Step-by-Step Tennessee Research, 1850-1910

Step 1: Find out everything possible from living relatives and their family records.
Every good genealogy project starts with finding all the clues that can be gathered from living relatives — both from their memories and from documents or memorabilia in their homes.

What are the best questions to ask?
In order to extend research, ask for names, dates, and places. Everything about who a relative was and when and where they lived is a clue to a new record search. For ideas, see :
 * 50 Questions to Ask Relatives About Family History


 * Creating Oral Histories

What documents should be collected or copied?
Because these records cover names, dates, places, and relationships, they are a valuable source of clues. Look for them in your home, your parents' home, and ask living grandparents to check for them.

Step 2: Find ancestors in every possible census record, 1850-1950, online.
Example of a census record.
 * A census is a count and description of the population for a given date. A census took a "snapshot" of a family on a certain day.
 * For each person living in a household (depending on the year), their name, age, birthplace, relationship to head of household, place of birth for father and mother, citizenship status, year of immigration, mother of how many children and number of children living, native language, and whether they were a veteran of the military can be listed.
 * Searching for a family in census records every ten years can identify all the children in a family.
 * Searching in earlier census records to find someone as a child can identify parents.



Look for ancestors in as many censuses as possible. Use the clues from each census for hints where to find families in both earlier and later census records.
- For more information, see Tennessee Census and United States Census.

Step 3: Try to find additional details in death certificates, Social Security, obituary and cemetery records online.
When a person dies, several records will be created: death certificates, Social Security records, obituaries, and cemetery records.
 * Death certificates can give birth information for people born before actual birth registration began. Death certificates frequently give the birth date and place, parents' names, and birth places of parents.


 * The Social Security Death Index includes those who had a Social Security number and/or applied for benefits. The index entries give the person's full birth date, last known residence, and residence at the time they first enrolled.


 * The Social Security Applications and Claims Index provides information filed in the application or claims process, including valuable details such as birth date, birth place, and parents’ names.


 * Cemetery records can be as simple as the information on the headstone or, in some FindAGrave records, they can report more thorough information about birth, parents, spouses, children, and siblings.



Death Indexes

 * Tennessee, City Death Records, 1872-1923
 * Tennessee, Deaths and Burials Index, 1874-1955 ($)
 * Index only.
 * Tennessee, Death Records, 1908-1958 Index and images ($), also at MyHeritage, ($), index
 * Index and images.
 * Index to Tennessee Death Records 1908-1912.
 * Statewide Index to Tennessee Death Records, 1914-1933.
 * Index only. Also at MyHeritage, index and images ($)
 * TVA Cultural Resources, Cemeteries Relocated by TVA, index
 * Online Tennessee Death Records &amp; Indexes

Writing for Full Death Certificates
The full original certificate will contain information not contained in the index. Although it costs money, consider sending for the full original certificates, particularly for direct line ancestors (grandparents, great-grandparents, etc).
 * Where to Write for Tennessee Birth, Marriage, Death and Divorce Records

U.S. Social Security Records

 * The U.S. Social Security program began in 1935 but most deaths recorded in the index happened after 1962.
 * The Social Security Death index includes those who had a Social Security number and/or applied for benefits.
 * You can search these records online at
 * Also at Ancestry.com, ($), index.
 * The Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 picks up where the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) leaves off, by providing information filed in the application or claims process.
 * The Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 picks up where the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) leaves off, by providing information filed in the application or claims process.


 * If you find an ancestor in the SSDI index, you can order a copy of their original Social Security application (SS-5). If you can prove the individual has died (by sending an obituary or copy of their cemetery headstone), the application will also give the deceased's parents' names, if listed.

Obituaries

 * Online Tennessee Death Records &amp; Indexes
 * GenealogyBuff Obituaries
 * ObitsArchive.com - Tennessee ($)
 * ObituariesHelp.org - Tennessee Newspaper Obituaries Listings
 * The Obituary Link Page - Tennessee Obituary Links
 * — index and images

Cemeteries

 * Online Tennessee Death Records &amp; Indexes
 * Tennessee Cemetery Records at Interment.net
 * Findagrave.com Tennessee Cemetery Records
 * Billiongraves.com Tennessee Cemeteries
 * USGenWeb Tennessee Tombstone Transcription Project.
 * TVA Cultural Resources, Cemeteries Relocated by TVA, index
 * Tennessee Valley Cemetery Relocation Files, 1933-1990, ($), index
 * I Dream of Genealogy Tennessee Cemeteries
 * Tennessee Cemetery Records
 * Tennessee Cemetery Records

For more information, see Tennessee Obituaries and Tennessee Cemeteries.

Step 4: Search for county birth and marriage records online.
'''Vital records registration of births and marriages at the state level started in 1915. Prior to that the individual counties kept some records. The starting dates of those records vary from county to county, depending on when the county was formed.'''

Online Records
Births
 * Index only Incomplete.
 * Tennessee, Delayed Birth Records, 1869-1909 ($)
 * Tennessee, City Birth Records, 1881-1915, ($), index
 * — index and images

Marriages
 * Index only.
 * Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 Index and images ($)
 * — index
 * Index and Images.
 * Index only Incomplete.
 * — index and images
 * Tennessee Marriages, 1851-1900 Index only ($)
 * Tennessee Marriages to 1825 ($)
 * Tennessee Marriage and Bible Records. ($)
 * Tennessee Records: Bible Records and Marriage Bonds. ($)
 * - How to Use this Collection

Records at the County Courthouse.
These records were originally created by county clerks, and then copies were sent to the state. County clerks can be willing to help find all the birth records for one family or perform other searches that the state would not do. To contact county clerks by e-mail or telephone, go to the Wiki article for each county. Links to the county Wiki articles are found at the end of this page or by clicking here: Tennessee Counties.

For more information on birth, marriage, and death records in Tennessee, see How to Find Tennessee Birth Records, How to Find Tennessee Marriage Records, and How to Find Tennessee Death Records.

Step 5: Search military records: World War I and II draft cards.
There are many different types of military records: draft records, enlistment records, service records, pension records, etc. Information in military records can vary from a simple lists of name, age, and residence, to more detailed records including name, residence, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, physical description, number of dependents, pensions received, disabled veterans, needy veterans, widows or orphans of veterans, and other information. - Example of a World War I draft card. - Example of a World War II draft card. -

'''Search the World War I and World War II Draft Collections for male relatives.
-
 * , index and images.
 * , index and images.

Civil War Pensions

 * Pensions were given to Union Civil War soldiers who sustained war-related disabilities from the Federal Government.
 * There are several Civil War pension indexes online:
 * at FamilySearch
 * General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, Civil War at Ancestry - $
 * Civil War Pensions Index at Fold3 - $

- For more information and additional collections, see Tennessee Military Records.

Step 6: Look for church records.
Church records function as vital records. Church records are particularly helpful prior to the advent of civil registration.
 * An infant christening or baptism record documents a birth.
 * Many, if not most, people are married in a church, and then a record is created by the minister.
 * Likewise, ministers presided over funerals, then creating a burial record, which documents a death.



Search for church records that can provide additional birth, marriage, and death information.

 * 1816-1995 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images, incomplete.
 * 1828-1939 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index only, incomplete.
 * 1796-1950 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index only, incomplete.
 * 1810-1965 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images.
 * 1874-1955 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index only.

Ancestry.com

 * 1784-1825 Tennessee Marriages 1784 to 1825 ($)
 * 1874-1955 Tennessee, Deaths and Burials Index, 1874-1955, index, incomplete ($)

Baptist

 * 1750-1899 U.S., Southern Baptist Church Records, 1750-1899 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1836-1839; 1844-1862;1867-2008 Tennessee Baptist/Baptist and Reflector Digital Project. Online images. The project is working to create an every-name index.

Lutheran

 * Marriages, Births and Deaths from Virginia and East Tennessee Lutheran Church in America Records Daughters of the American Revolution. General James Breckinridge Chapter (Roanoke, Virginia)

Presbyterian

 * 1701-1970 U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970, index and images, incomplete.($)

Other Collections
-
 * Church, cemetery, bible, and family records from Tennessee, prepared by the Historical Records Project and Historical Records Survey
 * For help with church records kept in Tennessee, see Tennessee Church Records.
 * To search records by denomination, if you know your ancestors religion, go to Searching for Church Records by Denomination.

Step 7: Search for online wills and probate packets.

 * County probate records include '''probate proceedings, petitions, affidavits, orders for sales, reports of sales, administrators' and executors' bonds, guardianship papers, wills, and letters of administration.
 * In a will book, usually just a transcription of the will is recorded. But all of these other records are kept in a probate packet.
 * Administrations are probate proceedings that handled an estate if no known will existed.

Example of probate records.

Search these indexes and images for probate records.

 * United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search: Tennessee
 * Tennessee, Wills and Probate Records, 1779-2008, ($), index and images, incomplete.
 * Images only.
 * Images only.

Probate Information in County Wiki Articles
Each Tennessee county Research Wiki page lists additional probate sources, including where to write for records: Tennessee Counties

For more information, see Tennessee Probate Records and United States Probate Records.

Step 8: If any ancestor was an immigrant, search immigration and naturalization records online.
The census records may show that your ancestor was born in another country. It will be necessary to try to find the town or city they were born in to continue research in the country of origin. Searches of immigration records (usually passenger lists) and naturalization (citizenship) records are the next goal. Immigration refers to people coming into a country, such as the United States, and emigration refers to people leaving a country to go to another. Usually these records are passenger lists of the ships they sailed on. A typical record will show name, age, and country of origin, but in ship lists after 1906 you can find the actual town of birth, the next of kin still living in the old country and their residence, and the names of relatives in the place they are traveling to.

Immigration records
The census records may show that an ancestor was born in another country. It will be necessary to try to find the town or city they were born in to continue research in the country of origin. Searches of immigration records (usually passenger lists) and naturalization (citizenship) records would be the next step.



Immigration Records

 * United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records

Tennessee Naturalization and Citizenship Online Records

 * United States Naturalization and Citizenship Online Genealogy Records

Tennessee Naturalization and Citizenship Online Records

 * Tennessee, Naturalization Records, 1907-1991 ($)
 * Selected U.S. Naturalization Records - District Courts in the Southeast, 1790-1958 – covers Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee ($)

For more information, see Tennessee Emigration and Immigration and Tennessee Naturalization and Citizenship.

Step 9: Search land records online.
These records will give the They can contain clues to
 * names of the buyer (grantee) and seller (grantor),
 * previous or new residence of the parties to the deed
 * the date they obtained the land,
 * the description of exact location of the land, sometimes mentioning neighbors.
 * family members who shared ownership of the land,
 * sold or gave land to a child, or
 * officially witnessed the sale.

Search for any ancestor's land records.

 * United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search: Tennessee
 * 1753-1931 North Carolina and Tennessee, Early Land Records, 1753-1931 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * 1778-1927 Tennessee, Early Land Registers, 1778-1927 at Ancestry - Index and images ($)
 * 1783-1843 North Carolina and Tennessee, Revolutionary War Land Warrants, 1783-1843 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * 1934-1953 U.S., Tennessee Valley, Family Removal and Population Readjustment Case Files, 1934-1953 at Ancestry - index ($)

For more information, see Tennessee Land and Property and United States Land and Property.

Local Histories

 * Published histories of towns, counties, and states sometimes contain biographies and accounts of early or prominent families.
 * Here are several websites that feature online copies of printed county histories: Tennessee; that will bring up too many hits. Just use the name of the county and "county": for example, "Hyde County"
 * Google Books. Use keywords "Tennessee" and the county name. Hits will list online readable books, lists of libraries that carry the book, and purchasing opportunities.
 * Family History Books
 * County and Town Histories:*Internet Archive.Use keywords "Tennessee" and the county name.
 * Ancestry.com, ($). In the Card Catalog search box, use Tennessee and the name of the county.

FamilySearch Collected Local Histories

 * Local histories are extensively collected by the FamilySearch Library, public and university libraries, and state and local historical societies.
 * If you have access to the FamilySearch Library or a FamilySearch center, you can find local histories by:
 * Go to the FamilySearch Catalog.
 * In the "Place" field, type the name of your county and click "Search".
 * A list of subheadings for the county will appear. Local histories containing genealogies and biographies will be found under Biography, Genealogy, History, or History - Indexes.

Biographies
These collections of biographies can be searched online. Most have a table of contents and an index. Or use the "Find" function on a computer.
 * County and Town Histories, with biographies
 * Index to Brief Biographical Sketches of 30,000 Tennesseans.
 * Sketches of prominent Tennesseans. Containing biographies and records of many of the families who have attained prominence in Tennessee, e-book
 * A history of Tennessee and Tennesseans : the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, ($), index
 * A history of Tennessee and Tennesseans : the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry, and modern activities Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, vol. 5, Vol. 6, Vol. 7, Vol.8
 * Sketches of prominent Tennesseans. Containing biographies and records of many of the families who have attained prominence in Tennessee, e-book
 * My Genealogy Hound Tennessee Biographies by county
 * Notable men of Tennessee. Personal and genealogical, with portraits Vol. 1, Vol. 2
 * Tennessee and Tennesseans, e-book
 * Some representative women of Tennessee, e-book

Step 11: Contact a local historical or genealogical society.
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 * Historical societies have collections that are frequently little known and often overlooked.
 * Many have a surname file, where they have collected genealogies, newspaper clippings, old photographs, etc.
 * Many have a sort of "pioneer ancestor" program, where people can submit pedigrees to prove they are the descendants of an early resident of the area.
 * Most keep track of queries about families that once lived in the area from other distant relatives who may actually have more family memorabilia.
 * Most keep track of queries about families that once lived in the area from other distant relatives who may actually have more family memorabilia.


 * Find the society on the internet, and they may list their holdings. Or call them on the phone, find out what they have, and find out what arrangements can be made to search their collection. Frequently, one of their members can be hired to search the collection for you.

This online directory by GenealogyInc. lists historical and genealogical societies by county: Click on the map to select a county, then scroll down to the historical or genealogical society listings. Here is an example of an internet website for a local genealogical society.

Historical Images
Records collected and digitized by FamilySearch can all be found through their Historical Images feature.
 * Tennessee, United States Historical Images, New Version
 * Tennessee, United States Historical Images, Old Version

Tennessee Online Genealogy Records
Search any other online records listed in Tennessee Online Genealogy Records. The steps given here are intended to list record sources which can most efficiently identify descendants. Many other online records which might or might not mention descendants are listed in the Tennessee Online Genealogy Records page, including immigration records, land records, military records, newspapers, and probate records, and others. These can be records that cover a smaller group within the population, such as men who served in the military, etc.
 * Tennessee Online Genealogy Records

Step 13: Study the Research Wiki pages for any county in Tennessee.
This article focused more on Tennessee state or state-wide records. There is a separate Wiki article for each county in Tennessee. These articles give information, office addresses, and links to county records. {| style="width:100%; vertical-align:top;"  Anderson Bedford Benton Bledsoe Blount Bradley</li> Campbell</li> Cannon</li> Carroll</li> Carter</li> Cheatham</li> Chester</li> Claiborne</li> Clay</li> Cocke</li> Coffee</li> Crockett</li> Cumberland</li> Davidson</li> Decatur</li> DeKalb</li> <li>Dickson</li> <li>Dyer</li> <li>Fayette</li> <li>Fentress</li> <li>Franklin</li> <li>Gibson</li> <li>Giles</li> <li>Grainger</li> <li>Greene</li> <li>Grundy</li> <li>Hamblen</li> <li>Hamilton</li> <li>Hancock</li> <li>Hardeman</li> <li>Hardin</li> <li>Hawkins</li> <li>Haywood</li> <li>Henderson</li> <li>Henry</li> <li>Hickman</li> <li>Houston</li> <li>Humphreys</li> <li>Jackson</li> <li>Jefferson</li> <li>Johnson</li> <li>Knox</li> <li>Lake</li> <li>Lauderdale</li> <li>Lawrence</li> <li>Lewis</li> <li>Lincoln</li> <li>Loudon</li> <li>McMinn</li> <li>McNairy</li> <li>Macon</li> <li>Madison</li> <li>Marion</li> <li>Marshall</li> <li>Maury</li> <li>Meigs</li> <li>Monroe</li> <li>Montgomery</li> <li>Moore</li> <li>Morgan</li> <li>Obion</li> <li>Overton</li> <li>Perry</li> <li>Pickett</li> <li>Polk</li> <li>Putnam</li> <li>Rhea</li> <li>Roane</li> <li>Robertson</li> <li>Rutherford</li> <li>Scott</li> <li>Sequatchie</li> <li>Sevier</li> <li>Shelby</li> <li>Smith</li> <li>Stewart</li> <li>Sullivan</li> <li>Sumner</li> <li>Tipton</li> <li>Trousdale</li> <li>Unicoi</li> <li>Union</li> <li>Van Buren</li> <li>Warren</li> <li>Washington</li> <li>Wayne</li> <li>Weakley</li> <li>White</li> <li>Williamson</li> <li>Wilson</li> </ul>