Benton County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Benton County





West Tennessee county on the Tennessee River. Established 1835.

County Courthouse
Benton County Courthouse 1 E Court Square Camden,Tennessee 38320 731-584-6053

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

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

History
The county is named after "Creek War veteran David Benton (1779–1860), an early settler in the county."

Parent County
1835--Benton County was created 19 December 1835 from Henry and Humphreys Counties. County seat: Camden

Record Loss

 * Lost census: 1890
 * Lack of marriage records: 1835 to 1838

Populated Places
Cities and Towns:

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Benton 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.)
 * Welcome to Benton County Tennessee, web page has a history of the are and many links to cities and interests, such as biographies, births, census, military, newspaper articles, etc.

Cemeteries

 * 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 Benton County linking to the information about the people buried there,


 * Benton Co. TN Cemetery Records, part of the TNGenWeb Cemetery Database, lists many cemeteries in the county, often with indexes and transcripts of the burials.


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


 * Benton County cemetery transcriptions with additional information on TNGenweb Project has two screens of information: Benton County Cemeteries onsite and links and Benton County Cemeteries onsite.


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


 * ePodunk list of Benton County cemeteries

Census
1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Benton 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, these indexes are often more accurate than those available online.

1890 - Lost, but 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. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2r v. 2 1891. [Benton County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1890 Civil War Veterans Census, Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: Byron Sister and Associates, 1978. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2s 1890.

Court
County Court


 * Minutes of the County Court of Benton County, Book No. 2, 1842-1854, Part 1 and 2, available online, courtesy: Danville Crossing Archives.

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


 * Benton County Genealogical Society. Families and Histories, Benton County, Tennessee, 1836-1992. 2 vols. Paducah, Ky.: Turner Pub. Co., 1987, 1992. FHL US/CAN Book 976.833 H2f v. 1 ff.
 * Smith, Jonathan K.T. Benton County, Tennessee Heritage Notes. Memphis, Tenn.: Richard H. Harris, 1975. FHL US/CAN Book 976.833 H2st.
 * Smith, Jonathan K.T. Miscellaneous Families of Benton County, Tennessee. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Archives and Manuscript Section, Nashville, Tenn. Microfilmed in 1985. FHL US/CAN Film 1429846 Item 22. [Includes Armer, Penick, Greer, Wodelstedt, Booker, Clement, Fuller, Cooley, Tatty, Davis, Wiseman, Melton, Cooper, Brumager, Burer, Key, Beasley, McCutchen, Gillispie, Cuff, Patrick, and Bain families.]

Bibliography


 * [Alsup] Alsup, Reba Rae Morgan. Samuel Alsup of Benton County, Tennessee and His Descendants. Monument, Colorado: R.R. Alsup, 1991. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 AL78ar.
 * [Beasley] Lockhart, William Thomas. The Beasley Family of Benton, Henry, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys and Stewart Counties of Tennessee. Florissant, Missouri: W. Lockhart, 1985. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 B38Lw.
 * [Holland] Stephens, Robert W. Life and Family of Charles Holland. Dallas, TX: Unknown, 1961. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 H719sb; FHL US/CAN Film 1320890; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [McMurtry] McMurtry, Brian L. The West Tennessee McMurtry Family: A Synopsis of the Lives and Historical Background that Surrounded the McMurtry Family of Humphreys, Benton, and Henry County, TN. Newburgh, Ind.: B.L. McMurtry, 2006. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 M229mb.
 * [Thompson] Smith, Jonathan K.T. Thompson Family of Benton County, Tennessee. Typescript. Microfilmed in 1969. FHL US/CAN Film 599341 Item 5.

Land

 * Benton County Deed Books Vol. 2-May 1843-Jan 1849 ([Mayfield, KY?]:Simmons Historical Publications,s.d.). Digital version available at World Vital Records ($). Available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.
 * Benton County Deed Books Vol. 3-Feb 1849-Nov 1852, ([Mayfield, KY?]:Simmons Historical Publications,s.d.). Digital version available at World Vital Records ($). Available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.

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.] 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
Spanish American War


 * Hale, Will T.The First Tennessee Regiment, United States Volunteers. Nashville, 1899. Free digital copy.

Occupations

 * Miller, Alan N. West Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1821 to 1889. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2006. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2man. Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes Benton 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

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Benton County, Tennessee 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.

Benton County Genealogical Society Quarterly

Family Findings

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Benton 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 FHL US/CAN 976.8 B2f.

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 FHL US/CAN Book 976.81 B5w. 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

Prisons
Learn if your Benton County ancestors went to prison!


 * 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
The following Benton County probate records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * [1837-1861] 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 probate records.]

Taxation
The original Benton County Tax Books 1836-1909 were microfilmed by the Tennessee State Library and Archives in 1968. Copies of their films are also available at the Family History Library: FHL US/CAN Films 944046, 557667.

The following Benton County tax lists have been abstracted:


 * [1836] "1835 Map of Civil Districts, Benton County, Tennessee" and "Benton County, Tennessee 1836 Tax List," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 41, No. 2 (Summer 1994):56-61. For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
 * [1836] Tax List, 1836, Benton County Genealogical Society Quarterly. Camden TN: Jul 1997. Vol. 9 Iss. 3.
 * [1836] Poll Tax Payers, 1836, Benton County Genealogical Society Quarterly. Camden TN: Apr 2001. Vol. 13 Iss. 2.
 * [1837] Cleveland, Harry Milton. "Benton County, Tennessee 1837 Tax List," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 41, No. 3 (Fall 1994):107-110. For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
 * [1844] Land Tax List, 1844, Benton County Genealogical Society Quarterly. Camden TN: Dec 2005. Vol. 17 Iss. 4.
 * [1865-1866] Smith, Jonathan K.T. United States Direct Tax Commission, District of Tennessee, Benton County, 1865-1866. Jackson, Tenn.: n.p., 1992. FHL US/CAN Book 976.833 R4s.

Vital Records
Marriage

Marriages were not officially recorded in Benton County during the first few years of its existence. In 1838, a law was passed mandating the practice. The following publication, based on early newspapers, helps to alleviate this genealogical obstacle:


 * Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 V2L.

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


 * [1832-1869] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early West Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: B. Sistler &amp; Associates, 1989. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 V2sb v. 1 ff. [Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years.]

Death

For deaths of Methodists in Benton 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.]

Web Sites

 * Benton County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Benton County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Benton County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TNBENTON-L (Benton County, Tennessee List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: DanvilleCrossing-L (Tennessee River County Genealogy and History List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: DanvilleQueries-L (Tennessee River County Genealogy and History List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: WEST-TNCHAT-L (West Tennessee Chat List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: WESTTN-L (West Tennessee List)