Putnam County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Putnam County





County Courthouse
Putnam County Courthouse 29 N. Washington Cookeville, Tennessee 38501 Phone: (931) 526-7106

Hours: Monday - Friday 8 am - 4 pm

History


The county is named after Revolutionary War Major General Israel Putnam (1718-1790).

Parent County
1842--Putnam County was established 2 February 1842 from White, Overton, Jackson, Smith and DeKalb Counties. Early records may be found under White, Overton, Jackson, Smith and DeKalb Counties. County seat: Cookeville

Record Loss
1898--Fire damaged records

Neighboring Counties

 * Cumberland
 * DeKalb
 * Fentress
 * Jackson
 * Overton
 * Smith
 * White

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Putnam 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.)

Church

 * Grime, John Harvey. History of Middle Tennessee Baptists: With Special Reference to Salem, New Salem, Enon and Wiseman Associations. Nashville, Tennessee: Baptist and Reflector, 1902. Includes names changes for places in Middle Tennessee. Free digital copy.

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

Periodicals
Ansearchin' News

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Putnam 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 Putnam 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 1851-1870, free index available online, courtesy: Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Taxation

 * [1855] Paessler, Jane Park. "Putnam County, Tennessee 1855 Tax List," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 42, No. 1 (Spring 1995):7-12; Vol. 42, No. 2 (Summer 1995):61-63. For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.

Family History Centers
Cookeville Tennessee 981 S Walnut Cookeville, Putnam, Tennessee, United States Telephone: 931-526-3116

This is not a mailing address. Due to limited staff, Family History Centers are unable to respond to mail inquiries.

Web Sites

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