Perry County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Perry County

Middle Tennessee county. Established 1818.





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

County Courthouse


Perry County Courthouse 121 East Main St. Linden, TN 37096 Phone: 1-931-589-2216

Perry County Clerk Marriage records Birth records 1908-1912 and 1925-1939 P.O. Box 58 Main St. Linden, TN 37096 Phone: 1-931-589-2219

Perry County Register of Deeds Land records P.O. Box 625865 Highway 412 West Linden, TN 37096 Phone: 1-931-589-2217

Hours: Mon., Tues., Thurs., and Fri. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 8 a.m.-Noon Closed Wednesday

History


The county is named after U.S. Naval hero Oliver Hazard Perry (1785-1819).

Parent County
1818--Perry County was established 14 November 1818 from Hickman County. County seat: Linden

County Pronunciation


Did we get the accent right? If not, contact Nathan W. Murphy, [mailto:murphynw@familysearch.org murphynw@familysearch.org].

Record Loss
1863, 1928--Fires damaged records


 * Lost census: 1890
 * Lost marriage records: 1819 to 1864
 * Lost probate records: 1819 to 1862

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:


 * Arlene Eakle, When the Records are Gone in Tennessee Genealogy Blog
 * Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
 * Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle

Research Guides

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

African Americans
Census takers found no free African Americans living in Perry County, Tennessee in 1820.

The following have information concerning African American research. Both should be used:


 * African American Research (US) has more information about the kinds of records


 * African American Research for Tennessee is specific for Tennessee

Cemeteries
Tennessee cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.


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


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


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


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


 * ePodunk list of Perry County cemeteries

Census
1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Perry 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.

1820


 * Bentley, Elizabeth P. Index to the 1820 Census of Tennessee. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981.
 * Houston, Martha Lou. 1820 Census of Perry County, Tennessee. Washington, D.C.: s.p., 1900. Free digital book, courtesy: Internet Archive.
 * Presley, Mrs. Leister E. Census, Lawrence, Perry, Shelby Counties, Tennessee, 1820. Searcy, Arkansas: Presley, 198-?.

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, Perry County on page 159.]

1850


 * Glaser, Linda K.J. 1850 Census for Perry County, Tennessee, Taken by R. M. Thomas, 2 Sept. 1850 to 4 Oct. 1850. Lansdowne, Pennsylvania : L.J.K. Glaser, 1966.

1860


 * Malone, Royleta C. and Patricia A. Sherzinger. 1860 Perry County, Tennessee Census : Including Slave Schedule and Mortality Schedule, with Full Name Index. Salt Lake City, Utah : R. C. Malone, 1988.

1870


 * Bridges, Alec F. 1870 Federal Census, Perry County, Tennessee. Gallatin, Tennessee: A.F. Bridges, 1997.

1880


 * Sistler, Barbara and Byron Sistler. 1880 Census Perry County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: B. Sistler &amp; Associates, 1999.

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. 8 1891. [Perry County is included in Vol. 8.]
 * 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.

1900


 * Bridges, Alec F. 1900 Federal Census, Perry County, Tennessee. S.p., 1996.

1910


 * Bridges, Alec F. 1910 Federal Census, Perry County, Tennessee. Gallatin, Tennessee: A.F. Bridges, 1997.

1920


 * Bridges, Alec F. 1920 Federal Census, Perry County, Tennessee. Gallatin, Tennessee: A.F. Bridges, 1996.

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

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


 * [Denton] Whitley, Edythe Johns Rucker. Some of the Descendants of Rev. Richard Denton. McMinnville, TN: Womack Print. Co., 1959. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 D435; digital version at BYU Family History Archives; and Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Moffitt] Young, Laurie M. Family Notes on Keith, Lott, Sketoe, Donahoo and Arnold of Muhlenberg: Lear and Sheffield of Christian, Todd and Muhlenberg County, Kentucky; Smith and Beck, Spencer County, Indiana; Moffitt, Randolph County, North Carolina, Perry, Hickman and Humphries Co., Tn. Boise, Idaho: L.M. Young, 1990. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 K269y.
 * [Talley] Acker, W.L. The Talley Families of Tennessee and Texas: Descendants of the American Revolutionary Soldier, John Talley, Jr., of Perry County Tennessee. Mesquite, Texas: W.L. Acker, 1998. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 T145aw.
 * [Whitfield] Whitfield, Vallie Jo Fox. Whitfield History and Genealogy of Tennessee. [Walnut Creek, CA: Unknown,, 1964. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 879642 Item 1; digital version available at Heritage Quest Online ($).

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. To read more about this valuable resource Click here. The searchable index is available at TSLA; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Military
Revolutionary War

The following Perry County Revolutionary War records are available online through TNGenWeb:


 * 1835 Pension Roll
 * 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions
 * Perry County, Tennessee American Revolution Includes Perry County area Revolutionary War soldier project and select pension applications.

Additional resources include:


 * 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, Perry County on page 159.]
 * Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." Digital version at Ancestry ($). Tennessee entries abstracted online at Tennesseans in the Revolutionary War, courtesy: TNGenWeb. [Includes veterans from this county; Tennessee section begins on page 381.]

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 Perry County pensioners (p. 50).]
 * Perry County, Tennessee War of 1812 Includes War of 1812 Perry County soldier project and select pension applications. Courtesy: TNGenWeb

Mexican War


 * Perry County, Tennessee Mexican War (1846-1848) Includes Perry County Mexican War Soldier project. Courtesy : TNGenWeb

Civil War


 * McMurray, William Joseph. History of the 20th Tennessee Regiment Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A. Nashville, Tennessee: s.p., 1904. Free digital copy.

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 Perry County click on the following town:


 * Linden

Occupations

 * Miller, Alan N. Middle Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1784 to 1902. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2004. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2ma. Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes Perry 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 Perry 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.
 * Family Findings
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Perry 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.
 * Perry County Quarterly
 * See Perry County Historical Society website for futher information. Indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) Volume 1 - 2007 (1995 - 2007)
 * The River Counties
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Perry County, Tennessee records were published in The River Counties Quarterly, (14 vols.) edited by Jill K. Garrett. The Family History Library has a complete collection FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2rc.
 * The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Perry 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
Learn if your Perry County ancestors went to prison!


 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1831-1850, free index available online, courtesy: TSLA.
 * 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 four 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 Perry County Court has responsibility for the probate records.

Taxation
The following Perry County tax records have been abstracted:


 * [1837] Tatum, Ausborn C. "Perry County, Tennessee 1837 Tax List," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 29, No. 2 (Summer 1982):77-81; Vol. 29, No. 3 (Fall 1982):131-132. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 29-30 (1982-1983); free digital version at society's website. For further access, see Periodicals.
 * [1884-1885] Tax Receipts, 1884-85, Perry County Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Sep. 1997).

Marriage
The original Perry County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. Due to fire, marriage records in Perry County before 1865 were destroyed. 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..

The following Perry County marriage records are microfilmed:


 * [1865-1993] Available at the TSLA.
 * [1865-1966] Available at the Family History Library. Some volumes are indexed.

The following Perry County marriage records are abstracted and/or indexed:


 * 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, Discover Your Ancestors: indicate a surname, marriage "event", no date, and a county name (i.e. Dickson, 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 many counties.

Perry County is not included in Sistler's Early Middle Tennessee Marriages.

Divorce
In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Perry 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
For deaths of Methodists in Perry 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.]

Societies and Libraries
Perry County, Tennessee Historical Society c/o Perry County Library 104 College St. Linden, TN 37096 E-mail: perryhs3@gmail.com

Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society PO Box 330948 Nashville, TN, USA 37203-7507 The society serves the 40 counties of middle Tennessee of which Perry County is one. It publishes The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, a quarterly containing articles of genealogical and historical interest. Little-known Tennessee records are published and indexed, along with family genealogies, Bible records and material submitted by members. There is an alphabetical Index to articles in the Journal 1988-summer 2005

Perry County Library 104 College Rd. Linden, TN 37096 Phone: 1-931-589-5011 Fax: 1-931-589-6210 Hours: Mon., Tues., Thurs., and Fri. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed. 9 a.m.-noon

Web Sites

 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Perry County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Perry County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Perry County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-SOUTHCENTRAL-L (South Central Tennessee List)