications, 2005. Digital version available at World Vital Records. Available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.
 * Willis, Laura. Rutherford County Newspaper Abstracts Vol. 2-1867-1906. Kentucky: Simmons Historical Publications, 2005. Digital version available at World Vital Records. Available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.

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 Rutherford County.]

Periodicals
Ansearchin' News

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Rutherford 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.

The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History

Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Rutherford 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

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

Probate
Online index to Rutherford County Record Books 1803-1880. These include mostly probate information including wills, inventories of estates, estate settlements, guardianship reports, and widow allotments. However, the Record Books also contain some other court information including manumission records, apprenticeships, and trustee’s reports. Copies of the record books are available the Rutherford County Archives or.

Taxation

 * [1817] "U.S. Holds 1817 Public Sale of Federal Tax-Delinquent Properties in Tennessee," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Summer 1996):63-68. For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals. [Includes Rutherford County.]

Family History Centers
Murfreesboro Tennessee 902 E Clark Murfreesboro, Rutherford, Tennessee, United States Telephone: 615-893-3616

Smyrna Tennessee 316 Mayfield Dr Smyrna, Rutherford, Tennessee, United States Telephone: 615-355-9268

These are not mailing addresses. Due to limited staff, Family History Centers are unable to respond to mail inquiries.

Web Sites

 * Rutherford County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Rutherford County, TNGenWeb
 * Family History Library Catalog