Hamilton County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Hamilton County





County Courthouse
Hamilton County Courthouse 625 Georgia Avenue, Room 201 Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402 Phone: (423) 209-6500

Hours: Monday - Friday 8 am - 4:30 pm

History


The county is named after Founding Father Alexander Hamilton (c1755-1804).

Parent County
1819--Hamilton County was created 25 October 1819 from Cherokee Indian Lands. County seat: Chattanooga

Record Loss
1910 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.

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


 * Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
 * Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle

Neighboring Counties

 * Bledsoe
 * Bradley
 * Catoosa County, Georgia
 * Dade County, Georgia
 * Marion
 * Meigs
 * Rhea
 * Sequatchie
 * Walker County, Georgia
 * Whitfield County, Georgia

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Hamilton 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 - Lost

Directories

 * Chattanooga, TN, 1890. Chattanooga, TN: Connelly &amp; Fais, 1890. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Chattanooga, TN, 1891. Chattanooga, TN: Connelly &amp; Fais, 1891. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

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


 * [Lauderdale] Lauderdale, Charles J. The Lauderdales of Scotland and America, 1056-1936. Joplin, MO: Gahagan Print. Co., 1937. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 1307515 Item 5, digital version available at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Young] Stein, Carl F. Some Descendents of James Pickens Young 1815: of Polk, Rhea, Hamilton, Blount, &amp; Knox Counties, Tenn., Cherokee, &amp; Gaston Counties, North Carolina. Family Group Sheets. FHL US/CAN Film 2055385 Item 2.

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.

Local Histories

 * Armstrong, Zella. The History of Hamilton County and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Chattanooga, Tenn.: Lookout Pub. Co., c1931-c1940. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Torrey, Bradford. Spring Notes from Tennessee. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and company, c1896. Digital version, free. Description of local cabins, Confederate Veterans, Chattanooga in the 1890's.

Periodicals
Ansearchin' News

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Hamilton 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.

East Tennessee Roots

A genealogical article with abstracts of Hamilton County, Tennessee records has been published in East Tennessee Roots (10 vols.). A subject index to this publication's articles is available online. Surname indexes to Volumes 9 and 10 are also available online. The Family History Library has collected most issues of East Tennessee Roots FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 D25e.

Prisons

 * 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.

Taxation

 * [1836] Douthat, James L. 1836 Hamilton County, Tennessee, Civil Districts and Tax Lists. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1993. FHL US/CAN Book 976.882 R4d.

Societies and Libraries
Hamilton County Tennessee Genealogy Society 430 Runyan Dr. Chattanooga, TN 37405

Family History Centers
Chattanooga Tennessee 3067 Ooltewah Ringgold Rd Ooltewah, Hamilton, Tennessee, United States Telephone: 423-892-7632 Hours: Tues./Thurs./Sat. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. -- Evenings: Tues. &amp; Wed. 7 - 9 p.m. Attention: Inclement Weather Closings will coinside with school closings.

This is not a mailing address. Due to limited staff, Family History Centers are unable to respond to mail inquiries.

Web Sites

 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Hamilton County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Hamilton County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Hamilton County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TNHAMILT-L (Hamilton County, Tennessee List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: ETN-L (East Tennessee List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: ETN-OZ-L (East Tennessee Migrants to Ozarks Region List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: SE-TN-L (Southeast Tennessee List)