Lauderdale County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Lauderdale County West Tennessee county. Established 1835.





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

County Courthouse


Lauderdale County Courthouse 100 Court Square Ripley, TN 38063 Phone: 1-901-635-2561


 * County Clerk has marriage and probate records Phone: 1-731-635-2561
 * Circuit Court Clerk has court records Phone: 1-731-635-0101
 * Register of Deeds has land records Phone: 1-731-635-2171

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

History
The county was named after "James Lauderdale, who was killed in the War of 1812."

Parent County
1835--Lauderdale County was created 24 November 1835 from Tipton, Haywood, and Dyer Counties. County seat: Ripley

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
1969--Fire damaged records


 * Lack of marriage records: 1835 to 1837

Getting Started
Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Lauderdale County biography, court, and marriage 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: Lauderdale 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

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 Lauderdale County linking to the information about the people buried there,


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


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


 * Lauderdale County cemetery information with transcriptions on TNGenweb Project


 * The Family History Library Catalog lists some records for Lauderdale County. Some of the books or other books may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


 * ePodunk list of Lauderdale County cemeteries

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

1840


 * Davis, Bettie B. Lauderdale County, Tennessee, 1840 Census, 1850 Census, and 1850 Mortality Schedule. Memphis, Tenn.: B.B. Davis, 1983. FHL US/CAN book 976.816 X2.

1840 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, Western District, Lauderdale County on page 159.]

1850


 * Davis, Bettie B. Lauderdale County, Tennessee, 1840 Census, 1850 Census, and 1850 Mortality Schedule. Memphis, Tenn.: B.B. Davis, 1983. FHL US/CAN book 976.816 X2

1850 Mortality Schedule


 * Davis, Bettie B. Lauderdale County, Tennessee, 1840 Census, 1850 Census, and 1850 Mortality Schedule. Memphis, Tenn.: B.B. Davis, 1983. FHL US/CAN book 976.816 X2

1880


 * Sistler, Samuel D. 1880 Census Lauderdale County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler and Associates, 2002. FHL US/CAN book 976.816 X2

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


 * [Brown] Descendant of Matthew Thomas Brown, b. 1831 Ripley, Lauderdale County, Tennessee. Y-DNA 25 Marker Test, FTDNA (Kit 30372). Genetic signature available online (labeled Group No. 22), genealogical description available online, courtesy: Brown/Browne/Braun DNA Study. Matches have been found.
 * [Doss] Descendant of George W. Doss (c1864-c1900) of Lauderdale County, Tennessee. Y-DNA 37 Marker Test, FTDNA (Kit 88650). Genetic signature available online (labeled Jw-1), genealogical description available online, courtesy: The Doss DNA Project, World Families. 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 Lauderdale, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 15,000 entries.

Bibliography


 * [Ellis] Benjamin F. Ellis Family, 1834-1952. MSS. FHL US/CAN Film 1685766 Item 7.
 * [Ellis] Ellis, Bill. George Richard Ellis: His Ancestors and Descendants. Friona, Texas: Ellis Publishing, 2002. FHL US/CAN Book 929.273 EL59ebi.
 * [Finch] Tuttle, Jacqulyn Davis. Finch, Pyland and Related Families of Lauderdale County, TN and Craighead County, AR. Grass Valley, Calif.: J.D. Tuttle, 1991?. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 F491tj.
 * [Holmes] Holmes, Raiford L. The John Holmes Family: of Montgomery and Carroll Counties, Mississippi. Bogalusa, Louisiana: R.L. Holmes, 197-?. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 H736h.
 * [Powell] De Veau, Katharine Lee. Benjamin and Ambrose Powell of Culpeper County, Virginia: With Many Descendants of Benjamin. Unknown: K.L. deVeau, 1941. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 548787; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).

Land

 * Lauderdale County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1835 and is located at the Courthouse, 100 Court Square, Ripley, Tennessee 38063; Telephone: (731) 635-2561.The Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries.
 * The Family History Library has microfilmed copiies of deeds 1835-1900; land surveys 1822-1954.

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.

Local Histories

 * Williams, Joseph S. Old Times in West Tennessee: Reminiscences, Semi-historic, of Pioneer Life and the Early Emigrant Settlers in the Big Hatchie Country. Memphis, Tenn.: W.G. Cheeney, 1873. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 H2wj 1975. Digital version available through BYU Family History Archives.

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, Western District, Lauderdale County on page 159.]

War of 1812


 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Oct. 1960):90-93. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 7 (1960); digital version at journal website. [Includes Lauderdale County pensioners (p. 93).]

Civil War


 * Lynn, H.M. H.M. Lynn Papers, 1858-1882. Southern Historical Collection, Manuscripts Dept., Wilson Library, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Free digital copy.  9th Tennessee Regiment, Company C.
 * Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Lauderdale County

World War I


 * Tennessee World War I Veterans list: Lauderdale County

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 Lauderdale County click on the following cities and towns:


 * Halls
 * Ripley

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 Lauderdale 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 records of Lauderdale 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.
 * Family Findings
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Lauderdale 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 to retrieve them.
 * 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 Lauderdale County ancestors went to prison!


 * 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 County Court, Chancery Court, and County Clerk have responsibility for the probate records of Lauderdale County.

The following Lauderdale County probate records have been 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
Lauderdale County's original Tax Books covering 1852-1856 and 1873 to 1887 are held at the County Courthouse. TSLA microfilmed these records in 1976. FHL copies: FHL US/CAN Films 1008593-1008594.

The original Lauderdale County Roadwork Excuses and Poll Tax 1882-1927 are kept at the County Courthouse. GSU microfilmed these records in 2008: FHL US/CAN Film 1670142 Item 8.

Marriage
Marriages were not officially recorded in Lauderdale County until 1838, when 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.
 * For free lookups of Lauderdale County, Tennessee marriages 1851-1900 click here.

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


 * [1838-1866] Historical Records Project Marriage records, 1838-1866, Lauderdale, County, Tennessee Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1941. FHL US/CAN Film 24738
 * [1838-1867] 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.]
 * [1838-1867] Davis, Bettie B. Lauderdale County, Tennessee marriages, 1838-1867 Memphis, Tennessee : B.B. Davis, c1983. FHL US/CAN Book 976.816 V2d
 * [1838-1962] Lauderdale County, Tennessee County Court Clerk Marriage records (Lauderdale County, Tennessee), 1838-1962 Nashville, Tennessee : Tennessee State Library and Archives, 1976-2008. FHL US/CAN Film 1008552-54, 1928748, 1928749-50, 1670147 item 1
 * [1844-1860] Lauderdale County, Tennessee, marriages, 1844-1860 Signal Mountain, Tennessee : Mountain Press, [199-]. FHL US/CAN 976.816 V2L
 * [1867-1886] Davis, Bettie B. Lauderdale County, Tennessee, marriages, 1867-1886 Memphis, Tennessee, B.B. Davis, c1983. FHL US/CAN Book 976.816 V28d
 * 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 titled Discover Your Ancestors; indicate a surname, marriage "event" and a county name (i.e. Lauderdale, 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 all counties.

Divorce
In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Lauderdale 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

 * Hays, Tony. West Tennessee Death Records [ca. 1823-1852]. 2 vols. n.p.: Kitchen Table Press, 1987. FHL FAM HIST Book 976.8 V2ht v. 1-2. [Lauderdale County is included in Vol. 2]

For deaths of Methodists in Lauderdale 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

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