Lawrence County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Lawrence County

Middle Tennessee county. Established 1817.





County Courthouse


Lawrence County Courthouse 240 West Gaines Street Lawrenceburg, Tennessee 38464 Phone: 931-762-7700

Lawrence County Archives 2588 Highway 43 S Leoma, TN 38468 Phone: 931-852-4091 Email: lcarchives@lorettotel.net The Lawrence County Archives was formed in 1988 under the supervision of the Lawrence County Public Records Commission. The records are now permanently located in the First Farmer's and Merchant's building in Leoma, TN

Hours: Monday - Friday 8 am - 4:30 pm The archives could be closed for lunch at varying times. It also may be closed at various time for a few hours or a day. These changes will be posted on the website, but be sure to call if traveling a long distance to visit the archives.

History


The county is named after U.S. naval officer James Lawrence (1781-1813).

Parent County
1817--Lawrence County was created 21 October 1817 from Hickman and Maury Counties. County seat: Lawrenceburg

Record Loss

 * Lost census: 1890

Research Guides

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

Census
1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Lawrence 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, these indexes are often transcribed more accurately than those available online.

1820


 * Bentley, Elizabeth P. Index to the 1820 Census of Tennessee. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981.

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. [Lawrence 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.

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


 * Lawrence County Heritage Book Committee. The Heritage of Lawrence County, Tennessee. Waynesville, N.C.: County Heritage, 2008. FHL US/CAN Book 976.842 H2L.

Bibliography


 * [Allen] Rowles, W.P. and Alfred Osborn Pope Nicholson. The Life and Character of Capt. Wm. B. Allen: of Lawrence County, Tenn., Who Fell at the Storming of Monterey, on the 21st of September, 1846. With an Appendix, Containing a Number of His Essays and Speeches. Columbia, Tenn.: J. J. M'Daniel, "Democratic Herald" Book Office, 1853. Digital version at Google Books.
 * [Choates] Williams, Irene Choate and Betty Lee Swann. The Choates of Lawrence County, Tennessee. n.p.: I.C. Williams, 1971. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 C451wi.
 * [Clayton] Franks, Mary Nell Hollis and Shirley Ann Hollis. William "Flat River" Clayton and Benjamin Crews: Families of Person County, NC to Lawrence County, TN. Multi-volume. Leoma, Tenn.: Family Tree Press, 2003. FHL US/CAN Book 929.273 C579fm v. 1 pt. 1 ff.
 * [Crews] Franks, Mary Nell Hollis and Shirley Ann Hollis. William "Flat River" Clayton and Benjamin Crews: Families of Person County, NC to Lawrence County, TN. Multi-volume. Leoma, Tenn.: Family Tree Press, 2003. FHL US/CAN Book 929.273 C579fm v. 1 pt. 1 ff.
 * [McDonald] McDonald, William L. The McDonalds, Early Settlers and Descendents, 1834-1994. [Florence, Ala.: W.L. McDonald], 1994 Printing. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 M145mw; digital version at BYU Family History Archives. Alternative title: History of Clan McDonald in Lauderdale County, Alabama and Lawrence County, Tennessee.
 * [Reading] Redding, Mrs. Jackie and William L. McDonald. William H. Reading of Lawrence County, Tennessee; Soldier of the American Revolution: Progenitor of the Redding Families of Lauderdale County, Alabama and Lawrence County, Tennessee. Typescript, University of North Alabama, Florence, Ala. Microfilmed in 1979. FHL US/CAN Film 1035162 Item 6.

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.] The Tennessee State Library and Archives 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 The Tennessee State Library and Archives; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Military
Mexican War


 * Rowles, W.P. and Alfred Osborn Pope Nicholson. The Life and Character of Capt. Wm. B. Allen: of Lawrence County, Tenn., Who Fell at the Storming of Monterey, on the 21st of September, 1846. With an Appendix, Containing a Number of His Essays and Speeches. Columbia, Tenn.: J. J. M'Daniel, "Democratic Herald" Book Office, 1853. Digital version at Google Books.

Spanish American War


 * Hale, Will T.The First Tennessee Regiment, United States Volunteers. Nashville, 1899. Free digital copy.

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 Lawrence 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

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Lawrence County, Tennessee 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.

Yesterday and Today in Lawrence County

The Family History Library has Volume 11, no. 2 (1988). FHL US/CAN Book 976.842 B2y

Lawrence County Heritage

Index is found on the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) See the Lawrence County Genealogical Societywebsite for further information and the Lawrence County Heritage table of contents for Volume 1 (1997) to the present.

Prisons
Learn if your Lawrence County ancestors went to prison!


 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1831-1850, free index available online, courtesy: Tennessee State Library and Archives.
 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870, free index available online, courtesy: Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Probate
The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Lawrence County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee. Available indexes:


 * 1) Will Book B: 1829-1847

The following Lawrence County probate records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * [1829-1861] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Tennessee Wills &amp; Administrations 1779-1861. Nashville, Tenn. Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, Inc., 1990. FHL US/CAN 976.8 P22s. [Includes an index to this county's probate records.]
 * [1829-1847] Strictly By Name (see above).

Taxation

 * Carter, Marymaud Killen, Joan Coffey Hudgins and Shirley Hollis Rice. Lawrence County, Tennessee, Census Records: 1820, 1840 and 1840 and Miscellaneous Early County Records, of Private Acts, Field Calls for the First Civil Districts, Marriages, Taxable Property and Polls, Old Newspapers, Business Directory, and Officials. FHL US/CAN Book 976.842 X2r 1820-1840.

Vital Records
Death

For deaths of Methodists in Lawrence 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
Lawrence County, Tennessee Genealogical Society 2258 Highway 43 South Leoma, Tennessee 38468 Telephone 931-852-4091

Web Sites

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