Fentress County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Fentress County  Middle Tennessee county. Established 1823.

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

County Courthouse
Fentress County Courthouse 101 Main Street South Jamestown, TN 38556 Phone: 1-931-879-8615

County Clerk has marriage records Phone: 1-931-879-8014

Register of Deeds has land records Phone: 1-931-879-7818

Circuit Court Clerk has court records Phone: 1-931-879-7919

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 8 a.m.-noon

History
The county is named after "Tennessee state legislator James Fentress."

Parent County
1823--Fentress County was created 28 November 1823 from Overton and Morgan Counties. County seat: Jamestown

County Pronunciation

 * 1) Hear it spoken (female)
 * 2) Hear it spoken (male)

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
1905 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.


 * Lost census: 1890
 * Lost marriages: 1823 and 1904
 * Lost probate: 1823 to 1904

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


 * Arlene Eakle, When the Records are Gone in Tennessee Genealogy Blog
 * Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
 * Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle

Populated Places
Cities and Towns:

Neighboring Counties

 * Cumberland
 * Morgan
 * Overton
 * Pickett
 * Putnam
 * Scott

Getting Started
Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Fentress County census, court, land, and tax records. To determine which books are being searched, or to search each publication's index individually, click here. You are now equipped with a checklist of books to pull off the shelves at a genealogy library, or a wish list for your personal book collection.

Research Guides

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

African American
United States African Americans Tennessee African Americans

Cemeteries
Tennessee cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.

One of the best places to start searches for Fentress County cemetery records is:


 * Wheeler, Mable Rushton. Cemetery Records, Fentress County, Tennessee. Columbia, Tenn.: Woodward and Stinson, 1988. . Free lookups available!. More Free Lookups Available!

The following websites may contain Fentress County cemetery records:


 * 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 Fentress County linking to the information about the people buried there,


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


 * Fentress County, Tennessee, USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project lists many cemeteries in the county and has transcripts of the tombstones arranged by cemetery.


 * Fentress County cemetery information with transcriptions on TNGenweb Project
 * The Family History Library Catalog lists some . Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


 * ePodunk list of Fentress County cemeteries

Census
1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Fentress 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.

1830


 * Sistler, Byron H. 1830 Census, East Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: n.p., 1969..
 * Hatfield, Wanda S. Early Records, Fentress County, Tennessee: 1830, 1840, 1850 Census; 1833 Enumeration. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 1988.

1833


 * Hatfield, Wanda S. Early Records, Fentress County, Tennessee: 1830, 1840, 1850 Census; 1833 Enunmeration. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 1988.

1840


 * Hatfield, Wanda S. Early Records, Fentress County, Tennessee: 1830, 1840, 1850 Census; 1833 Enunmeration. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 1988.

1840 Pensioners


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. . 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. [See Tennessee, Middle District, Fentress County on page 155.]

1850


 * Carpenter, V.K.Seventh Census of the United States, 1850, Fentress County, Tennessee. Huntsville, Arkansas: Century Enterprises, Genealogical Service, 1969.
 * Hatfield, Wanda S. Early Records, Fentress County, Tennessee: 1830, 1840, 1850 Census; 1833 Enunmeration. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 1988.
 * Peden, Eva C. 1850 Census of Fentress County, Tennessee.Glasgow, Kentucky, Gorin Genealogical Publishing, 1992.
 * Robbins, Kathleen W.1850 Fentress County Census. Huntsville, Tennessee: Scott County Historical Society, 19-?

1860


 * Robbins, Kathleen W.1860 Fentress County Census. Huntsville, Tennessee: Scott County Historical Society, 198-?

1870


 * Hatfield, Wanda S. 1870 Federal Census Fentress County, Tennessee. Pall Mall, Tennessee: W.S. Hatfield, 1992.

1880


 * Hatfield, Wanda S. 1880 Federal Census Fentress County, Tennessee. S.I.:s.n., 1986?
 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census Fentress County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: B. Sistler and Associates, 1993.

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. . [Fentress County is included in Vol. 5.]
 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1890 Civil War Veterans Census, Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: Byron Sister and Associates, 1978..

1900


 * Hatfield, Wanda S. 1900 Federal Census of Fentress County, Tennessee. Pall Mall, Tennessee: W.S. Hatfield, 1991
 * Minton, Vestina L.Fentress County Census, Tennessee,1900.Harrogate, Tennessee: T. and V. Minton, 1990.

1910


 * Hatfield, Wanda S. 1910 Federal Census of Fentress County, Tennessee. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 1989

1920


 * Ramsey, Gerald R.1920 Census of Fentress County, Tennessee.Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 1994.

Court
Court records began in 1842

Genealogy
"This Personal Ancestral File database contains genealogies of nearly every family to live in Fentress County from its foundation." (Info file):


 * York, Bruce E. Fentress County, Tennessee Genealogy Database. Gilbert, Arizona: B.E. York, 2006..

Land

 * Fentress County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1820 and is located at Courthouse, Main St., Jamestown, TN 38556; (931) 879-8615. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries.
 * The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Fentress County land records. They offer a research service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee. Available indexes:


 * 1) Deed Book A: 1820-1838
 * 2) Deed Book B: 1837-1843


 * The Family History Library has microfilm copies of deeds 1820-1901 with indexes 1820-1904; land entry books 1824-1901.

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.

Local Histories

 * Hogue, Albert Ross. History of Fentress County, Tennessee: The Old Home of Mark Twain's Ancestors. Nashville, Tenn.: Press of Williams Printing Co., 1916. Digital version at Google Books. 1975 reprint:.

Military
Revolutionary War

The following Fentress County Revolutionary War records are available online through TNGenWeb:


 * 1835 Pension Roll
 * 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions
 * Select Revolutionary War Pension Applications

Additional resources include:


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. . 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. [See Tennessee, Middle District, Fentress County on page 155.]
 * Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." Digital version at Ancestry ($). Tennessee entries abstracted online at Tennesseans in the Revolutionary War, courtesy: TNGenWeb. [Includes veterans from this county; Tennessee section begins on page 381.]

War of 1812


 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Apr. 1960):40-45. ; digital version at journal website. [Includes Fentress County pensioners (p. 44)]
 * Transcription typed and formatted by Harold Keisling. Third? Regiment Tennessee Militia, Capt. Wiley Huddelston's Company Raised from men who were from Overton, Pickett and Fentress County, Tennessee. Courtesy: TNGenWeb

Civil War


 * Civl War Research Database $
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Civil War service men from Fentress County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are the military units that were formed in or had many men from Fentress County.

Confederate Soldiers

 * 4th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Murray's) - CSA - Company F.
 * 8th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Smith's) - CSA - Company I.
 * 8th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company F.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Fentress County:

 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications : Fentress County, (accessed 30 Jan 2012). 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), (accessed 30 Jan 2012). Online at Internet Archive. Fentress County, page 333.
 * 1890 Census for Pickett, Fentress, &amp; Clay Counties, (accessed 30 Jan 2012). Here is a listing of all Union Civil War veterans and their wives. It lists name, rank, company, town they lived in, any ailments, and county.
 * Fentress County Tennessee Civil War Heros, (accessed 30 Jan 2012).

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 Fentress County click on the following cities:


 * Allardt
 * Jamestown

Occupations

 * Tennesse Bureau of Agriculture, Statistics and Mines. Coal Mines and Mining--Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: A.B. Travel, 1883. Free digital copy.

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 Fentress 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
 * Fentress County Historical Society Newsletter
 * The Fentress County Historical Society was established in 1968. For further information regarding the newsletter and Society, see their website: www.fentresscountyhistorical society.org.
 * The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Fentress 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.
 * Overton County, Tennessee Kin
 * "This newsletter, although called “Overton County,” covers all the area in Overton, Fentress, and Pickett County, TN along with Monterey in Putnam County, and Clinton, Wayne and Cumberland County in Kentucky”—Vol. 7, no. 4, p. 2. The Family History Library has vol. 1, issues 1-4; vol. 2, issues 1-4; vol. 3, issues 1-4; vol. 4, issues 1-4; vol. 5, issues 1-4; vol. 6, issue 1; vol. 7 issue 4, vol. 8, issue 2. FHL US/CAN . Indexed in the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI).
 * The Pellissippian
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Fentress County, Tennessee records were published in the The Pellissippian (25 vols., 1980-2004), the quarterly of the Pellissippi Genealogical and Historical Society. The society has posted tables of contents for all 25 volumes on their website. They also have back issues available for purchase. The Family History Library has acquired the first 20 volumes.

The Fentress County Court has responsibility for the probate records, which began in 1905.

Taxation
The following Fentress County tax records have been abstracted:


 * [1833] Barham, Eleanor R. and Elizabeth R. Nichols. "1833 Enumeration, Fentress County, Tennessee," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Spring 1980):9-12. For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals. (600 names)
 * [1833] York, Bruce. "1833 Fentress County Tax List," available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb.
 * [1865] Tax List, 1865, Fentress County Historical Society Newsletter. Jamestown TN: Fall 1992. Vol. 4 Iss. 3.
 * [1872] Tax Books, 1872, Fentress County Historical Society Newsletter. Jamestown TN: Summer 1989. Vol. 1 Iss. 2; Fall 1989. Vol. 1 Iss. 3; Winter 1989. Vol. 1 Iss. 4; Spring 1990. Vol. 2 Iss. 1; Summer 1990. Vol. 2 Iss. 2; Fall 1990. Vol. 2 Iss. 3; Winter 1990. Vol. 2 Iss. 4; Spring 1991. Vol. 3 Iss. 1.
 * [1872] Hatfield, Wanda S. 1872 Tax Records, Fentress County, Tennessee. Signal Mountain, Tennessee : Mountain Press, 1991. ; online: free surname index and purchase details.
 * [1875] Dog Tax, 1875, Fentress County Historical Society Newsletter. Jamestown TN: Spring 1992. Vol. 4 Iss. 1.
 * [1892] Tax Book, 1892, Fentress County Historical Society Newsletter. Jamestown TN: Spring 1989. Vol. 1 Iss. 1.
 * [1892] Delinquent Tax List, 1892, Fentress County Historical Society Newsletter. Jamestown TN: Fall 1992. Vol. 4 Iss. 3.

Birth
Birth records began in 1914

Marriage
The original Fentress County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. Marriages records before 1905 are lost. The following publication, based on early newspapers, helps to alleviate this genealogical obstacle:


 * Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978..

The following Fentress County marriage records are microfilmed:


 * [1905-1986] Available at the TSLA. Marriages 1817-1899 are available for interlibrary loan.
 * [1905-1963] Available at the Family History Library. Some volumes are indexed.

The following Fentress County marriage records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * - covers all counties in Tennessee.
 * 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 all counties.

Death
Death records began in 1914


 * Tennessee Deaths and Burials 1874-1955. 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 Fentress 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. 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
Fentress County Historical Society PO Box 1431 Jamestown, TN 38556 Phone: 1-931-879-7622

Upper Cumberland Genealogical Society  Putnam Library 48 East Broad St. Cookeville, TN 38501

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

Libraries
Fentress County Public Library 306 South Main St. Jamestown, TN 38556 Phone: 1-931-879-7512 Fax: 1-931-879-6984 E-mail: fcpublib@txlakes.net Facebook Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Genealogy Reference Material available

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Jamestown Tennessee Family History Center Hwy 127 N Jamestown, TN Phone: 1-931-879-8708 Hours: By appointment only

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

Web Sites

 * (FamilySearch)
 * Fentress County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Fentress County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Fentress County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Fentress County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Fentress County, TN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (MyTennesseeGenealogy)
 * Mailing List: TN-ROOTWALKER-L (North Central Tennessee Genealogy List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: TN-UPPER-CUMBERLAND-L (Upper Cumberland Tennessee Region Genealogy List) (RootsWeb)
 * Rootwalker: Genealogy Pages for Northern Middle TN Free Genealogy Resources for the Region