Trousdale County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Trousdale County

Middle Tennessee county established in 1870. Trousdale County's land belonged to the pioneer Cumberland Settlements.





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

County Courthouse
Trousdale County Courthouse 200 East Main Street Hartsville, TN 37074 Phone: 615-374-2996

Trousdale County Clerk Marriage and probate records 200 East Main Street Hartsville, TN 37074 Phone: 615-374-2906

Trousdale County Register of Deeds Land records 200 East Main Street Hartsville, TN 37074 Phone: 615-374-2921

Trousdale County Circuit Court Clerk Court records 200 East Main Street Hartsville, TN 37074 Phone: 615-374-3411

Hours: Mon.-Tues.and Thurs.-Fri. 8 am - 4:30 pm Wed.and Sat. 8 am - noon

History
The county is named after "William Trousdale (1790–1872), Creek and Mexican-American War soldier and officer, state senator and Governor of Tennessee."

Parent County
1870--Trousdale County was established 21 June 1870 from Sumner, Macon, Smith, and Wilson Counties. Early records may be found under Sumner, Macon, Smith and Wilson Counties. County seat: Hartsville

Record Loss
1900, 1904--Fires damaged records


 * Lost census: 1890
 * Lost marriage records: 1870 to 1904
 * Lost probate records: 1870 to 1904

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: Trousdale County, courtesy: TSLA. (Identifies published county histories, published local records, census records, newspapers and local records on microfilm, and select manuscripts.)

African American
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 Trousdale County linking to the information about the people buried there,


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


 * Trousdale 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 Trousdale County. Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


 * ePodunk list of Trousdale County cemeteries

Census
1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Trousdale 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.

1880


 * Scott, Betty M. and Nelwyn M. Cannon. 1880 &amp; 1900 Trousdale County, Tennessee Census records : with Added Genealogical Information and Full Name Indexes. Hartsville, Tennessee : Bet-Nel Books, 1998.
 * Sistler, Byron H. ’’1880 Census Dickson County, Tennessee.’’ Nashville, Tennessee: B. Sistler and 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. 6 1891. [Trousdale 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. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2s 1890.

1900


 * Scott, Betty M. and Nelwyn M. Cannon. 1880 &amp; 1900 Trousdale County, Tennessee Census records : with Added Genealogical Information and Full Name Indexes. Hartsville, Tennessee : Bet-Nel Books, 1998.

1910


 * Scott, Betty M. and Lorrain Bronner. 1910 &amp; 1920 Trousdale County, Tennessee Census. Lafayette, Tennessee : Ridge Runner, 2000.

1920


 * Scott, Betty M. and Lorrain Bronner. 1910 &amp; 1920 Trousdale County, Tennessee Census. Lafayette, Tennessee : Ridge Runner, 2000.
 * Young, John C., comp. Trousdale County, Tennessee Census, 1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000. Available at Ancestry ($).

1930


 * Bronner, Lorrain and Walter L. Buckinham. 1930 Trousdale County, Tennessee Census. Lebanon, Tennessee: Brawner Books, 2005.

DNA
DNA has been collected from men claiming descent from the following Trousdale 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


 * Masters, Jack and Bill Puryear. Founding of the Cumberland Settlements: The First Atlas 1779-1804: Showing Who Came, How They Came, and Where They Put Down Roots. Gallatin, Tenn.: Warioto Press, 2009. FHL US/CAN Large Q Book 976.8 E7d. Supplements: FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 E7d supp. 1 ff. Purchase at Cumberland Pioneer Settlers.

Bibliography


 * [Bishop] Bishop, Maurice Lytle. Families of Maurice Lytle Bishop. MSS., Wright State University Archives, Dayton, Ohio. FHL US/CAN Film 1769339.
 * [Hallum] Hallum, John. The Diary of an Old Lawyer; or, Scenes Behind the Curtain. Nashville, Tennessee: Southwestern Publishing House, 1895. Free digital copy.
 * [Hughes] Townsend, Evelyn Hughes and Edward E. Townsend. The Ancestors and Descendants of John Walker Hughes, Jr.: Born 1854, Died 1927. Cleveland, Tenn.: E. Townsend, 1992. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 H874t.

Land
Land Grants


 * Free index to 1500+ Pioneer Cumberland Settlements Land Grants, available online, courtesy: Cumberland Pioneer Settlers. The Cumberland Settlements region covered what is now this county. To view the land grants platted on maps, purchase the books described on this site, or access those available at the Family History Library FHL US/CAN Large Q Book 976.8 E7d.

Military
War of 1812


 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Jul. 1961):95-98. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 8 (1961); digital version at journal website. [Includes Trousdale County pensioners (p. 97).]

Civil War


 * Duke, Basil Wilson. History of Morgan's Cavalry. Cincinnati: Miami Printing and Publishing Co., 1867. Free digital copy. Includes 9th Regiment, Tennessee Calvary (Ward's).

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 Trousdale County click on the following town:


 * Hartsville

Early newspapers have been abstracted:


 * Scott, Betty C. Meadows. Trousdale County, Tennessee, Obituaries, Articles and Scrapbook Clippings: August 1862 - December 1958. 2 vols. Lafayette, Tenn.: Ridge Runner, 2002-2004. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8482 V4s ff.

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 Trousdale 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 Trousdale 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.
 * Trousdale County Historical Society Newsletter
 * Family History Library has Volume 6, issue 4 (Oct - Dec 1995)FHL US/CAN 976.8482/H1 B2 Volumes 1 - 11 (Jan 1990 - Jan 2000) indexed at PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) For additional information see the Trousdale County Historical Society website

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 Trousdale County Court has responsibility for the probate records.

Taxation

 * [1789] Cumberland Settlements, Tax List, 1789, The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Fall 1990). For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
 * [1917] Jim Marshall Tax Assessment, Hartsville, 1917, Trousdale County Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 13, No. 3 (Jul. 2002).

Marriage
The original Trousdale County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. Due to fire, the marriage records of Trousdale County are lost until 1905.

The following Trousdale County marriage records are microfilmed:


 * [1905-1991] Available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives.
 * [1905-1959] Available at the Family History Library.

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


 * Walker, Dorothy and Eldon Walker. Trousdale County, Tennessee, marriage index, 1905-1950. S.l. : s.n., 1995. Bride and groom indexes.
 * 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.

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

Divorce
In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Trousdale County divorce papers in diverse County Courthouse records, 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 Trousdale County (or what later became Trousdale 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.]

Libraries

 * Fred A. Vaught Memorial Library 211 White Oak St Hartsville, Tennessee 37074 Phone: 615-374-3677

Societies

 * Trousdale County Historical Society 211 White Oak Street Hartsville, Tennessee 37074 Telephone: 615-374-3677 The society publishes a quarterly newsletter.


 * Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society PO Box 330948 Nashville, TN, USA 37203-7507 The society serves the 40 counties of middle Tennessee of which Trousdale 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

Web Sites

 * Cumberland Pioneer Settlers Cumberland Compact Signers, Pioneer Land Grant Recipients, Publication Descriptions, Free Book Indexes
 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Rootwalker: Genealogy Pages for Northern Middle TN Free Genealogy Resources for the Region
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-ROOTWALKER-L (North Central Tennessee Genealogy List)
 * Trousdale County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Trousdale County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Trousdale County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)