Moore County, Tennessee Genealogy

Guide to Moore County, Tennessee ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Description
Moore County was named for General William Moore, an early settler and long-time member of the state legislature. The county is located in the south-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Moore County Courthouse Public Square Lynchburg, TN 37352 County Courthouse Phone: 931-759-7028 Register of Deeds Phone:  931-759-7913 County Clerk Phone:  931-759-7346 Clerk Circuit Court Phone:  931-759-7208 Clerk and Master Phone:  931-759-7028 Register of Deeds has land records County Clerk has birth, marriage, death, and probate records Clerk of Circuit Court has court records

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

History Timeline
Additional Information Middle Tennessee county in the Chestnut Ridge region. Established 1871.

The county is named after "Tennessee state legislator William Moore."

Biographies

 * Douthat, James L. Moore County, Tennessee Biographies. 1887; reprint, Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Free Surname Index and purchase details at Mountain Press website.
 * Family Biographies from The History of Moore County, Tennessee (1886) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

 * Middle Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1784 to 1902. 2004. By Alan N. Miller. Baltimore, Md.: Clearfield Company. . Includes Moore County.

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources
 * Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator

Census Records
1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 Moore County federal population schedules 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.

1810-1891
 * Tennessee, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1891 at Ancestry $
 * See Tennessee Population Schedule Indexes: Fiche, Film, or Book for more information about statewide printed indexes.
 * See Moore County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files and scanned census images. The USGenWeb Census Project®.

1890 Lost 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. . Pickett County is included in Vol. 6.
 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1890 Civil War Veterans Census, Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: Byron Sister and Associates, 1978..

1891 Male Voters


 * 1891 Tennessee Enumeration of Male Voters 1891 at Ancestry $

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records
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.] TSLA has created an index to names that appear in these acts covering the years 1796 to 1850. Online searchable index at TSLA.

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


 * Doss - Descendant of Samuel H. Doss, b. 1803 Virginia, resident of Shelby and Moore counties, Tennessee; Illinois; and Madison County, Arkansas. Y-DNA 37 Marker Test, FTDNA (Kit 85939). Genetic signature available online (labeled Sh-1), courtesy: The Doss DNA Project, World Families. Matches have been found.

General


 * As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Moore, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 4,000 entries.


 * Daniel - Parkes, John Franklin. Descendants of Calaway Daniel. Online at Montgomery County Genealogy.
 * Frost - Frost, Wright Wilson. The Frosts and Related Families of Bedford County, Tennessee. Knoxville, TN: W.W. Frost, c1962. Available at and . Online at Internet Archive.
 * Edens - Colsher, Sue M. The Edens Family. Online at Moore County, Tennessee Genealogy. (Part of the TNGenWeb Project.)
 * Felps - Parks, Roy H. The Felps Family. Online at Moore County, Tennessee Genealogy. (Part of the TNGenWeb Project.)
 * Logan - Dietz, Virginia My Logan ancestors from Scotland to Logan, Missouri. Salt Lake City, Utah Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 2002. . Online at FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * Parkes - Parks, Rufus Alonzo. The Parkes Family History, The Parkes Family History 2 and A Statement of M.N. Parkes, Jr. Online at Moore County, Tennessee Genealogy. (Part of the TNGenWeb Project.)
 * Simpson - Miner, Ethel Nerim. Descendants of Rice and Rachael Simpson: of Franklin and Moore Counties, Tennessee. Fountain Hills, Arizona: Four Peaks Enterprise, 1986..

Land and Property Records

 * Evans, 91 deeds dated 1807-1915 in Moore County, Tennessee placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2009. It is necessary to purchase Direct Line Software's DeedMapper product to view the maps.

Local Histories

 * Goodspeed firm, publishers, Chicago. History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Giles, Lincoln, Franklin and Moore counties.Nashville, Tenn., The Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1886. Free digital copy.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)
 * Map of 1888 Moore County, Tennessee with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)
 * FamilySearch Places: Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
War of 1812
 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Apr. 1961):49-52. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 8 (1961); digital version at journal website. Includes Moore County pensioners (p. 49).

Civil War

Online Records
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1891-1965 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Confederate Soldiers


 * 1st Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Turney's) - CSA - Companies D and E.
 * 8th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company K.
 * 17th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA
 * 23rd Battalion, Tennessee Infantry (Newman's) - CSA - Companies D and E.
 * 34th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (4th Confederate Infantry) - CSA - Company C.
 * 41st Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company G.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Moore County:


 * USGenWeb, Civil War Regiments of Moore County, Tennessee.
 * USGenWeb Archives, Moore County Tennessee Archives. Pensioners on the Roll 1883.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Moore County. Includes soldier's name, county, pension #, unit or widow.
 * United States Pension Bureau, List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883: Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for... (Washington Printing Office; 1883). Online at Internet Archive. Moore County, page 366-367.

Newspapers
Many Tennessee newspapers are filmed and available at 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 Moore County click on the following city:


 * Lynchburg


 * 1847 - 1851 - 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. 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. (Largely Methodist?)

Prisons

 * 1831-1850 Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1831-1850 at Tennessee State Library and Archives
 * 1851-1870 Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870 at Tennessee State Library and Archives

Periodicals

 * Ansearchin' News: Quarterly magazine of the Tennessee Genealogical Society. For a keyword search, go to the county index. Read previous issues on their website;
 * The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History: Quarterly magazine of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society. For surnames, use the volume-by-volume index, or do a keyword search of the Article Index..

Probate Records
The Moore County Court and Chancery Court have responsibility for probate records.

Online Records and Indexes
 * 1779-2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry $
 * 1871-1966 Moore County portion of at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; handwritten indexes may be found at the front or back of some volumes.

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.


 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records
Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1860 Tax List, 1860, District 1, Moore County Review, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Jul. 1998).

Vital Records

 * See also Tennessee Vital Records

Birth

 * 1828-1939 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1869-1909 Tennessee Delayed Birth Records 1869-1909 at Ancestry$
 * 1881-1882 - Moore County Birth Index 1881-1882 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * 1881-1882 - Moore County Clerk.Vital statistics, births and deaths 1908-1911, births 1881-1882. Manuscript. TSLA, 1967.
 * 1908-1912 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Marriage
Online indexes and Records


 * 1625-1966 Tennessee, United States Marriages at Findmypast $
 * 1780-2002 Tennessee State Marriages 1780-2002 at Ancestry $
 * 1780-2002 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1790-1962 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection. Covers all counties in Tennessee.
 * 1796-1950 (Indexes only) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1838-1888 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1851-1900 Tennessee Marriages 1851-1900 at Ancestry $
 * 1872-1938 - Moore County Marriage Index 1872-1938 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * 1915-1978 - Moore County, Tennessee 1830-1993 index, 1915-1978. Manuscript.  Tennessee, Chancery Court Records Click on Camera to view
 * 1980-2014 Marriage Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Death

 * 1874-1955 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1908-1911 - Moore County Clerk.Vital statistics, births and deaths 1908-1911, births 1881-1882. Manuscript. TSLA, 1967.
 * 1908-1933 Tennessee Deaths, 1908 - 1933 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1908-1958 Tennessee Death Records 1908 - 1958 at Ancestry $
 * 1908-1912 Tennessee Death Records 1908-1912 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1914-1933 Tennessee Death Records 1914-1933 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1914-1966 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1949-2014 Death Records Index 1949-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Divorce

 * 1796 - 1850 Acts of Tennessee 1796-1850 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1980-2014 Divorce Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Archives
Moore County Archives 241 Main Street, Suite 105 Lynchburg, TN 37352 Phone: 931-759-7068 Email: [mailto:moorecountyarchives@yahoo.com moorecountyarchives@yahoo.com] Website

Family History Centers

 * Columbia Tennessee Family History Center
 * Fayetteville Tennessee Family History Center
 * Murfreesboro Tennessee Family History Center
 * Tullahoma Tennessee Family History Center
 * Chattanooga Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Fayetteville-Lincoln County Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Spring Hill Public Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Moore County Public Library P.O. Box 408 Lynchburg, TN 37352 Phone: 931-759-7285 Email: [mailto:mcpl.lynchburg@gmail.com mcpl.lynchburg@gmail.com] WebsiteMoore County Archives

Societies
Moore County Historical Society P.O. Box 408 Lynchburg, TN 37352 Facebook

Websites

 * Chestnut Ridge Cousins Genealogy Records, Surname Exchange, Maps, Obituaries, Photos, History
 * Moore County, TN Genealogy and Family History(Linkpendium)
 * Moore County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Moore County TN Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

Research Guides

 * "Moore County Genealogical Records Survey," The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Spring 1989). For access, see Periodicals.


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