Tennessee Church Records

Introduction
Church records and the information they provide vary greatly, depending upon the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation such as age; dates of birth, christening, baptism, or death; and marriage information, such as the bride’s maiden name and the names of both sets of parents. Records may include other relatives who were witnesses or members of the congregation. The members of some churches were predominantly of one nationality or ethnic group.

Before 1900 the largest religious groups in Tennessee were the Baptist, Christian (Disciples of Christ), Methodist, and Presbyterian churches. The Family History Library has copies of some original church records, as well as published transcripts and histories. An overview of the role of religion in Tennessee is in:


 * Norton, Herman A. Religion in Tennessee, 1777–1945. Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press, 1981.

The Tennessee State Library and Archives has pre-1900 records from 100 churches. An index to these records is:


 * Sistler, Byron. Vital Statistics from 19th Century Tennessee Church Records. Nashville, Tennessee: Sistler, 1979. . The record is arranged alphabetically by surname. Entries may contain birth, marriage, death, and burial dates. The number following each entry refers to a microfilm number listed on the inside cover of the book.

Other sources for information on church records available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives include:


 * Guide to Church Records at TSLA: Manuscripts &amp; Books describes what they hold on microfilm, as manuscripts, and as published books. County-by-county, church-by-church listing with description and the the years covered.
 * Tennessee Diaries, Memoirs and Church Records in the Manuscript Division, Tennessee State Library and Archives: Listed by County. Nashville, Tenn.: Manuscript Division, 1965. Digital versions of this guide are available at Ancestry ($); and Heritage Quest Online ($).

Some denominations have collected their records in central repositories. You can write to the following addresses to learn where their records are located.

Non-Denominational
Ruth E. Browning abstracted names and events from The Christian Messenger and created an every name index. The Christian Messenger was a religious newspaper during the 1800's which included "letters with information about the churches, obituaries, death notices, names of subscribers, letters from preachers, etc." The information abstracted from this newspaper came from several counties in Tennessee.

Baptist
Baptist minutes, membership lists, and other records were kept by the clerk of each congregation. Many clerks considered their papers their personal property and upon their deaths their papers often became the property of their descendants. As a result, many early Baptist records were lost or remain unaccounted for. A few clerks passed their records to their successors and the records remained with the church. Some Baptist records have been donated to public libraries or historical and genealogical societies.

The Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives is the repository for many Southern Baptist congregations in the South. To request a search of these records, you must have the name and location of the church. The address of the historical library and archive is:

Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives The Southern Baptist Convention Building 901 Commerce Street #400 Nashville, TN 37203 Telephone: 1-615-244-0344

Baptists published a religious newspaper known as The Tennessee Baptist. Issues from 1835 to 1900 have been reproduced on 4 CDs. To learn more, visit the Baptist History Homepage.

An 1899 directory of Baptist ministers lists biographical details about many ministers born or serving in the state:


 * The Ministerial Directory of the Baptist Churches in the United States of America. Oxford, Ohio: Ministerial Directory Co., 1899. Digital version at Google Books.

The following contain brief descriptions of Baptist churches in Tennessee at the end of the 1930s and describe the records that were available then:


 * Inventory of the Church Archives of Tennessee: Tennessee Baptist Convention, Nashville Baptist Association. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Historical Records Survey Project, 1939..
 * Inventory of the Church Archives of Tennessee: Tennessee Baptist Convention, Ocoee Baptist Association. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Historical Records Survey Project, 1942..

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
Early church records, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for Tennessee Wards and Branches can be found on film and are located at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The film numbers, for each ward, can be locate through the FamilySearch Catalog. Or by refering to Jaussi, Laureen R., and Gloria D. Chaston. Register of Genealogical Society Call Numbers. 2 vols. Provo, Utah: Genealogy Tree, 1982. . These volumes contain the film numbers for many (but not all) membership and temple record films.

Disciples of Christ
Disciples of Christ Historical Society 1101 Nineteenth Avenue South Nashville, TN 37212-2196 Telephone: 1-866-834-7563 (toll free)

Jewish
Jewish Federation of Nashville Middle Tennessee Library and Archives 801 Percy Warner Boulevard, Suite 102 Nashville, TN 37205 Telephone: 1-615-356-3242 x255 Fax: 1-615-352-0056

A description of Jewish organizations and an inventory of their records as of 1941 is:


 * Inventory of the Church Archives of Tennessee: Jewish Congregations. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Historical Records Survey, 1941.

Lutheran
The repository for Lutheran Church records in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean synods is at:

James R. Crumley, Jr. Archives Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary 4201 North Main Street Columbia, SC 29203 Telephone: 803-786-5150 x234 E-mail: [mailto:archives@ltss.edu archives@ltss.edu]

A collection of vital statistics of east Tennessee Lutheran Churches is:


 * Daughters of the American Revolution, General James Breckinridge Chapter (Roanoke, Virginia). Marriages, Births and Deaths from Virginia and East Tennessee Lutheran Church in America Records. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1971.

History:


 * Henkel, Socrates. History of the Evangelical Lutheran Tennessee Synod. New Market, Virginia, Henkel, 1890. Free digital copy, courtesy: Internet Archive.

Methodist
Tennessee is served by three Methodist conferences that oversee the missions and business of the church. The conferences have collected records from churches that have closed. Records of existing congregations are generally still in the churches.

The Holston Conference oversees the eastern third of the state, the Tennessee Conference oversees the middle third, and the Memphis Conference oversees the western third.

Holston Conference Office: P.O. Box 850 Alcoa, TN 37701 Telephone: 1-866-690-4080 Fax: 1-865-690-3162

The Kelly Library of Emory and Henry College houses the archives of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church: "Kelly Library Emory and Henry College P.O. Box 948 30480 Ambrister Drive Emory VA 24327 Telephone: 1-540-944-6668" Tennessee Conference 520 Commerce Street, Suite 205 Nashville, TN 37203 Telephone: 1-615-263-0518 (call to make an appointment)

Memphis Conference United Methodist Archives Luther L. Gobbel Library Lambuth University 705 Lambuth Boulevard Jackson, TN 38301 Telephone: 1-901-425-3270

Lambuth University Library houses an excellent collection of original Methodist newspapers, such as The Nashville Christian Advocate. Death notices and obituaries for prominent Methodists from all over the region appeared in these newspapers. FHL has acquired abstracts and indexes:


 * Smith, Jonathan K.T. Genealogical Abstracts from Reported Deaths, the Louisville and Nashville Christian Advocate and the Nashville Christian Advocate. [1852-1856] Jackson, Tenn.: J.K.T. Smith, 1997..
 * 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. ; free digital versions at David Donahue Memorial: Tennessee Records Repository.

For a general history of early Methodism in Tennessee, see:


 * McFerrin, John B. History of Methodism in Tennessee 1783-1818. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: Southern Methodist Publishing House, 1869-1871. Digital version of Vol. 1 at Google Books; digital versions of Vol. 2 at Google Books, Internet Archive.

Presbyterian
The records of the Presbyterian Churches are kept in the individual congregations. When a congregation wants to have records archived or when a church closes, records are sent to:

Presbyterian Historical Society 425 Lombard Street Philadelphia, PA 19147 Telephone: 1-215-627-1852 Fax: 1-215-627-0509

Records for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church are sent to:

The Historical Foundation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America The Historical Library and Archives 8207 Traditional Place Cordova, TN 38016 Telephone: 1-901-276-8602 Fax: 1-901-272-3913 E-mail: [mailto:archives@cumberland.org archives@cumberland.org]

These archives collect papers of ministers; and session, trustee, and women’s missionary society records. These records may contain baptisms, marriages, and communions of members. The staff at the archives does not do research; however, you can do research in person for a small fee.

The Presbyterian Church in Tennessee is coordinated by the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. The library of the seminary does not collect records of any congregation, but it does have ministerial directories with information on many ministers. The staff of the library can direct you to congregations in the state where records are. Direct your inquiries to:

Louisville Presbyterian Seminary 1044 Alta Vista Road Louisville, KY 40205 Telephone: 1-502-895-3411; 1-800-264-1839 (toll free) Fax: 1-502-895-1096

For a history of early Tennessee Presbyterians, see:


 * McDonnold, Benjamin Wilburn. History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Second Edition, Nashville, Tennessee: Board of Publication of Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1888..

A collection of genealogical abstracts of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee is:


 * Eddlemon, Sherida K. Genealogical Abstracts of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church: 1836 and Beyond. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage, 1995..
 * Boisen, Anton T., A Rural Survey in Tennessee. New York: Redfield Borther, Inc., 1912. Free digital copy, courtesy: Internet Archive.
 * Alexander, John Edministon A Brief History of the Synod of Tennessee, from 1817 to 1887. MacCalla and Company, 1890. Free digital copy, courtesy: Google Books.

Roman Catholic
Records of existing Catholic parishes are generally kept in the individual churches, though copies of sacramental records are sent to the appropriate diocese. Sacramental records include baptisms and confirmations. They may contain names of godparents or information about marriages or burials.

The diocesan archives also have some school records. Requests for genealogical searches must be submitted in writing. To receive death information, you must include proof of your relationship to the deceased. The state of Tennessee is served by three Catholic dioceses.

The Diocese of Knoxville serves East Tennessee (Anderson, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Cumberland, Fentress, Greene, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hancock, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Loudon, McMinn, Marion, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Pickett, Polk, Rhea, Roane, Scott, Sequatchie, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, Union, Washington counties).


 * Diocese of Knoxville 805 Northshore Drive Southwest Knoxville, TN 37919 Telephone: 865-584-3307 Fax: 865-584-7538

The Diocese of Nashville serves Middle Tennessee (Bedford, Cannon, Cheatham, Clay, Coffee, Davidson, DeKalb, Dickson, Franklin, Giles, Grundy, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Jackson, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Macon, Maury, Montgomery, Moore, Overton, Perry, Putnam, Robertson, Rutherford, Smith, Stewart, Sumner, Trousdale, Van Buren, Wayne, White, Williamson, Wilson counties).


 * Diocese of Nashville The Catholic Center 2400 Twenty-first Avenue, South Nashville, TN 37212-5387 Telephone: 1-615-383-6393 Fax: 1-615-292-8411

The Diocese of Memphis serves West Tennessee (Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, McNairy, Madison, Obion, Shelby, Tipton, Weakley counties).


 * Diocese of Memphis The Catholic Center 5825 Shelby Oaks Drive Memphis, TN 38134-7316 Telephone: 1-901-373-1200 Fax: 1-901-373-1269

The dioceses of Tennessee are part of region five, with the archdiocese at:


 * Archdiocese of Louisville P.O. Box 1073 Louisville, KY 40201-1073 Telephone: 1-502-585-3291