Lewis County, Tennessee Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for explorer Meriwether Lewis, who died and was buried at Grinder's Stand near Hohenwald in 1809. The County is located in the south-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Lewis County Courthouse 110 N Park Street Hohenwald, TN 38462 Lewis County Courthouse Phone: 931-796-3734 Lewis County Clerk Phone: 931-796-2200 Lewis County Clerk & Master Phone:  931-796-3734 Lewis Circuit Court Clerk Phone:  931-796-3724

County Clerk has marriage records from 1881, Probate and court records Clerk Circuit Court has divorce records Register of Deeds has land 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. Established 1843.

The county is named after Explorer Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809).

Business, Commerce, and 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. . Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes Lewis County.]

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources
 * Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator

Census Records
1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Lewis 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.

See Lewis County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. The USGenWeb Census Project®

1810-1891
 * Tennessee, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1891 at Ancestry ($)

1850


 * Lightfoot, Marise P. and Evelyn B. Shackelford. Maury County Neighbors Records of Giles, Lewis and Marshall Counties, Tennessee.Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee s.n., 1967.

1880


 * Sistler, Byron. 1880 Census Lewis County, Tennessee.Nashville, Tennessee Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, 1998.

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. . Lewis 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..

1891 Male Voters


 * 1891 Tennessee Enumeration of Male Voters 1891 at Ancestry ($)

Church Records
Church of Christ
 * 1871-1894 - Union Church of Christ Baptism Index 1871-1894. Batch in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

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. The 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 the TSLA; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Genealogies
As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Lewis (County), Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 7,000 entries.


 * Lewis County Historical Society. History and Families, Lewis County, Tennessee. Paducah, Ky.: Turner Pub. Co., 1995..

Land and Property Records

 * Lewis County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1844 and is located at the county Courthouse, 110 N Park St., Hohenwald, TN 38462; Telephone: (931) 796-2200. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries.
 * The Family History Library has microfilm copies of deeds 1844-1905 with indexes 1844-1926; land entries and surveys 1827-1883.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)

Military Records
War of 1812
 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Oct. 1960):90-93. ; digital version at journal website. Includes Lewis County pensioners (p. 93).

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


 * 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Clack's) - CSA - Company K.
 * 19th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Biffle's) - CSA - Company H.
 * 48th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Voorhies') - CSA - Company C.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Lewis County:


 * Lewis County, Tennessee 1890 Civil War Veterans Census. All spelling is recorded as it was written, contributed by: Reita Jones Burress 2004.
 * TNGenWeb, Lewis County The Civil War Page. Confederate Roll of Honor: Lewis County, Lewis County Confederate Pension Applications, Roster of Company C, Clack's 3rd Infantry Regiment.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Lewis 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. Lewis County, page 357.

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


 * Hohenwald


 * 1794-1851 - Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978..
 * 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..
 * The River Counties Quarterly: (14 vols.) edited by Jill K. Garrett.

Probate Records
The Lewis County Court has responsibility for the probate records.

Online Records and Indexes
 * 1779-2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1846-1931  [ Lewis County] portion of  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; handwritten indexes may be found at the front or back of some volumes.

Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1844-1900  Lightfoot, Marise P. and Evelyn B. Shackelford. Maury County Neighbors: Records of Giles, Lewis and Marshall Counties, Tennessee. Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee: [N.p.], 1967. Indexed. Includes these Lewis County records: cemeteries, marriages, historical sketch, abstracts of wills and settlements 1844-1900, and 1850 census. (FHL book 976.8 V22Ls.)
 * 1842-1861  Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Tennessee Wills &amp; Administrations 1779-1861. Nashville, Tenn. Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, Inc., 1990. . Includes an index to this county's probate records.
 * 1846-1936  Coleman, Brenda Willis. Tennessee, Lewis County Court Clerk Wills, Nov 1846-1936. Atoka, Tenn.: B.W. Coleman, 199-?..

Tax Records
Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1854 Tax List, 1854, River Counties, Vol. 12, Nos. 1-4 (1983).
 * 1887 Tax List, 1887, River Counties, Vol. 9, Nos. 1-4 (1980).
 * 1917 Tax List, 1917, River Counties, Vol. 10, Nos. 1-4 (1981); Vol. 12, Nos. 1-4 (1983).

Birth

 * 1828-1939 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1869-1909 - Tennessee Delayed Birth Records 1869-1909 at Ancestry ($)
 * 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 ($)
 * 1847-1895 - Lewis County Marriage Index 1847-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * Maury County Neighbors: Records of Giles, Lewis and Marshall Counties, Tennessee. Digital copy  FHL Book 976.8 V22Ls
 * 1980-2014 - Marriage Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1844-1880 - Early Middle Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. ff. Indexes names of brides, grooms, and marriage dates for this county for specified years.

Death

 * 1874-1955 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 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

Libraries
Lewis County Public Library 15 Kyle Ave. Hohenwald, TN 38462 Phone: 931-796-5365 Website

Societies
Lewis County Historical Society PO Box 703 Hohenwald, TN 38462 Phone: 931-796-3505 Facebook

Meriwether Lewis Chapter Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation P.O. Box 145 Hohenwald, TN 38462 Phone: 931-796-5365 or 931-796-5654 E-mail: pchoate@tfbol.com or chapter@meriwetherlewis.net Website

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

Websites

 * Lewis County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Lewis 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

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