Moore County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Moore County Middle Tennessee county in the Chestnut Ridge region. Established 1871.





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

County Courthouse
Moore County Courthouse 196 Main St. Lynchburg, TN 37352 Phone: 1-931-759-7346


 * County Clerk has marriage and probate records
 * Register of Deeds has land records
 * Circuit Court Clerk has court records

Records are located at the courthouse. Mailing address is P.O. Box 206, Lynchburg, TN 37352

Hours: Mon., Tues., Wed., Fri. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 8 a.m.-12 p.m. Closed Thursdays

History
The county is named after "Tennessee state legislator William Moore."

Parent County
1871--Moore County was established 14 December 1871 from Lincoln, Franklin, Coffee, and Bedford Counties. County seat: Lynchburg

County Pronunciation


Did we get the accent right? If not, contact Nathan W. Murphy, [mailto:murphynw@familysearch.org murphynw@familysearch.org].

Boundary Changes
"Rotating Formation Tennessee County Boundary Maps" (1777-1985) may be viewed for free at the My Tennessee Genealogy website. They rely on AniMap 3.0 software.

Record Loss
Lost census: 1890

County records are complete.

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Moore County, courtesy: TSLA. (Identifies published county histories, published local records, census records, newspapers and local records on microfilm, and select manuscripts.)
 * "Moore County Genealogical Records Survey," The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Spring 1989). For access, see Periodicals.

African American
United States African Americans Tennessee African Americans

Biographies

 * Douthat, James L. Moore County, Tennessee Biographies. 1887; reprint, Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Free Surname Index and purchase details at Mountain Press website.

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 Moore County linking to the information about the people buried there,


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


 * MooreCounty, 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 Moore county. Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


 * ePodunk list of Moore County cemeteries

Census
1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 Moore County federal population schedules 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 Moore County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files and scanned census images. [The USGenWeb Census Project®].

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. [Pickett 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.

DNA
DNA has been collected from men claiming descent from the following Moore County residents. Attempts have not been made to verify the lineages of those tested.


 * [Doss] Descendant of Samuel H. Doss, b. 1803 Virginia, resident of Shelby and Moore counties, Tennessee; Illinois; and Madison County, Arkansas. Y-DNA 37 Marker Test, FTDNA (Kit 85939). Genetic signature available online (labeled Sh-1), genealogical description available online, courtesy: The Doss DNA Project, World Families. Matches have been found.

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

As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Moore, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 4,000 entries.

Bibliography


 * [Daniel] Parkes, John Franklin. Descendants of Calaway Daniel. Online at the Montgomery County GenealogyWebsite.
 * [Frost] Frost, Wright Wilson. The Frosts and Related Families of Bedford County, Tennessee. Knoxville, TN: W.W. Frost, c1962. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 F929f and FHL US/CAN Fiche 6104871; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($) and World Vital Records ($).
 * [Edens] Colsher, Sue M. The Edens Family.Online at the Montgomery County Genealogy Website.
 * [Felps] Parks, Roy H. The Felps Family. Online at the Montgomery County GenealogyWebsite.
 * [Logan] Dietz, Virginia My Logan ancestors from Scotland to Logan, Missouri Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 2002. FHL book 929.273 L828. Digital version available at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Parkes] Parks, Rufus Alonzo. The Parkes Family, The Parkes Collectionand A Statement of M.N. Parkes, Jr.Online at the Montgomery County GenealogyWebsite.
 * [Simpson] Miner, Ethel Nerim. Descendants of Rice and Rachael Simpson: of Franklin and Moore Counties, Tennessee. Fountain Hills, Arizona: Four Peaks Enterprise, 1986. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 Si58me.

Land

 * Evans, 91 deeds dated 1807-1915 in Moore County, Tennessee placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2009. It is necessary to purchase Direct Line Software's DeedMapper product to view the maps.]

Local Histories

 * Goodspeed firm, publishers, Chicago. History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Giles, Lincoln, Franklin and Moore counties.Nashville, Tenn., The Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1886. Free digital copy.

Military
War of 1812


 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Apr. 1961):49-52. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 8 (1961); digital version at journal website. [Includes Moore County pensioners (p. 49).]

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 Moore County click on the following city:


 * Lynchburg

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 Moore 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
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Moore 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 Moore 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.

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 a few 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 Moore County Court and Chancery Court have responsibility for the probate records.

Taxation
The following Moore County tax records have been abstracted:


 * [1860] Tax List, 1860, District 1, Moore County Review, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Jul. 1998).

Vital Records
See also Tennessee Vital Records

Births

 * Moore County Clerk.Vital statistics, births and deaths 1908-1911, births 1881-1882. Manuscript. TSLA, 1967.

Marriage
The original Moore County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. The following Moore County marriage records are microfilmed:


 * [1872-1988] Available at the TSLA.
 * [1872-1966] Available at the Family History Library. Some volumes are indexed.

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


 * Tennessee, Chancery Court. Chancery Court Records (Moore County, Tennessee)1830-1993; index, 1915-1978. Manuscript. Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 2007.
 * 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. Moore, 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.

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

Death

 * Moore County Clerk.Vital statistics, births and deaths 1908-1911, births 1881-1882. Manuscript. TSLA, 1967.
 * Tennessee Deaths and Burials 1874-1955 at Record Search Pilot at FamilySearch. Name index with extracted death certificate information. Search by surname then browse through the results. You may need to supply variant spellings of the names.

For deaths of Methodists in Moore County (or what became Moore 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
Moore County Historical and Genealogical Society P.O. Box 408 Lynchburg, TN 37352 Phone: 1-931-759-7285 E-mail: georgestone@cafes.net Archive located in the basement of the County Building in Lynchburg Hours: Fridays 9 am - 3 pm Phone: 1-931-759-7068 E-mail: moorecountyarchives@yahoo.com

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

Moore County Public Library P.O. Box 408 Lynchburg, TN 37352 Phone: 1-931-759-7285 Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues. 1-8 p.m. Sat. 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Web Sites

 * Chestnut Ridge Cousins Genealogy Records, Surname Exchange, Maps, Obituaries, Photos, History
 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Moore County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Moore County, TN Genealogy and Family History(Linkpendium)
 * Moore County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Moore County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-CHESTNUTRIDGECOUSINS-L (Chestnut Ridge Region Genealogy List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-SOUTHCENTRAL-L (South Central Tennessee List)